What certificate should I get after electrical work?

People ask for "the certificate" and get handed whichever one the electrician had to hand, which is why so many households hold a condition report and think it certifies work that was done. The three documents answer three different questions, and knowing which is which takes two minutes and settles a great deal.

Safety

Step by step

1. Identify what the work actually was.A new circuit run back to the consumer unit, an alteration or addition to an existing circuit, a consumer unit replacement, or an inspection of what is already there. The document follows the work.
2. Expect an Electrical Installation Certificate for new work.New circuits, a new or replacement consumer unit, or a new installation. It records the design, the construction, the inspection and the test results, and it is signed by the person taking responsibility for each.
3. Expect a Minor Works Certificate for alterations.An addition or alteration to an existing circuit that does not involve a new circuit — an extra socket, a moved light point, a replaced accessory where testing is required. Same standing, narrower scope.
4. Understand what a condition report is.An Electrical Installation Condition Report assesses the state of an existing installation and records observations with classification codes. It is an inspection of what exists, not a certificate for work carried out.
5. Get the building regulations compliance certificate too.Where the work was notifiable, the electrician's competent person scheme issues this separately, usually a few weeks later. It is the document that answers a sale enquiry, and it is the one most often never chased.
6. Check the test results are actually filled in.A certificate with blank schedules of inspection and test results has recorded nothing. The numbers are the evidence that the installation was tested rather than just installed.
7. Understand which work is notifiable.In England and Wales, Part P makes certain work notifiable — new circuits, consumer unit work and work in special locations such as bathrooms. Scotland and Northern Ireland handle electrical work through their own building standards arrangements.
8. Keep them with the deeds and act on any codes.A condition report with items coded as dangerous or potentially dangerous needs remedial work, not filing. Deal with those before anything else in the house.

Tips

• A landlord's obligations are different again, with periodic inspection requirements for rented property. If you let a property, check the requirements for your nation.
• Ask for certificates as electronic copies. Paper originals get lost and electricians can usually reissue a digital one years later if you have their details.
• When buying a house, a condition report is worth commissioning on anything with an old consumer unit, rewireable fuses, or evidence of DIY.

Common mistakes

• Accepting a condition report as proof that work was certified — It reports on the state of an installation. It does not certify work carried out and it will not answer a sale enquiry about a new circuit.
• Not chasing the scheme's compliance certificate — The electrician's own certificate proves the standard of the work. The scheme certificate proves it was notified, and that is the one conveyancers ask for.

Questions people ask