Hiring an electrician should not feel like a gamble. But in London, where there are thousands of people advertising electrical services on Google, Checkatrade, and local Facebook groups, it can be genuinely difficult to tell who is qualified, insured, and competent — and who is winging it.
Bad electrical work is not just inconvenient. It is dangerous. Faulty wiring causes fires. Improperly earthed circuits kill people. And if the work was never certified, it can derail a house sale or land a landlord with an enforcement notice.
This guide gives you ten practical things to check before you hire an electrician in London, so you can make a confident decision and avoid a costly mistake.
1. NICEIC, NAPIT, or ELECSA Registration
This is the single most important check. A registered electrician has been independently assessed and is monitored by one of the government-approved competent person scheme bodies: NICEIC, NAPIT, or ELECSA.
Registration means the electrician’s work is regularly inspected, they carry the correct qualifications (typically City & Guilds 2391 and 18th Edition), and they can legally self-certify notifiable electrical work without involving Building Control.
Always ask for the registration number and verify it on the scheme provider’s website. NICEIC maintains a searchable register at niceic.com — it takes thirty seconds.
If the electrician is not registered with any competent person scheme, move on.
2. Part P Competent Person Scheme Membership
Part P of the Building Regulations covers electrical safety in homes. Certain types of work are “notifiable” — meaning they must either be done by a registered competent person or signed off separately by your local Building Control office.
Notifiable work includes new circuits, consumer unit (fuse board) replacements, and any electrical work in bathrooms or kitchens near water. If your electrician is not Part P registered, they cannot self-certify this work, which means you will need to pay Building Control separately (typically £200-£400) and wait for an inspection.
A Part P registered electrician handles the certification as part of the job. It is included. No extra steps, no extra cost. For a full explanation, see our guide to what Part P means.
3. Public Liability Insurance
Any electrician working in your home should carry public liability insurance. This covers damage to your property and injury to third parties caused by the electrician’s work.
The minimum you should accept is £2 million. For most professional electricians in London, £5 million is standard. Ask to see a copy of the certificate — a legitimate tradesperson will have no problem showing it to you.
If the electrician cannot prove they are insured, do not let them start work. One mistake — a burst pipe from drilling into the wrong place, a fire from a faulty connection — could leave you out of pocket with no recourse.
4. Reviews: Checkatrade, Trustmark, and Google
Online reviews are not perfect, but they are a useful filter. Look for:
- Checkatrade reviews — these are verified and tied to real jobs, which makes them harder to fake.
- Google reviews — check the Google Business Profile for recent, detailed reviews. A handful of generic five-star reviews with no text is less reassuring than a dozen reviews that describe the actual work done.
- Trustmark registration — this is a government-endorsed scheme that verifies the tradesperson meets required standards.
Pay attention to how the electrician responds to any negative reviews. A professional response to a complaint tells you more than fifty perfect scores.
5. Transparent Pricing
Before any work starts, you should have a clear understanding of what it will cost. There are two common pricing models:
- Fixed quote — the electrician inspects the job, gives you a total price in writing, and that is what you pay regardless of how long the work takes. Best for defined projects like a rewire or consumer unit replacement.
- Day rate or hourly rate — you pay for the time the work takes. Suitable for smaller or diagnostic jobs where the scope is not fixed upfront.
Either model is fine, as long as you know which one you are on and what is included. Ask specifically whether the quote covers materials, VAT, certification, and making good (plastering and patching after cable runs).
For a realistic breakdown of current London prices, see our guide to electrician costs in London.
6. Willingness to Provide Certificates
Every electrical job that falls under Part P should result in proper documentation. Depending on the work, you should receive:
- Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) — for new installations and major work.
- Minor Works Certificate — for smaller additions and alterations.
- EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) — for inspections and testing of existing installations.
If an electrician tells you that certification is not necessary, or tries to charge extra for it as an add-on, that is a red flag. Certification is not optional — it is a legal requirement for notifiable work, and it protects you.
For landlords, a valid EICR is a legal requirement under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. For more on this, see our pages on the EICR and how much an EICR costs in London.
7. Clear Communication and Punctuality
This is less about technical skill and more about professionalism, but it matters. A good electrician will:
- Return your call or message within a reasonable time.
- Turn up when they say they will — or let you know if they are running late.
- Explain what they are doing in plain language, without talking down to you.
