Plain-English guide to UK electrical qualifications, so you can tell a qualified sparky from a chancer.
TrustMark
Part P
BS 7671The electrical trade runs on alphabet soup, 2391, 2382, NAPIT, Part P, BS 7671 18th Edition Amendment 4. Every honest sparky has these on the back of their van. Every chancer hopes you won’t ask. This page translates each one into plain English: what it is, what it proves, and why it matters when you’re hiring an electrician.
If you’d rather see our actual numbers and verify them with the issuing bodies, jump to the accreditations page.
2391 is the UK qualification for inspecting and testing electrical installations. Without it, an electrician cannot competently issue an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). It’s a closed-book exam plus a practical assessment using calibrated test equipment.
A specialist post-apprenticeship qualification covering the BS 7671 inspection schedule, test sequence, and defect coding (C1, C2, C3, FI). Holders learn to design test sequences and interpret continuity, insulation-resistance, polarity, earth-fault-loop, and RCD readings.
That the electrician can legally and competently produce an EICR, the inspection report landlords need every five years and homebuyers need at conveyancing. NAPIT and other Competent Person Schemes require 2391 (or its predecessor 2394/2395) for testing scope.
If someone offers you a cheap EICR but isn’t 2391-qualified, the report isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. Check that whoever relies on it, lender, letting agent or insurer, will accept it. Always ask to see the qualification on the certificate.
Our director holds City & Guilds 2391 Inspection & Testing. Every EICR we issue is signed by a 2391-qualified inspector using a calibrated Megger MFT multifunction tester.
2382 is the City & Guilds qualification in the UK wiring regulations, BS 7671 (18th Edition). The current regulations are BS 7671:2018 incorporating Amendment 4:2026.
A 2-hour open-book exam covering the entire BS 7671 standard. The certification is updated each time a new amendment lands, you cannot legitimately advertise as “18th Edition qualified” if you only sat the 17th Edition exam.
That the electrician knows the current rules, not the rules from when they qualified. The regulations are amended every few years: Amendment 2 (2022) made AFDDs a requirement in HMOs, care homes, student blocks and certain tall (higher-risk) residential buildings and rewrote the surge-protection (SPD) rules, and Amendment 4 (2026) is the current version.
Anyone working on UK electrics today must work to the current version, BS 7671:2018+A4:2026. An outdated electrician can install a fuse board that’s technically non-compliant on the day it goes in, causing problems at the next EICR or sale.
Our director holds City & Guilds 2382 (18th Edition) and works to the current BS 7671:2018+A4:2026. We work to the standard published today, not the one in force when the apprenticeship finished.
2365 is the main UK route to becoming a qualified electrician. It’s the diploma achieved through a Level 2 + Level 3 college programme combined with on-site experience, the modern equivalent of a full electrical apprenticeship.
A two-stage diploma (Level 2 then Level 3) covering installation theory, practical skills, science, regulations, fault-finding, testing, and safe working. Combined with an industry NVQ and the AM2 end-test, it leads to the JIB Gold Card.
That the person doing the work has been formally taught and assessed across the whole trade, not just picked it up labouring for a mate. Without this (or the older 2330/2360), nobody should be running a fixed-wiring job in your home.
This is the difference between a tradesperson and a handyman. Anyone advertising as an electrician without a Level 3 diploma in electrical installation is not formally qualified, ask the question.
Dan Stevens completed City & Guilds 2365 Level 3 Electrical Installation followed by years of on-tools experience before going on to the post-qualification specialist tickets (2391, 2382).
NAPIT is the National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers, one of the UK’s government-authorised Competent Person Schemes for electrical work. Members are independently audited every year and are authorised to self-certify notifiable Part P work.
A scheme authorised by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) under the Building Regulations. Members go through annual on-site assessment of competence, insurance, paperwork, and procedures.
That the electrician has been independently checked, in person, on a real job, and is authorised by government to certify electrical work themselves. NAPIT lodges the Building Regulations Compliance Certificate with your local authority and provides a six-year Insurance Backed Guarantee on the work.
You get a certificate that proves the work is legal, lodged, and guaranteed. If you ever sell the property, a NAPIT certificate is what conveyancing solicitors are looking for. No certificate, no paper trail, problem at sale.
DS Electrical Installations (SW) Ltd is NAPIT member 66245. You can verify this directly on the NAPIT find-an-installer register at napit.org.uk, we’d expect you to.
