Guide
How to check an electrician is registered
A scheme logo on a van proves nothing. A registration number checked on the scheme's own search proves the business was assessed, is insured, and can certify notifiable work. It takes about a minute.
What registration actually is
Electrical work has no single national register in the way gas work does. What exists instead is a set of government authorised competent person schemes, each of which assesses businesses and then allows them to self certify the work that building regulations require to be notified. Certsure, which trades as NICEIC, and NAPIT are the two most households will meet. BESCA, Blue Flame Certification and OFTEC also operate authorised schemes.
Being on one of those schemes means an assessor has visited, looked at real installations and real certificates, checked insurance and test instruments, and signed the business off. It is renewed on a cycle rather than awarded once.
The minute it takes
Ask for the scheme name and the registration number, then go to that scheme's own search page and type the number in. Every authorised scheme publishes one and all of them are free. What comes back is the registered business name, its address, and the categories of work the registration covers.
Three things are worth reading rather than glancing at. The business name on the register should match the name on the quote. The address should be one that exists. And the scope should cover the work you are buying, because a domestic installer registration is not a commercial contractor registration and the schemes are explicit about the difference.
ELECSA, and other names that no longer register
ELECSA registrations transferred to NICEIC between 2021 and the end of 2022. A business advertising an ELECSA number today is quoting a historic registration, which is not dishonest and is not current either. Ask what it became.
Trade association membership is a separate thing again and is often confused with it. The Electrical Contractors' Association and SELECT in Scotland are associations with their own entry requirements, and they are worth something. They are not authorisation to self certify building regulations work, and a business that offers one when asked for the other is answering a different question.
What to do if the number does not check out
Sometimes it is a typo, and asking again resolves it. Sometimes the number belongs to a business the person used to work for, which is worth knowing before rather than after a consumer unit is on the wall.
An unregistered electrician is not automatically a bad one. Plenty of competent people work exclusively on work that is not notifiable and have no reason to carry the cost of a scheme. What they cannot do is self certify a new circuit or a board change, and on that work the route is a building control application by you, in advance, with the fee that comes with it.
Common questions
Is there one national register for electricians?
No. There are several government authorised schemes, each with its own search. Ask which scheme, then check on that scheme's site.
Does registration mean they are insured?
Scheme registration requires public liability insurance to be in place and checked at assessment. It is still worth asking to see the certificate and the amount, particularly for larger work.
What if the work is not notifiable?
Then registration is not legally required and competence still is. Ask about qualifications and ask for a certificate for the work, which any competent electrician issues regardless of scheme membership.