Part P Building Regulations 2026: What Every Electrician Needs to Know
Part P is the electrical-safety requirement within the Building Regulations for dwellings. It requires reasonable provision to protect people who operate, maintain or alter an electrical installation from fire or injury.
Two distinctions matter immediately:
- Part P applies more widely than notification. Electrical work can be non-notifiable and still have to comply.
- A Part P knowledge course is not a licence to self-certify. Self-certification depends on separate scheme registration and assessment for the work being carried out.
This guide uses the current rules for England when listing notifiable work. Wales publishes separate guidance, covered below.
Part P Quick Facts
| Question | Current position |
|---|---|
| What does Part P cover? | Electrical installations in or associated with dwellings |
| What is notifiable in England? | A new circuit, consumer unit replacement, or additions/alterations in a defined special location |
| Who can self-certify? | A person or business registered and assessed under an authorised self-certification scheme for that scope |
| What is City & Guilds 2393-10? | A Level 3 Building Regulations knowledge qualification for qualified electricians and allied trades |
| Does 2393-10 grant scheme registration? | No |
| Current LTS listed price | £189 for the one-day course; contact LTS to confirm the next available intake |
The authoritative starting points are Approved Document P for England and Approved Document P for Wales.
What Part P Requires
Part P applies to low-voltage and extra-low-voltage electrical installations in or attached to dwellings. Its scope can also include common parts serving dwellings, outbuildings, gardens and other associated land where the electricity comes from a dwelling or shared source.
The legal requirement is about safe design and installation. Notification is a separate procedural requirement for specified higher-risk work.
What Electrical Work Is Notifiable in England?
Under England's current Approved Document P, electrical installation work is notifiable when it consists of:
- installing a new circuit;
- replacing a consumer unit; or
- adding to or altering an existing circuit in a special location.
For this purpose, a special location is the defined zone around a bath or shower, or a room containing a swimming pool or sauna heater. The exact dimensions are set out in Approved Document P.
Work That Is Not Automatically Notifiable in England
A job is not automatically notifiable merely because it is in a kitchen, outdoors, or involves fixed equipment. For example:
- replacing a socket, switch or light fitting is generally non-notifiable;
- adding to an existing circuit outside a special location is generally non-notifiable;
- fitting a built-in cooker is not notifiable unless a new circuit is required; and
- connecting equipment to an existing isolator is not notifiable, while installing a new circuit to that isolator is.
The work must still be designed, installed, inspected, tested and certified as appropriate under BS 7671. Other Building Regulations requirements may also apply.
England and Wales Are Not Identical
Part P applies in both England and Wales, but each nation has its own approved guidance and notification rules. The Welsh Government's current guidance retains different examples of work that should be notified, including some alterations in kitchens, bathrooms and outdoors.
Do not apply an English checklist to a Welsh job, or vice versa. Check the relevant Approved Document P and speak to the appropriate building control body when the notification position is unclear.
Three Compliance Routes for Notifiable Work
1. Authorised Self-Certification Scheme
A registered installer can self-certify work within their assessed scope and arrange the Building Regulations notification through the scheme. Government guidance now uses the term self-certification scheme, previously known as a competent person scheme.
Registration is not awarded by completing one short course. The business and relevant individuals must satisfy the scheme operator's competence, insurance, assessment and ongoing inspection requirements. The government's mandatory technical competence framework explains the current assessment basis.
2. Building Control
Where the installer is not registered for self-certification, the person responsible for the work can use the applicable building control process. Building control should be involved at the required stage, normally before notifiable work begins.
3. Registered Third-Party Certification
England's Approved Document P also recognises registered third-party certification for qualifying work. This route must be arranged correctly and depends on an authorised provider being available; it is not the same as asking another electrician to sign off completed work informally.