Finding a good electrician in Exeter should be straightforward — but the reality is that the electrical trade, like many trades, has its share of unqualified and unreliable operators. Knowing what to look for, what questions to ask, and what red flags to avoid will help you find a qualified, insured, professional electrician who will do the job correctly and give you the documentation you need at the end.
This guide covers everything from checking registration to understanding quotes, spotting warning signs, and knowing what paperwork you should receive when the work is complete.
Check NICEIC or NAPIT Registration First
The most important thing to establish before hiring any electrician for significant work is whether they are registered with an approved competent person scheme. In England, the main schemes for electrical work are NICEIC (National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting) and NAPIT (National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers). Both are government-approved competent person schemes under the Building Regulations.
Registration with NICEIC or NAPIT is not the same as being NICEIC or NAPIT "approved" or "certified" as printed on a business card. Anyone can put "NICEIC certified" on their marketing materials. What matters is verifiable current registration, which you can check on the official databases.
How to Check NICEIC Registration
NICEIC operates a public register at niceic.com/find-a-contractor. You can search by company name, electrician name, or postcode. The search results show only currently registered contractors — if a contractor is no longer registered, they will not appear. Registration is renewed annually after an assessment visit by NICEIC, so current registration is a meaningful indicator that the contractor has been assessed recently.
NICEIC operates different levels of registration. "NICEIC Approved Contractor" is the standard level for domestic electricians. "NICEIC Domestic Installer" is a lower level of registration that covers only certain types of domestic work. For significant work such as consumer unit replacement, a rewire, or an EICR, you want an NICEIC Approved Contractor rather than a Domestic Installer.
How to Check NAPIT Registration
NAPIT operates a similar public register at napit.org.uk/find-a-member. NAPIT registered members are assessed to equivalent standards to NICEIC. A NAPIT registered electrician is fully qualified to carry out Part P notifiable work and self-certify it. The choice between NICEIC and NAPIT is largely a matter of which scheme the electrician belongs to — both are government-approved and carry equivalent status.
Other competent person schemes exist — Elecsa and STROMA are also government-approved — but NICEIC and NAPIT are the most widely known and the most commonly used for domestic electrical work.
Questions to Ask Before You Book
Once you have identified an electrician who appears to be registered, a few direct questions will help confirm they are the right person for the job:
Are you registered with NICEIC or NAPIT?
Ask directly. A genuine registered electrician will answer this question immediately and will be happy to give you their registration number so you can check it on the relevant register. If there is hesitation, vagueness, or a change of subject, treat this as a warning sign.
Do you carry public liability insurance?
Any professional contractor carrying out work in your home should carry public liability insurance. This covers you if the contractor causes damage to your property during the job, or if someone is injured as a result of their work. A registered electrician will typically carry at least £2 million of public liability cover. Ask for the insurer's name and the policy number — a legitimate contractor will have this information readily available.
Will you notify the work to building control?
For any notifiable work under Part P — consumer unit replacement, new circuits, kitchen or bathroom electrical work — ask explicitly whether the work will be self-certified through the electrician's competent person scheme registration. A registered electrician will notify the work and provide you with an Electrical Installation Certificate on completion. This is not optional — it is a legal requirement, and a contractor who suggests skipping it is not someone you should work with.
Can you provide references or recent reviews?
A well-established electrician will have a track record of work in the area and will be happy to point you to recent customer reviews. Check Google, Checkatrade, or Trustpilot reviews, and look for patterns. A few negative reviews among many positive ones is normal. A pattern of complaints about no-show appointments, uncompleted work, or missing certificates is a serious concern.
Getting Multiple Quotes
For significant work — consumer unit replacement, rewiring, substantial circuit additions — getting two or three quotes is sensible. This gives you a sense of the market rate and allows you to compare what is included. A lower quote is not necessarily a red flag on its own, but it is worth understanding why one quote is substantially cheaper than others.
Make sure all quotes cover the same scope of work. A quote for a consumer unit replacement should specify what type of unit will be installed (all-RCBO or split-load), how many circuits are being connected, whether the cost includes testing, certification, and notification, and what happens if additional issues are discovered during the work. Comparing quotes that cover different scopes is not a meaningful comparison.
For smaller jobs — replacing a few sockets, adding a single circuit, carrying out an EICR — a single quote from a reputable registered electrician is usually sufficient. The variation in price for standard work is not large enough to justify the time spent collecting multiple quotes.
Red Flags to Watch For
Several warning signs should make you reconsider booking a particular electrician:
- Cash only payment: A legitimate business will accept bank transfer or card payment. Cash-only requests often indicate that the trader is operating outside normal business arrangements, possibly including not being registered and not intending to provide certification.
- No paperwork: Any significant electrical work should result in documentation — at minimum an invoice, and for notifiable work an Electrical Installation Certificate. An electrician who suggests paperwork is unnecessary is either unregistered or intending to carry out unnotified work.
- Cannot provide a certificate: If asked whether they will provide an Electrical Installation Certificate and they say no, or say certificates are not needed, this is a serious red flag for notifiable work. Every registered electrician self-certifying Part P work is obligated to provide this certificate.
- Cannot verify registration: If an electrician claims to be registered but cannot give you a verifiable registration number, or if the number does not appear on the NICEIC or NAPIT register, do not proceed.
- Pressure to decide immediately: A genuine professional will give you time to consider a quote. High-pressure sales tactics — "I can only hold this price if you agree today" — are not the hallmark of a reputable business.
- No fixed address or company details: A legitimate electrical business will have a traceable address and company or sole trader registration details. A business that operates only via a mobile number and has no traceable presence is higher risk.
Why Cheap Is Not Always Better
The cheapest quote is not necessarily the best value. Electrical work that is done incorrectly or without certification can cost significantly more to put right than the original job, because you then need to pay a qualified electrician both to assess the existing work and to remediate any problems. If substandard work results in an EICR failure, you will pay for the EICR and then for the remedial work on top.
The cost of hiring a registered, insured electrician who provides proper certification is the cost of having the job done properly the first time. That cost should be your benchmark when evaluating quotes, not the lowest number you can find.
Understanding Quotes and Invoices
A professional quote should itemise what work is being done, what materials are included, what the labour cost is, and the total price inclusive of VAT if the contractor is VAT registered. It should specify what the price does not include — for example, if making good after chasing cables is not included, this should be clear upfront.
The invoice after completion should match the quote for the agreed scope of work. Any additional work or materials not covered by the original quote should be agreed with you in advance and reflected in a separate line on the invoice.
What Documentation to Expect After the Work
When an electrician completes notifiable work in your home, you should receive:
- An Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC): This certifies that the work was carried out by a registered person, tested against BS 7671, and found to be safe. It includes details of the work done, test results, and the responsible person's signature.
- A Building Regulations Compliance Certificate: This is issued by the competent person scheme and confirms that the work has been notified to the relevant authority. You should receive this by post or email, typically within a few weeks of completion.
- An invoice: A clear, itemised invoice for the work carried out.
For an EICR inspection specifically, you should receive the EICR report — a multi-page document showing the overall result, all observations and their codes, and the full schedule of test results for each circuit.
All electrical work certificates should be stored with your property documents. They will be required if you sell the property, and they are evidence that work was done correctly if any issue arises later. For landlords, the EICR must be retained until the next inspection and provided to each electrician who carries out work at the property.
If you are looking for a qualified EICR inspector in Exeter or need an emergency electrician in Exeter, our booking service connects you with NICEIC-registered contractors who provide full documentation on completion of every job.