Hiring an electrician is one of those jobs where getting it wrong can be genuinely dangerous. A bad plumber might leave you with a leak. A bad electrician can leave you with a fire risk, an installation that fails its next inspection, or work that invalidates your home insurance.
The good news is that spotting a good electrician — and avoiding a bad one — is straightforward if you know what to check. Here are the eight things every UK homeowner should verify before letting an electrician work in their home.
1. Check Their NICEIC or NAPIT Registration
This is the single most important check. In England and Wales, any electrician carrying out notifiable work under Part P should be registered with an approved competent person scheme. The four main schemes are NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA, and STROMA.
Registration means the electrician has been assessed as competent, carries appropriate insurance, and has their work regularly inspected by the scheme's assessors. It also means they can self-certify their work, issuing the proper certificates and notifying building control on your behalf.
How to verify:
- Ask the electrician which scheme they're registered with
- Search the scheme's online register (NICEIC's "Find a Contractor," NAPIT's "Find an Installer")
- Ask to see their membership card and certificate
Be aware of membership tiers. NICEIC, for example, has "Approved Contractors" (the higher tier, with annual assessment of their work) and "Domestic Installers" (assessed but only for domestic work). Both are legitimate for home electrical work. Approved Contractors have typically been through more rigorous ongoing assessment.
2. Verify Their Public Liability Insurance
Every professional electrician should carry public liability insurance. This covers damage to your property and injury to third parties caused by the electrician's work. The industry standard minimum is £1 million, though many carry £2 million or more.
If an uninsured electrician damages your property — drills through a water pipe, causes a fire during testing, or drops a tool through your ceiling — you'd have to claim on your own home insurance or pursue them personally through the courts. Neither is a pleasant experience.
Ask to see a copy of their insurance certificate. A professional electrician won't be offended by the request — they'll expect it. Check the certificate is current (not expired) and covers the type of work being carried out.
3. Get at Least Three Written Quotes
Never accept the first quote you receive. Get at least three quotes from different electricians so you can compare like with like. A proper written quote should include:
- Scope of work — exactly what will be done, described in enough detail that you understand it
- Materials — either itemised or described (e.g., "supply and install 10 double socket outlets, white, flush-mounted")
- Labour — either as a fixed price for the job or a day rate with an estimated number of days
- VAT — is the price inclusive or exclusive of VAT? (Any electrician with turnover above the VAT threshold must charge VAT)
- Start date and estimated duration
- What's included and what isn't — does the price include making good (filling holes and chases) or is that extra?
Be wary of quotes that are significantly lower than the others. There's usually a reason — they may be planning to cut corners, use inferior materials, or they may not be properly registered. Equally, the most expensive quote isn't automatically the best. Compare the scope and detail, not just the bottom line.
4. Check Reviews on Checkatrade, Trustpilot, and Google
Online reviews are useful but imperfect. Here's how to get the most out of them:
- Checkatrade — reviews are verified (the reviewer must have booked through or been connected via Checkatrade), so they're harder to fake. Look at the volume and recency of reviews, not just the score.
- Google Business Profile — anyone can leave a review, so check for patterns. A business with 50 genuine-looking reviews over several years is more trustworthy than one with 20 glowing reviews all posted in the same week.
- Trustpilot — less commonly used by individual tradespeople but worth checking if they have a profile.
How to spot fake reviews: Look for reviews that are vague ("Great service, highly recommended!" without any detail about the actual work), reviews posted in clusters on the same day, or reviews that use similar language. Genuine reviews tend to mention specific details about the job.
Also check for how the electrician responds to negative reviews. Every business gets the occasional complaint — what matters is whether they respond professionally and try to resolve it.
