HOW TO HIRE · ELECTRICAL

How to hire an outbuilding electrician in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Power to a shed or garage is usually notifiable. The register check, the cable and earthing questions, and the certificates to keep.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring an outbuilding electrician in five steps

  1. Say what it will powerA light and a socket, or a workshop with power tools and a heater.
  2. Check the registerIn England and Wales, look up whoever will do the outbuilding supply on the Registered Competent Person Electrical register.
  3. Agree the cable routeBuried armoured cable, or a protected run along a wall.
  4. Ask about a sub-boardA workshop or detached garage usually needs its own small consumer unit.
  5. Keep the certificate and cable mapCertificate on the day; a sketch of where the cable runs.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

Registered Competent Person Electrical

In England and Wales, the outbuilding supply is usually a new circuit, which is notifiable, and in Wales outdoor work is notifiable as well. For the notifiable parts of the outbuilding supply, an electrician registered with a government-authorised scheme (NICEIC or NAPIT, say) signs off compliance with the Building Regulations; without one, building control must be notified before work starts and inspects for a fee.

Search the business name on the register before you agree the outbuilding supply. electricalcompetentperson.co.uk →

Electrical Installation Certificate

When the outbuilding supply is a new circuit it is tested to BS 7671 and recorded on an Electrical Installation Certificate. When the outbuilding supply is notifiable, expect the scheme's Building Regulations compliance certificate too: 8 weeks is gov.uk's figure for England, 30 days the Welsh Government's.

The certificate for the outbuilding supply, readings included, should be handed over on completion — ask for it then. gov.wales →

Building warrant (Scotland) and Northern Ireland

North of the border, the outbuilding supply 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. For the outbuilding supply in Northern Ireland, the building regulations contain no Part P-style notification scheme for domestic wiring.

Scottish homeowners should ask whether the outbuilding supply needs a warrant before work starts, and who will certify it. gov.scot →

Insurance and trader status

Public liability insurance is the norm for the outbuilding supply; ask who the insurer is and the cover limit. Your Consumer Rights Act 2015 protections for the outbuilding supply apply because you are dealing with a trader, and if you agree the outbuilding supply at home or online the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 usually give you 14 days to cancel — but you pay for any work you asked to start within those days, and goods made to your own specification are outside the right.

Get a copy of the insurance before the outbuilding supply starts, and check the profile for the ID-checked and trader badges.

VAT

Expect 20% VAT, the standard rate, on running power to an outbuilding: a business above the £90,000 registration threshold is required to charge it and to show it separately from the labour and materials.

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

“Is the outbuilding supply a new circuit?”

A good answer: Usually yes; for an attached garage a spur may do. Either way, the answer says whether it is notifiable.

“What cable will you use, and how deep will it go?”

A good answer: Armoured cable sized for the load and distance, buried at a safe depth with warning tape, or protected along a wall.

“Does the outbuilding need its own sub-board?”

A good answer: For a workshop or detached garage, usually; for one light and a socket, perhaps not.

“How will the outbuilding be earthed?”

A good answer: A clear plan, explained, for a detached building.

“Is the outbuilding dry enough for electrics?”

A good answer: An honest view: damp sheds need suitable fittings or fixing first.

“Who digs and reinstates the trench?”

A good answer: Agreed and priced before work starts.

Getting the quote right

  • Cable type, size and route
  • Trench and reinstatement, or who digs
  • Sub-board, sockets and lights inside the outbuilding
  • RCD protection and earthing
  • Who actually attends — the electrician and whoever digs the trench, employed or subcontracted — and the business's VAT number, with VAT at 20% shown as its own line
  • Certification included

Walk away if

  • An extension lead run permanently to the shed
  • Unarmoured cable buried in the garden
  • No RCD protection for the outbuilding
  • No certificate and no notification for a new circuit
  • Fittings unsuitable for a damp building
LOW
£180
TYPICAL
£500
HIGH
£1,500

What an outbuilding electrician costs: £180–£1,500 per job

An outbuilding supply is priced per job; the distance, whether cable is buried, the load and a sub-board set the figure. Outbuilding Power Supply 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

Outbuilding electricians 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. SurveyLoad, distance, the house board and the outbuilding's condition checked.
  2. Route the cableTrench dug or wall route fixed; ducts laid where needed.
  3. InstallCable connected at both ends; sub-board, sockets and lights fitted.
  4. TestCircuits tested, including RCD trip times and earth fault loop impedance.
  5. CertifyCertificate handed over; a new circuit notified through the scheme.

Spur
A branch off an existing circuit, sometimes used for an attached garage.
SWA cable
Steel wire armoured cable for buried runs.
Sub-board
A small consumer unit in the outbuilding.
Warning tape
Tape laid above buried cable to warn anyone digging.
Earth rod
A rod giving a detached building its own earth, where that is the chosen arrangement.
RCD
The safety switch that cuts power in an earth fault.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the paperworkThe Electrical Installation Certificate, any compliance certificate, and a sketch of the buried cable.
Test the RCDPress the test button on the outbuilding's board.
Use it as plannedRun the tools or heater you described; the breaker should hold.
Leave the reviewOnly booked jobs can be reviewed on Locufy, so yours carries weight; if the outbuilding supply falls short, use the make-it-right step first and the provider is asked to fix it before the review is published.

STEP 1Tell the electrician, in writingSay what is wrong with the outbuilding supply and what you want done about it. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 a trader must carry out the outbuilding supply with reasonable care and skill, and if they did not you can ask for it to be redone or for a price reduction.
STEP 2Use Locufy's make-it-right stepRate the outbuilding supply 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 workNotifiable work that nobody certified or notified is a matter for the council's building control in England and Wales, so report the outbuilding supply there if that is what happened; a missing compliance certificate can be chased through the electrician's scheme. For a dispute about the outbuilding supply 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 outbuilding supply 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 outbuilding electrician: questions people ask

If it is a new circuit, yes in England and Wales, or building control must be notified first; in Wales outdoor electrical work is notifiable in any case.

An Electrical Installation Certificate for a new circuit, or a Minor Works Certificate for a spur off an existing one.

£180–£1,500 a job, typically around £500. A short spur to an attached garage is cheapest; a long buried run with a sub-board costs most. The Outbuilding Power Supply price guide goes through it line by line; type your postcode above for outbuilding electricians in your area.

For occasional use only; a permanent supply needs proper cable, protection and certification.

For several circuits or heavy tools, usually; the electrician should explain why.

Scotland has no competent person register and works to building standard 4.5 (BS 7671); Northern Ireland has no Part P-style notification for home wiring. The certificate matters just the same.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in electrical

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Outbuilding electricians near you

Outbuilding electricians in LondonOutbuilding electricians in ManchesterOutbuilding electricians in BirminghamOutbuilding electricians in GlasgowOutbuilding electricians in BelfastAll outbuilding electricians on Locufy →

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. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — what you can ask for when a service falls short
  8. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — the 14-day cancellation period
  9. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — contracts the cancellation right does not cover
  10. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36 — services started within the cancellation period
  11. Civil Procedure Rules Part 26 — the small claims track limit (England and Wales)
  12. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — making a claim under simple procedure
  13. nidirect — the small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  14. Buildings and construction (VAT Notice 708) — 2.1 Construction services: work to an existing building is normally standard-rated
  15. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  16. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register