Part P of the Building Regulations (Schedule 1, Part P, Electrical Safety) is the legal framework covering fixed-wiring electrical work in dwellings in England and Wales. It applies to new circuits, consumer-unit changes, work in special locations (close to a bath or shower, or in a room with a swimming pool or sauna), and outbuildings.
A part of the Building Regulations requiring that notifiable domestic electrical work is either notified to Building Control by the homeowner (slow, expensive) or self-certified by a Competent Person Scheme member (NAPIT, NICEIC, ELECSA, etc.).
That the work has been legally notified and a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate issued. You should receive this in the post within 30 days of the job, posted by the scheme operator (in our case NAPIT).
If your fuse board has been changed without a Part P certificate, that’s a Building Regulations breach, and a real problem at conveyancing time. Solicitors ask for these certificates as standard. No certificate, no sale (or price reduction).
Because we’re NAPIT-approved (66245), we self-certify every notifiable job. You receive an EIC plus the Part P compliance certificate within 30 days, no Building Control fee, no chasing.
TrustMark is the only UK government-endorsed quality scheme for tradespeople working in or around homes. A contractor can only be listed if they meet defined standards on technical competence, customer service, and trading practice.
A government-backed register held through approved scheme operators (in our case NAPIT). Members agree to the TrustMark Customer Charter, a published code covering quotations, contracts, deposits, work standards, and dispute resolution.
That the contractor has signed up to a public code of conduct with an independent dispute-resolution route. They cannot mark their own homework when something goes wrong.
If a TrustMark-listed job goes badly, you have a defined route to independent resolution. Most cowboys can’t accept that level of accountability, which is why most aren’t listed.
DS Electrical is TrustMark-registered through our NAPIT scheme operator. Search the public register at trustmark.org.uk.
BS 7671, the IET Wiring Regulations, is the British Standard defining safe electrical installation in the UK. The current version is BS 7671:2018 incorporating Amendment 4:2026 (published 15 April 2026; the previous version is withdrawn on 15 October 2026). It is mandatory for all new installations.
The national standard owned jointly by the IET and BSI. It defines circuit design, cable selection, protective devices, earthing, special locations, EV charging, energy storage, and inspection & testing requirements.
A new chapter on stationary batteries (including bidirectional and hybrid inverters and protective devices for two-way power flow); new requirements for functional earthing of ICT equipment; Power over Ethernet (Section 716); and a rewritten Section 710 for medical locations. Published 15 April 2026; the previous version is withdrawn on 15 October 2026.
Any new install, rewire, fuse-board change, or EV charger installed today should be compliant with BS 7671:2018+A4:2026. If a contractor is still working to the 17th Edition or an older amendment, the work may not be legally compliant on the day it’s commissioned.
Every certificate and EICR we issue references the current BS 7671 clause numbers. SPD fitted on every new consumer unit. Type A RCBO on every EV charger. Director holds City & Guilds 2382 (18th Edition).
Print this out. Take it to a phone call. Any qualified UK electrician will answer all four without flinching. Anyone who hesitates, or fobs you off, is the wrong choice.
Every legitimate electrician working in UK dwellings should be a member of a government-authorised Competent Person Scheme. If they can’t give you a number on the spot, walk away. Our answer: NAPIT 66245. Verify it at napit.org.uk.
An EIC is the legal certificate proving the work meets BS 7671. Every notifiable job should produce one. A “mate’s rates” sparky who can’t certify their own work is leaving you with an unprovable installation that may not insure or sell.
If the work is notifiable (new circuit, consumer-unit change, or work close to a bath or shower), Part P requires it to be registered with Building Control, either by the homeowner via Building Control fees or self-certified by a CPS member like us. No notification = legal problem at sale.
This is the industry-standard minimum cover for trade work in the UK. Required by NAPIT, TrustMark, and most commercial clients. We hold £2m public liability and employer’s liability cover, current certificates available on request before any job starts.
Every accreditation we list is independently verifiable. Click through, search the number, see the entry in the public register. We’d expect you to.
National public register of NAPIT-approved contractors.
napit.org.uk →2391 is the test qualification listed on every NAPIT certificate. If it’s not there, it wasn’t issued by a qualified inspector.
See full accreditations →Every property and every job is different, so we don’t publish a price list. The price depends on circuit count, condition, access, materials, and any remedial work uncovered. We always give you a fixed written quote before starting work, and we never invoice for more than the agreed quote without your written approval.
Every job we do produces an EIC, a Part P compliance certificate, and a six-year Insurance Backed Guarantee through NAPIT. Call DS Electrical to discuss.
Direct Dan Stevens, Director: 07889 334849