- Give you a realistic timeline for the job and flag any potential issues early.
If you cannot get a straight answer before the job starts, you are unlikely to get one when something goes wrong halfway through.
8. Photos of Previous Work
A confident electrician will have photos of their work — consumer unit upgrades, rewires, garden lighting, commercial fit-outs. Check their website, Instagram, or Checkatrade profile for examples.
Photos of neat cable runs, properly labelled consumer units, and clean finished installations tell you more about an electrician’s standards than any sales pitch. If there are no photos anywhere and they cannot show you any examples, ask yourself why.
9. Written Terms and Scope of Work
For any job beyond a quick socket swap, you should receive a written scope of work that covers:
- Exactly what work will be done (and what will not).
- The total cost or rate, including VAT.
- The estimated timeline.
- Who is responsible for materials.
- What happens if additional work is discovered once the job starts.
- Payment terms — when payment is due, deposit requirements, accepted methods.
This does not need to be a ten-page contract. A clear email or written quote covering these points is enough. The point is that both sides know what has been agreed before anyone picks up a screwdriver.
10. Warranty and Guarantee Terms
Ask what guarantee the electrician offers on their workmanship. A standard guarantee for domestic electrical work is 12 months, though many reputable electricians offer longer.
NICEIC-registered contractors provide an additional layer of protection: NICEIC’s Platinum Promise backs their registered contractors’ domestic work, giving you a route to resolution if something goes wrong.
Make sure the guarantee is in writing. A verbal promise is worth nothing if the electrician stops answering their phone six months later.
Red Flags: When to Walk Away
Some warning signs should end the conversation immediately:
- Cash only, no invoice. This usually means the electrician is working off the books and will not be providing certification or paying VAT. You have no paper trail and no protection.
- No certificates offered. If they say certification is unnecessary or an optional extra, they are either not qualified to issue it or trying to cut corners.
- Vague pricing. Phrases like “it depends” or “we’ll see when we get started” without any written estimate are a sign you will end up paying more than you expected.
- No registration number. If they claim to be NICEIC or NAPIT registered but cannot give you a number to verify, they are not registered.
- Pressure to decide immediately. A legitimate electrician will give you time to compare quotes. Anyone pushing you to commit on the spot is more interested in closing the sale than doing a good job.
Why the Cheapest Quote Is Often the Most Expensive
It is tempting to go with the lowest price. But with electrical work, cheap usually means one or more of the following:
- Substandard materials that will fail sooner.
- No certification, which means you will need to pay for a retrospective EICR or Building Control sign-off.
- No insurance, which means you carry the risk.
- Work that does not meet current regulations, which can fail an inspection during a property sale.
Fixing bad electrical work costs significantly more than doing it properly the first time. A botched consumer unit installation that needs to be ripped out and redone can easily cost double the original quote. And if faulty work causes damage to your property or injures someone, the cost becomes incalculable.
Get two or three quotes from registered electricians, compare like-for-like, and choose on quality and trust — not just price.
How F&A Electrical Meets All 10 Criteria
We are F&A Electrical, based in South Tottenham (N15), and we work across inner London every day. Here is how we measure up against the ten checks above:
- NICEIC accredited — fully registered and regularly assessed.
- Part P registered — we self-certify all notifiable work and handle the paperwork.
- £5 million public liability insurance — well above the minimum standard.
- 237 Checkatrade reviews, rated 9.7 out of 10 — verified reviews from real customers across London.
- Transparent pricing — fixed quotes for projects, clear hourly rates for smaller jobs, no hidden costs.
- Full certification on every job — EICRs, Minor Works, Electrical Installation Certificates issued as standard.
- Responsive and punctual — we reply promptly and show up when we say we will.
- Photos of our work — available on our website and Checkatrade profile.
- Written quotes and clear scope — every job is quoted in writing before we start.
- 12-month workmanship guarantee — backed by NICEIC’s Platinum Promise.
Ready to Hire an Electrician You Can Trust?
If you need electrical work done in London and want it done properly — certified, insured, and to a standard you can rely on — get in touch.
Call us on 07407 627542 or visit our contact page to request a free, no-obligation quote. We typically respond within a few hours.
F&A Electrical is NICEIC accredited, Part P registered, and insured for £5 million. We serve homeowners, landlords, and businesses across inner London including Hackney, Islington, Camden, Tower Hamlets, Haringey, and Southwark.