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United Kingdom

Competency standards for qualified Electricians in the UK are overseen by a certification body to whom they should be registered in order to practice.

The two qualification awarding organisations are City and Guilds and EAL. Electrical competence is required at Level 3 to practice as a 'qualified electrician' in the UK. Once qualified and demonstrating the required level of competence an Electrician can apply to register for a Joint Industry Board Electrotechnical Certification Scheme card in order to work on building sites or other controlled areas.

Although partly covered during Level 3 training, more in depth knowledge and qualifications can be obtained covering subjects such as Design and Verification or Testing and Inspection among others. These additional qualifications can be listed on the reverse of the JIB card. Beyond this level is additional training and qualifications such as EV charger installations or training and working in specialist areas such as street furniture or within industry.

The Electricity at Work Regulations are a statutory document that covers the use and proper maintenance of electrical equipment and installations within businesses and other organisations such as charities. Parts of the Building Regulations cover the legal requirements of the installation of electrical technical equipment with Part P outlining most of the regulations covering dwellings

Information regarding design, selection, installation and testing of electrical structures is provided in the non-statutory publication 'Requirements for Electrical Installations, IET Wiring Regulations, Eighteenth Edition, BS 7671:2018' otherwise known as the Wiring Regulations or 'Regs'. Usual amendments are published on an ad hoc bases when minor changes occur. The first major update of the 18th Edition were published during February 2020 mainly covering the section covering Electric vehicles charger installations although an addendum was published during December 2019 correcting some minor mistakes and adding some small changes. The IET also publish a series of 'Guidance Notes' in book form that provide further in-depth knowledge.

With the exception of the work covered by Part P of the Building Regulations, such as installing consumer units, new circuits or work in bathrooms, there are no laws that prevent anyone from carrying out some basic electrical work in the UK.