How to Choose the Right Electrician

Not all electricians are equal. Here is what to look for — and what to avoid.

Finding a good electrician is not difficult if you know what to look for. Finding a bad one is even easier. The difference between the two is not always obvious from a website or a quote — but the consequences of getting it wrong can be significant.

This guide covers what actually matters when choosing an electrician for domestic or commercial work in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire or London.

Check they are Part P registered

In England, most electrical work carried out in a home is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations. This means the work must either be inspected by Building Control, or carried out by a competent person registered with an approved scheme.

NAPIT and NICEIC are the two main approved schemes. A registered electrician can self-certify their own work — meaning they notify Building Control on your behalf and issue you with the correct certification on completion. If your electrician is not registered, you will need to involve Building Control yourself, pay an inspection fee, and wait for sign-off before the work is legally complete.

Always ask for registration number and check it on the scheme's website before booking.

Ask about qualifications — specifically

The minimum qualification for electrical work in the UK is the Level 3 Award in the Requirements for Electrical Installations — commonly known as the 18th Edition. This covers BS 7671, the wiring regulations that govern all electrical installations in the UK.

For inspection and testing work — EICRs — the relevant qualification is the City and Guilds 2391. Not every electrician holds this. If you need an EICR for a rental property or a commercial premises, make sure the engineer carrying it out is 2391 qualified.

For EV charger installation, look for City and Guilds 2919-01. Again, not universal.

A JIB Gold Card confirms that an electrician has the relevant qualifications and experience. It is the industry standard for qualified tradespeople and worth looking for.

Get a written quote — not a verbal estimate

A professional electrician will provide a written quote that sets out what is included, what is not included, and what the price covers. A verbal estimate is not a quote. If the price is not in writing before work starts, you have no basis for a dispute if it changes.

A written quote should also confirm whether VAT is included, what the payment terms are, and what happens if additional work is required once the job is opened up. Electrical work occasionally reveals hidden issues — a good electrician will tell you what they found and give you a revised cost before proceeding, not present you with a surprise invoice at the end.

Check what certification you will receive

Every electrical installation should be completed with the correct certification. For new installations and additions to existing circuits, this is an Electrical Installation Certificate. For inspection work, it is an Electrical Installation Condition Report.

You should receive this documentation on completion, not weeks later. If an electrician cannot tell you clearly what paperwork you will receive at the end of a job, that is a warning sign.

Certification matters beyond compliance. If you sell a property, remortgage, or make an insurance claim, you may be asked to produce electrical certificates. If they were never issued, or cannot be found, that becomes your problem.

Avoid the cheapest quote

Price is not the right filter for electrical work. The cheapest quote almost always reflects something — lower qualifications, unregistered work, no certification, or corners cut on materials and testing.

Electrical work that is not done correctly is not just inconvenient. It can cause fires, electric shock, and failed inspections that cost more to rectify than the original job would have cost done properly.

Get two or three quotes. If one is significantly cheaper than the others, ask why. The answer will usually tell you everything you need to know.

Ask who will actually do the work

Some electrical contractors quote the job and then subcontract it to whoever is available. The engineer who turns up may not be the one you spoke to, may not have seen the job, and may not be working to the same standard you were quoted.

Ask directly: will your own qualified engineers be carrying out this work? A small, specialist contractor will typically give you a straight answer. A large outfit that uses subbies rarely will.

What good looks like

A qualified electrician who is worth hiring will be able to tell you their Part P registration number, their qualifications, what certification you will receive, and who will be on site. They will provide a written quote before starting and will not pressure you to make a decision on the day.

They will also be honest about what they find. Electrical installations in older properties often reveal issues that were not visible at the quoting stage. A professional will tell you what they found, give you options, and let you decide — not proceed without asking and add it to the bill.

At Hobbs Electrical Group, every job is carried out by our own JIB Gold Card qualified engineers. We are NAPIT Part P registered (No. 82220), City and Guilds qualified across EICR, EV charging and general electrical installation, and we issue full certification on every job. If you would like a straight conversation about your electrical work, call us on 01442 927057 or use our contact form.