Missing certificate for a new fuse box or rewire: what to do
A new fuse box, a rewire or an extra circuit is exactly the sort of work a buyer's solicitor asks about, and the certificate is easy to lose. Here is which document answers the question, why electrical records are split across multiple schemes, and what to do if the electrician never registered the work.
Which electrical work needs a certificate
The Law Society's notes on the TA6 say that since 1 January 2005 all electrical installation work in a home has had to follow the building regulations. It gives these examples:
- new circuits
- replacing a consumer unit (fuse box)
- rewiring in outbuildings and gardens
- altering or adding to a circuit in a bathroom, shower room or other "special location"
- installing items such as electric vehicle charging points
Since April 2013 the paperwork has been reduced, so some minor work in kitchens or outdoors no longer needs a certification document. New consumer units, rewires and new circuits still do.
Which document you should have
For work that needed one, you should have one of these:
- a building control completion certificate from the council
- the installer's Building Regulations Compliance Certificate, from their competent person scheme (NICEIC, ELECSA or NAPIT, for example), or
- a BS7671 electrical installation certificate from the electrician
If you do, you answer yes to question 11.2 on the TA6 and attach it. It is a different document from an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report), which is a periodic inspection of the installation's condition. The Law Society says an EICR is not a legal requirement for a sale. A landlord must hold a current one, renewed at least every five years, so a buyer who plans to let may ask for it.
Where the record is held — and how we find it
Split across NICEIC, ELECSA, NAPIT and smaller Part P schemes depending on which body the electrician belonged to — or held by council building control.
- The catch: Online portals only hold recent years of notifications, NAPIT searches without a certificate number require a manual archive request, and most sellers have no idea which scheme their electrician used.
- How we handle it: We search NICEIC, ELECSA, NAPIT (including older archive requests) and your council in one go, then order the official compliance certificate.
- Turnaround: First findings from online registers within 1 working day; archive replies follow as they arrive.
Our Part P electrical certificate search checks NICEIC, ELECSA, NAPIT and your council for your address, emails first findings within 1 working day, and orders the official copy (included in the £79 fee, no record no fee).
If the electrician never registered the work
If the electrician was not in a scheme, or never notified the work, there is no certificate to copy. GOV.UK says there are other ways to show that domestic electrical work complies with Part P of the building regulations:
- have it checked and certified by the local authority or a private approved inspector
- have it checked and certified by a registered member of a third-party certification scheme. Since April 2014 such a person can check and certify electrical work done by others. NAPIT and Stroma are the two authorised schemes.
Regularisation with the council, or indemnity insurance, are the other routes that solicitors consider: see our indemnity guide. Ask your solicitor before you contact the council.
Questions
Is an EICR enough instead of the installation certificate?
An EICR reports on the condition of an installation. It is not the certificate for installing new work. A recent satisfactory EICR is useful evidence and some buyers' solicitors may accept it, but ask your solicitor rather than assuming.
I had a new consumer unit fitted. How do I find the certificate?
Because the notification sits with whichever competent person scheme the electrician belonged to at the time (NICEIC, ELECSA, NAPIT or council building control), our electrical certificate search checks all of them for your address in one go and orders the official replacement copy.
The work was done more than six years ago. Will it still be on record?
Often yes, even when it no longer appears on public online portals. Online lookups typically only show the last six years of notifications, while older records sit in offline scheme and council archives — which we request as part of your search.
Does a rewire need a certificate if I did it myself?
The building regulations apply to the work whoever does it. A homeowner cannot self-certify, so the work has to be checked and certified by the council, an approved inspector or a third-party certification scheme member. Your solicitor can tell you what your buyer will accept.
Want us to look for you?
Give us the address and we search every register and your council, then order the official copies. £79 including the register fees for up to 2 copies, and no record means no fee.
Related guides
Official guidance & references
- GOV.UK: Electrical safety, Approved Document P
- GOV.UK: Third party certification schemes for domestic electrical work
- GOV.UK: Competent person schemes, current schemes and how they are authorised
My Certs is an independent service, not part of or endorsed by any scheme, council or regulator named here.