HOW TO HIRE · ELECTRICAL

How to hire an LED lighting installer in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

LED work ranges from new lamps to new circuits. The register check, the questions that stop flicker, and the certificate for new points.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring an LED lighting installer in five steps

  1. Decide: lamps, fittings or new pointsNew lamps need no electrician; new fittings and new points do.
  2. Search the registerBefore you book the LED upgrade in England or Wales, find the business on the Registered Competent Person Electrical register.
  3. Match dimmers to the LEDsOld dimmers often flicker with LEDs; replace them with LED-rated ones.
  4. Agree colour and brightnessWarm or cool white, and the lumen output per room, written on the quote.
  5. Get a certificate for new pointsMinor Works for additions to an existing circuit.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

Registered Competent Person Electrical

In England and Wales, replacing fittings with LED ones is not notifiable; new LED points near a bath or shower are, and in Wales new points in a kitchen or outdoors; a new circuit is notifiable in both. Where the LED upgrade is notifiable, an electrician on a government-authorised competent person scheme, such as NICEIC or NAPIT, self-certifies it under the Building Regulations; anyone else must notify building control before starting, and you pay for that inspection.

Search the business name on the register before you agree the LED upgrade. electricalcompetentperson.co.uk →

Electrical Installation Certificate

When the LED upgrade adds points or drivers to a circuit it is tested to BS 7671 and recorded on a Minor Works Certificate. Where the LED upgrade is notifiable, a Building Regulations compliance certificate follows from the scheme — within 8 weeks in England according to gov.uk, and arranged within 30 days in Wales according to the Welsh Government.

Get the certificate and its schedule of results on the day the LED upgrade is completed. gov.wales →

Building warrant (Scotland) and Northern Ireland

North of the border, the LED upgrade has to satisfy building standard 4.5, so wiring to BS 7671; no competent person register applies, and work such as rewiring a flat calls for a building warrant in the owner's name. Northern Ireland has no Part P-style notification rule for home wiring, which covers the LED upgrade too.

In Scotland, check with the electrician or the council whether the LED upgrade needs a warrant, and whether the electrician can certify it as an approved certifier. gov.scot →

Insurance and trader status

Ask who insures the trader doing the LED upgrade and for how much; public liability is standard. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 covers the LED upgrade when the provider is a trader, and a contract made off-premises or online can usually be cancelled within 14 days under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 — less what was done if you asked for an early start, and not at all for goods made to your specification.

Ask for the insurance certificate before the LED upgrade is booked, and look for the trader and ID-checked badges on the Locufy profile.

VAT

HMRC puts fitting LED lighting at the standard rate of 20%; once a trader's taxable turnover passes £90,000 it must register, charge the 20% and list it apart from the price of the work.

Ask for the VAT number, and look for VAT as its own line on the LED quote. gov.uk →

“Will my existing dimmers work with the LED fittings?”

A good answer: A clear answer: many older dimmers do not, and the quote should include LED-rated replacements where needed.

“Where will the LED drivers go for strip lighting?”

A good answer: Somewhere ventilated and reachable for replacement — not sealed behind a kitchen plinth for ever.

“What LED colour temperature and brightness do you suggest?”

A good answer: A recommendation per room, written down, so the result matches what you pictured.

“Do any LED lighting fittings need to be fire-rated or bathroom-rated?”

A good answer: Fittings matched to the ceiling and to the bathroom zones, with the IP rating stated.

“Is any of the LED upgrade notifiable?”

A good answer: Not for replacements; yes for points near a bath or shower, a new circuit, and in Wales kitchens and outdoors.

“What certificate will I get?”

A good answer: A Minor Works Certificate for new points or drivers on an existing circuit.

Getting the quote right

  • Each fitting or strip by type, colour temperature and output
  • Drivers and dimmers named
  • New points or circuits listed separately from straight swaps
  • Certification included for new points
  • Who actually attends — the electrician fitting the drivers and strips, employed or subcontracted — and the business's VAT number, with VAT at 20% shown as its own line

Walk away if

  • Keeps old dimmers on new LEDs without checking compatibility
  • Drivers buried where they cannot be reached
  • No IP rating for bathroom fittings
  • No certificate for new points
  • A price that depends on 'whatever lamps we have on the van'
LOW
£25
TYPICAL
£100
HIGH
£400

What an LED lighting installer costs: £25–£400 per job

LED lighting work is priced per job: lamp swaps are quick, while new fittings, strip lighting with drivers and smart controls cost more. LED Lighting price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

LED lighting installers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. SurveyExisting fittings, dimmers and circuits checked for LED compatibility.
  2. IsolateLighting circuits switched off and proved dead.
  3. InstallFittings, strips and drivers fitted; dimmers replaced where needed.
  4. TestAltered circuits tested; every light dimmed through its range.
  5. Certify and hand overCertificate for new points, and the fitting and driver details for you.