5. Ask About Part P Certification and Paperwork
Before work begins, confirm what certificates you'll receive on completion. For notifiable work (new circuits, rewires, consumer unit replacements, or any work in a kitchen, bathroom, or outdoors), you should receive:
- An Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) or Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate (MEIWC), depending on the scope of work
- A Building Regulations Compliance Certificate from their competent person scheme (this is the Part P notification)
Ask about this upfront. If an electrician can't tell you which certificates they'll provide, or seems vague about the paperwork, that's a warning sign. Proper certification isn't optional for notifiable work — it's a legal requirement.
6. Confirm They Handle Notifications and Certificates
When a registered electrician completes notifiable work, it's their responsibility to:
- Test the installation and record the results
- Issue the appropriate certificate to you
- Notify their competent person scheme, which in turn notifies your local authority building control
You shouldn't need to contact building control yourself. If the electrician asks you to arrange building control notification, they're likely not registered with a competent person scheme — which means they shouldn't be self-certifying the work in the first place.
7. Ask About Warranties on Workmanship
Most reputable electricians offer a warranty on their workmanship — typically 12 months, though some offer 2 years or longer. This covers defects in the installation itself (a loose connection, a cable that's been incorrectly routed, a fault that develops due to the way the work was carried out), not general wear and tear or unrelated issues.
Additionally, if the electrician is registered with NICEIC, their Platinum Promise scheme offers a free complaints resolution service. If there's a dispute about the quality of work, NICEIC will investigate and, if necessary, arrange for the work to be put right at no extra cost to you. NAPIT offers a similar complaints procedure.
Get the warranty terms in writing before work begins. A verbal promise is difficult to enforce if something goes wrong six months later.
8. Watch for Red Flags
Some warning signs should make you walk away immediately:
- Cash-only, no invoice: Legitimate electricians accept bank transfers and card payments, and provide proper invoices. Cash-only suggests they're working off the books and may not be registered or insured.
- No fixed business address: A professional electrician has a registered business address (even if they work from home). A mobile number and no other contact details is a risk.
- Vague quote with no breakdown: "£2,000 for the job" without specifying what's included is not a quote — it's a guess. Insist on a detailed written breakdown.
- Pressure to decide immediately: "I can only hold this price until Friday" or "I've got another job starting next week so you need to decide now" are high-pressure sales tactics. A good electrician gives you time to compare quotes and make a decision.
- Starts work before agreeing a price: Some rogue traders start work immediately and then present a much larger bill than expected. Always agree the price in writing before any work begins.
- Refuses to provide references: Any established electrician should be happy to provide references from recent customers or direct you to their online reviews.
Electrician Day Rates in the UK (2026)
Electrician rates vary significantly by region and experience. Here's a rough guide to typical day rates across the UK:
- London and South East: £250 – £350 per day
- South West, East, and Midlands: £200 – £300 per day
- North of England: £180 – £260 per day
- Scotland and Wales: £170 – £250 per day
- Northern Ireland: £150 – £230 per day
Most electricians prefer to quote a fixed price for a defined job rather than working on a day rate. Day rates are more common for larger, less predictable projects or when the electrician is working alongside other trades (e.g., first fix wiring during a renovation). Hourly call-out rates for smaller jobs typically run £50 – £80 per hour with a minimum charge of 1–2 hours.
Questions to Ask Before Hiring
Use this as a checklist when speaking to potential electricians:
- Which competent person scheme are you registered with? (Verify on their website)
- Do you have public liability insurance? Can I see the certificate?
- Will you provide a detailed written quote with a breakdown of materials, labour, and VAT?
- What certificates will I receive when the work is complete?
- Do you notify building control, or do I need to do that?
- What warranty do you offer on your workmanship?
- How long will the work take, and when can you start?
- Does the price include making good (filling chases and holes), or is that separate?
- Can you provide references or point me to online reviews?
- What's your payment schedule? (Be cautious of anyone asking for a large deposit upfront — 10–20% is normal for larger jobs)
Any electrician who answers these questions clearly and confidently is likely to be professional and competent. Anyone who gets defensive, evasive, or dismissive probably isn't worth the risk.