NAPIT is a Government-authorised competent person scheme under Part P of the Building Regulations, so a registered electrician can self-certify notifiable domestic work. This guide covers which certificate you actually issue, registration categories and qualifications, costs, the application and annual assessment, and how building control notification works.
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Written and reviewed by Andrew Moore, founder of Elec-Mate, against BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, IET Guidance Note 3 and the IET On-Site Guide.
The short answer
It is the document NAPIT issues to the homeowner confirming that notifiable domestic electrical work complies with Part P of the Building Regulations. You do not write it. You issue the BS 7671 certificate for the work — an EIC, a Minor Works Certificate or an EICR on the Appendix 6 model form — then notify NAPIT through their online portal, typically within 30 days. NAPIT sends the compliance certificate to the homeowner and registers the notification with local authority building control.
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01 · Registration Guide
NAPIT stands for the National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers. It is a Government-authorised competent person scheme, which means a registered electrician can self-certify notifiable domestic electrical work under Part P of the Building Regulations instead of putting the job through local authority building control.
| What NAPIT stands for | National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers |
|---|---|
| What it is | A Government-authorised competent person scheme under Part P of the Building Regulations |
| Certificate you issue | EIC, Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate or EICR — the BS 7671 Appendix 6 model forms |
| Certificate NAPIT issues | A Building Regulations Compliance Certificate, sent to the homeowner once you notify the job |
| Notification deadline | Typically within 30 days of completion, through the NAPIT online portal — check the current NAPIT guidance |
| Trades covered | Electrical, gas, plumbing, heating, ventilation and building fabric, under one membership |
| Indicative cost | Around £280 – £380 a year, plus a one-off initial assessment fee. Fees are reviewed annually — confirm the current figures with NAPIT. |
NAPIT covers several building trades under one umbrella — electrical, gas (as a Gas Safe Operator Scheme), plumbing, heating, ventilation, and building fabric. That makes it popular with multi-trade contractors who want a single scheme membership covering everything they do, rather than separate registrations with different bodies.
A NAPIT-registered electrician can self-certify notifiable domestic electrical work, which triggers a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate being issued directly to the homeowner without building control involvement. The legal standing of that certificate is identical whichever authorised scheme issues it — they all sit under the same Part P framework.
Written by the Elec-Mate editorial team — verified by a qualified UK electrician and checked against BS 7671:2018+A4:2026.
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02 · Registration Guide
This is the point most searches get stuck on. NAPIT does not have its own electrical certificate. The document recording the work is a BS 7671 certificate on the Appendix 6 model form, and it is identical whichever scheme you belong to. The NAPIT-branded document — the Building Regulations Compliance Certificate — is a separate thing, produced by NAPIT after you notify, and it evidences Building Regulations compliance rather than the test results.
| Work carried out | Certificate to issue | BS 7671 |
|---|---|---|
| A new installation, or an addition or alteration to an existing one — including replacing a distribution board or consumer unit | Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) | Reg 644.1 |
| Work that adds to or alters a circuit but provides no new circuit and does not replace a distribution board or consumer unit | Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate — one for each circuit added to or altered | Reg 644.4.201 |
| Periodic inspection and testing of an existing installation | Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) | Reg 653.1 |
Regulation 644.3 requires the Certificate to state the extent of the work covered and to include (a) Schedule(s) of Inspection and (b) Schedule(s) of Circuit Details and Schedule(s) of Test Results. The schedules shall be based on the models in Appendix 6 — the wording is mandatory, so a non-conforming schedule format is a non-conformance in its own right.
Changed at A4:2026. The single-page generic schedule of test results used for the EIC and EICR has been redrafted. There is now a separate page for the schedule of circuit details and a separate page for the schedule of test results. The schedule of inspections for initial verification has also been simplified, and a new example checklist of items requiring inspection has been added to Appendix 6 — that checklist is not required to be provided with the certificate.
Regulation 644.4 puts the Certificate in the hands of the person or persons responsible for the design, construction and verification of the installation, who issue it to the person ordering the work along with the records mentioned in Regulation 644.3. The same regulation requires the recommendation for the interval between initial verification and the first periodic inspection to be recorded on the Certificate. Under Regulation 644.5 the certificate is compiled and signed or otherwise authenticated by one or more skilled persons competent to verify that the requirements of BS 7671 have been met.
Digital is expressly allowed. Regulation 644.4.202 states that Electrical Installation Certificates and Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificates may be produced in any written or electronic form — provided their authenticity and integrity are verified by a reliable process or method, which must also verify that any copy is a true copy of the original.
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Issue the right certificate on your phone, with the schedules attached and the recommended inspection interval prompted before you can sign off. Export a PDF and upload it straight to your scheme portal.
03 · Registration Guide
NAPIT offers several registration categories for electricians, structured to match the scope of work you undertake.
The core registration for electricians. It provides self-certification for notifiable domestic electrical work under Part P, and it is the scheme most electricians joining NAPIT for electrical work will register under.
You can add multiple trades to one registration. A qualified electrician who also does plumbing, heating, ventilation, or building fabric work can register those trades under a single NAPIT membership, which keeps the compliance paperwork in one place.
