Re Part P Certification. Does a third party have to physically test an installation himself or is it sufficient to trust the test evidence of the electrician that did the work. I have been asked this by a neighbour and whilst I once knew the wiring regs I am no longer up to date (and not practicing). Thanks
Thank you everyone for such surprising and honest responses. I have combined your responses into a summary (sorry if I missed anyone).
Original question: Someone has notifiable electrical work provided by an uncertified electrician then another electrician signs test certificate without actually visiting and testing himself. Is this Valid? Answer: Not officially, but it happens.... Routes to get certificate
An electrician could have been assessed in a Competent Person Scheme and be able to certify his own work. He needs to be company registered.
A company employing several electricians may only have one person as ‘QS’, That person may then approve the work of the other electricians, apparently as if it was his own (I am not advocating this as ideal, simply that it happens)
A person registered with NAPIT for Third Party Certification (TPC) can assess an un-certified electricians work and must be involved in planning the work and final testing.
A Local Authority Building Control Department can be asked directly to issue a certificate, they may ask for evidence or send someone to inspect.
In practice informal arrangements do occur, basically outside the rules, e.g where unofficially an electrician may join a company with a QS for the duration of the work in order to gain the certificate (ie use route 2). However this may not stand up to scrutiny.
Thanks everyone. In this particular instance I believe route 4, via the local authority, would be appropriate but that the electrician who contracted to undertake the work in the first place should compensate the customer, ie pay for the local authority work. Thats is assuming the certificate is not issued anyway (despite not following the rules). You could argue the customer should have checked the electrician was able to certify the work correctly at the start, in practice its hard for a general member of the public to understand the nuances. Several of you commented on the inadequacy of the rules around Part P. As one person said, every electrician undertaking this work should be a competent person and registered.
Thank you everyone for such surprising and honest responses. I have combined your responses into a summary (sorry if I missed anyone).
Original question: Someone has notifiable electrical work provided by an uncertified electrician then another electrician signs test certificate without actually visiting and testing himself. Is this Valid? Answer: Not officially, but it happens.... Routes to get certificate
An electrician could have been assessed in a Competent Person Scheme and be able to certify his own work. He needs to be company registered.
A company employing several electricians may only have one person as ‘QS’, That person may then approve the work of the other electricians, apparently as if it was his own (I am not advocating this as ideal, simply that it happens)
A person registered with NAPIT for Third Party Certification (TPC) can assess an un-certified electricians work and must be involved in planning the work and final testing.
A Local Authority Building Control Department can be asked directly to issue a certificate, they may ask for evidence or send someone to inspect.
In practice informal arrangements do occur, basically outside the rules, e.g where unofficially an electrician may join a company with a QS for the duration of the work in order to gain the certificate (ie use route 2). However this may not stand up to scrutiny.
Thanks everyone. In this particular instance I believe route 4, via the local authority, would be appropriate but that the electrician who contracted to undertake the work in the first place should compensate the customer, ie pay for the local authority work. Thats is assuming the certificate is not issued anyway (despite not following the rules). You could argue the customer should have checked the electrician was able to certify the work correctly at the start, in practice its hard for a general member of the public to understand the nuances. Several of you commented on the inadequacy of the rules around Part P. As one person said, every electrician undertaking this work should be a competent person and registered.
