Regulations & Safety
Do I Need Building Control Sign-Off for Rewiring?
Yes — a rewire is notifiable under Part P. A registered electrician self-certifies and notifies building control for you. Here is how it works.
By Steels Electrical · 4 June 2026 · 4 min read
The short answer
Yes. Rewiring is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations. The simplest route is to use an electrician registered with a competent-person scheme (such as NICEIC): they self-certify the work and notify building control on your behalf, and you receive a Building Regulations compliance certificate. If an unregistered person does the work, you must notify building control yourself in advance and pay for their inspection.
Electrical work in homes is covered by Part P of the Building Regulations, which exists to make sure work is done safely. A rewire is firmly in the notifiable category — but if you use a registered electrician, the paperwork is handled for you.
The two routes to compliance
There are two legitimate ways to comply:
- Use a registered competent person (e.g. NICEIC-registered) who self-certifies and notifies building control — the easy, normal route.
- Use someone unregistered, in which case building control must be notified before the work and will inspect and certify it (for a fee).
Why the certificate matters
You will be asked for the Building Regulations compliance certificate and the Electrical Installation Certificate when you sell or let the property. Work done without proper certification can hold up a sale and may need retrospective inspection — so it is worth doing correctly from the start.
Frequently asked questions
- What certificates do I get after a rewire?
- An Electrical Installation Certificate plus a Building Regulations compliance certificate. We cover the full list in our guide on what certificates you get after a house rewire.
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