Lumen
The measure of how much light a lamp gives.
Kelvin
The measure of colour temperature: warm white is lower, cool white higher.
Driver
The unit that converts mains power for LEDs.
LED-rated dimmer
A dimmer designed for the low loads of LED lamps.
Strip lighting
LEDs on a flexible strip, often under cabinets or along plinths.
Minor Works Certificate
The certificate for new or altered points on an existing circuit.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the detailsFitting models, driver types and any Minor Works Certificate — LED fittings are hard to match later without them.
Check every dimmer at its lowestNo flicker or hum; if there is, ask for a compatible dimmer.
Know the warrantyLED fittings and drivers carry their own; note it on the invoice.
Review the jobOnly booked jobs can be reviewed on Locufy, so yours carries weight; if the LED upgrade falls short, use the make-it-right step first and the provider is asked to fix it before the review is published.

STEP 1Start with the electrician, in writingSend the electrician a short, dated account of the problem with the LED upgrade and the fix you want. Section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 implies reasonable care and skill into the contract, and section 54 gives you repeat performance or a price reduction when it is missing.
STEP 2Use Locufy's make-it-right stepRate the LED upgrade under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the provider first; we follow it through. Then the review goes up.
STEP 3Unsafe or uncertified workWhere the LED upgrade needed self-certifying or notifying in England or Wales and neither happened, building control at the council is the place to go; if only the compliance certificate is missing, ask the electrician's scheme to follow it up. For a dispute about the LED upgrade with the trader, Trading Standards is reached through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Money still in disputeIf the LED upgrade is still not settled, you can claim without a solicitor: the small claims track takes claims up to £10,000 in England and Wales, simple procedure up to £5,000 in Scotland, and the small claims court up to £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring an LED lighting installer: questions people ask

Not for new lamps or like-for-like fittings. New LED points near a bath or shower, a new circuit, and in Wales new points in a kitchen or outdoors are notifiable.

A Minor Works Certificate for new points or drivers on an existing circuit; an Electrical Installation Certificate for a new circuit.

£25–£400 a job, typically around £100. A lamp swap is the small end; rooms of new fittings, strips and smart controls cost more. There is a line-by-line breakdown in the LED Lighting price guide, and the postcode box above brings up LED lighting installers in your area.

The dimmer is usually not suited to the low LED load; an LED-rated dimmer fixes it.

Yes; changing lamps is not electrical installation work. Check the new lamp suits the fitting and the dimmer.

Not usually; they run from an existing lighting circuit through a driver, which must be reachable.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in electrical

How to hire: Lighting InstallationHow to hire: Downlight InstallationHow to hire: Outdoor & Garden LightingHow to hire: Socket & Switch InstallationHow to hire: ElectricianHow to hire: Smoke & Heat Alarm InstallationHow to hire: Garden Office ElectricsHow to hire: Electrical Fault FindingAll 701 hiring guides →

LED lighting installers near you

LED lighting installers in LondonLED lighting installers in ManchesterLED lighting installers in BirminghamLED lighting installers in GlasgowLED lighting installers in BelfastAll led lighting installers on Locufy →Do it yourself: switching to led and replacing a light fitting like for like →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk — Approved Document P: electrical safety in dwellings (England)
  2. Registered Competent Person Electrical register
  3. gov.uk — building work, replacements and repairs to your home (England)
  4. gov.wales — building regulations: electrics
  5. gov.scot — Building Standards Technical Handbook 2022 (domestic), standard 4.5 electrical safety
  6. gov.uk — building regulations: when you do not need approval
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — what you can ask for when a service falls short
  9. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — the 14-day cancellation period
  10. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — contracts the cancellation right does not cover
  11. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36 — services started within the cancellation period
  12. Civil Procedure Rules Part 26 — the small claims track limit (England and Wales)
  13. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — making a claim under simple procedure
  14. nidirect — the small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  15. Buildings and construction (VAT Notice 708) — 2.1 Construction services: work to an existing building is normally standard-rated
  16. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  17. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register