NAPIT also operates specialist schemes for specific types of work, including fire detection and alarm systems (BS 5839), emergency lighting (BS 5266), renewable energy installations, and electric vehicle charger installations. These can be added to your core electrical registration.
04 · Registration Guide
The requirements for NAPIT electrical registration are consistent with industry standards and are largely the same as those for any other competent person scheme.
05 · Registration Guide
The figures below are indicative. Scheme fees are reviewed annually and vary with the size of the business and the number of trades registered, so confirm the current fee schedule with NAPIT before you budget for it.
| Item | Indicative figure |
|---|---|
| Initial assessment fee (one-off) | £250 – £400 |
| Annual registration fee | £280 – £380 a year |
| Total first year | £530 – £780 |
| Multi-trade registration | Bundled pricing may be available across trades |
| New joiner promotions | First-year discounts are offered from time to time |
As with all competent person scheme fees, NAPIT registration is a deductible business expense. Set against it the local authority building control charge you would otherwise pay on every notifiable job — those charges are set by each authority and commonly run to several hundred pounds per job, so registration tends to pay for itself over a handful of notifiable jobs a year.
06 · Registration Guide
You apply online through the NAPIT website, and the process typically takes 4 to 6 weeks from application to registration confirmation.
Start by completing the online application form, selecting your registration category (Electrical Competent Person Scheme, plus any additional trades or specialist schemes). Upload copies of your qualifications, public liability insurance certificate, and test instrument calibration certificates. Provide your business details including trading name, address, and the names and qualifications of all qualified personnel.
Once NAPIT has reviewed your application and verified your documentation, they will schedule an assessment visit. The assessment is carried out at your premises by a NAPIT assessor and typically takes 2 to 3 hours. The assessor reviews your qualifications, instruments, insurance, and samples of recent work. If the assessment is satisfactory, your registration is confirmed and you receive your NAPIT membership number and access to the NAPIT online contractor portal.
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07 · Registration Guide
Like all competent person schemes, NAPIT requires an annual assessment to maintain your registration. It is carried out by a NAPIT assessor and focuses on work completed since the last visit: a sample of your certificates is checked for completeness and accuracy, your qualifications, insurance and instrument calibrations are confirmed as current, and the assessor may visit a recent job site. Technical questions on current regulations and testing procedures are part of it.
If the assessor identifies non-conformances you receive a corrective action report with specific issues and a deadline. Minor issues are common and usually resolved quickly. Serious or persistent non-compliance can lead to enhanced monitoring, additional assessment visits, or ultimately suspension or withdrawal of registration.
08 · Registration Guide
The main practical benefit of registration is that you notify NAPIT through their online portal rather than notifying the local authority building control department yourself. NAPIT then issues the Building Regulations Compliance Certificate to the homeowner and registers the notification with the local authority on your behalf — no building control inspection, no building control charge, and the homeowner gets a formal certificate they can produce when they sell the property.
Not all domestic electrical work is notifiable — but all of it, notifiable or not, still has to comply with BS 7671. The list below reflects Approved Document P as it applies in England.
| Notifiable | Not notifiable |
|---|---|
| Installing a new circuit — including a new outdoor circuit or a supply to an outbuilding | Like-for-like replacement of accessories on an existing circuit — sockets, switches, ceiling roses |
| Replacing a consumer unit or distribution board | Adding a socket or a fused spur to an existing circuit, outside a special location |
| Any addition or alteration to an existing circuit in a special location — a room containing a bath or shower, or a room containing a swimming pool or sauna heater | Replacing a light fitting outside a special location |
| Electrical work forming part of an extension, loft conversion or similar building work | Repair and maintenance work |
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own building standards regimes, and the notifiable list in Wales is wider than the England list above — it still catches work in kitchens and outdoors. Check the guidance for the nation you are working in before you decide a job is exempt.
Complete the work and issue the appropriate electrical certificate — an EIC, or a Minor Works Certificate where no new circuit is involved. Then log into the NAPIT portal, enter the installation address, the type of work, the date of completion and the certificate reference, and upload the certificate. Do it within the notification window; late notification is one of the things that shows up at assessment.
09 · Registration Guide
10 · Registration Guide
This is the most common question electricians ask before joining a scheme, and the technical half of it has a short answer. NAPIT and NICEIC are both Government-authorised competent person schemes under Part P. A Building Regulations Compliance Certificate from either carries the same legal weight, and the electrical certificate you issue is the same BS 7671 Appendix 6 model form either way. Nothing about the standard of work, the tests, or the paperwork changes with the badge.
So the decision is commercial, not technical. Rather than rely on second-hand figures, take the checklist below to each scheme’s own published information and compare like for like.
There is no wrong answer. Both schemes are Government-authorised, both give you the same self-certification ability, and both underpin certificates with identical legal standing. The best choice depends on your client base, the trades you cover, and your budget.
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Elec-Mate produces the Appendix 6 model forms whichever scheme you are registered with. PDF export, digital signatures and cloud storage, so the certificate is ready to upload to your scheme portal the moment you leave site.
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