HOW TO HIRE · ELECTRICAL

How to hire a garden lighting electrician in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Outdoor work is notifiable in Wales; a new circuit is in England. The register check, the cable and protection questions, and the certificate to get.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a garden lighting electrician in five steps

  1. Mark what you want litPath, patio, door, trees — a sketch with distances from the house.
  2. Check the registerIn England and Wales, look up whoever will do the garden lighting on the Registered Competent Person Electrical register.
  3. Ask about the cable routeClipped to walls or buried in a trench, and how deep.
  4. Insist on RCD protectionEvery outdoor circuit, with weatherproof fittings.
  5. Get the certificate and a cable mapThe certificate, and a drawing of where any buried cable runs.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

Registered Competent Person Electrical

In England and Wales, in Wales outdoor electrical work is notifiable; in England a new circuit for the garden is notifiable, while adding lights to an existing circuit away from a bath or shower is not. Should any part of the garden lighting be notifiable, the simplest route is an electrician on an authorised competent person scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT, who self-certifies it; the alternative is notifying building control in advance and paying for its inspection.

Type the business name into the register's search before the garden lighting is booked. electricalcompetentperson.co.uk →

Electrical Installation Certificate

When the garden lighting goes on a new circuit it is tested to BS 7671 and recorded on an Electrical Installation Certificate; lights added to an existing circuit get a Minor Works Certificate. If the garden lighting is notifiable, the scheme also issues a Building Regulations compliance certificate: gov.uk says within 8 weeks in England, and the Welsh Government says the electrician should arrange it within 30 days.

Ask for the certificate, with the test results filled in, on the day the garden lighting is finished. gov.wales →

Building warrant (Scotland) and Northern Ireland

North of the border, the garden lighting 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 garden lighting too.

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

Insurance and trader status

Public liability insurance is the norm for the garden lighting; ask who the insurer is and the cover limit. Your Consumer Rights Act 2015 protections for the garden lighting apply because you are dealing with a trader, and if you agree the garden lighting 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.

Request the current insurance schedule before the garden lighting, and look at the profile badges for trader status and ID.

VAT

Installing garden lighting is standard-rated, so VAT is 20%; a firm with taxable turnover over £90,000 must be VAT-registered, charge that 20% and show it as a separate line on the quote and invoice.

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

“Will the garden lighting be on a new circuit?”

A good answer: Yes or no with a reason; a new outdoor circuit is notifiable in England and Wales, and in Wales any outdoor electrical work is.

“How will cable to the far lights be run?”

A good answer: Armoured cable buried at a safe depth with warning tape, or a protected route along walls — described on the quote.

“Is every outdoor light RCD-protected?”

A good answer: Yes, without exception.

“What IP rating are the outdoor lights?”

A good answer: A rating suited to the spot: higher for fittings in the ground or near water.

“How will the lights be controlled?”

A good answer: Switch, timer, dusk sensor or smart control, agreed in advance.

“Will security lights dazzle the neighbours?”

A good answer: PIR lights angled down onto your own ground, with the sensor set sensibly.

Getting the quote right

  • Each fitting by type, IP rating and position
  • Cable type, route and trench depth
  • RCD protection and any new circuit at the consumer unit
  • Controls: timers, sensors or smart switching
  • Who actually attends — the electrician wiring the outdoor circuit, employed or subcontracted — and the business's VAT number, with VAT at 20% shown as its own line
  • Certification included

Walk away if

  • Outdoor lights without RCD protection
  • Indoor cable run outside or buried without armour
  • No cable map for buried runs
  • Won't say whether the job is notifiable in Wales
  • No certificate for a new circuit
LOW
£80
TYPICAL
£200
HIGH
£500

What a garden lighting electrician costs: £80–£500 per job

Garden lighting is priced per job: a single light on existing wiring is cheapest, while several fittings, trenching and a new RCD-protected circuit cost more. Outdoor & Garden 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

Garden lighting 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. DesignLight positions, cable route and controls agreed on a sketch.
  2. Trench and run cableArmoured cable laid at depth with warning tape, or protected along walls.
  3. ConnectFittings mounted and sealed; the circuit connected with RCD protection.
  4. TestInsulation resistance, earth fault loop impedance and RCD operation tested.
  5. CertifyCertificate and cable map handed over; a new circuit notified through the scheme.

Armoured cable
Cable with a steel layer for burying or outdoor runs.
IP rating
How well a fitting keeps out water and dust.
PIR
A motion sensor that switches a light when someone passes.
Dusk-to-dawn sensor
A light sensor that switches lights on at dusk.
Low-voltage garden lights
Lights run from a transformer at a lower voltage.
RCD
The safety switch that outdoor circuits must have.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the certificate and cable mapThe certificate and a drawing of buried cable routes, so nobody digs through them.
Test at duskTimers, sensors and every fitting working as agreed.
Check the sealsGlands and covers tight; fittings in the ground drained.
Leave the reviewOnly booked jobs can be reviewed on Locufy, so yours carries weight; if the garden lighting falls short, use the make-it-right step first and the provider is asked to fix it before the review is published.

STEP 1Complain to the electrician firstEmail or message so there is a record, setting out the defect in the garden lighting and what you expect. A trader owes reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015; the remedies it sets are a second attempt, then a price reduction.
STEP 2Use Locufy's make-it-right stepRate the garden lighting 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 garden lighting 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 garden lighting 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 garden lighting 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 a garden lighting electrician: questions people ask

In Wales outdoor electrical work is notifiable; in England a new outdoor circuit is. Notifiable work must be self-certified by a scheme electrician or notified to building control first.

An Electrical Installation Certificate for a new circuit, or a Minor Works Certificate for lights added to an existing one, with the test results.

£80–£500 a job, typically around £200. A single floodlight is cheapest; several lights and a buried cable run cost more. For what is usually included, read the Outdoor & Garden Lighting price guide; enter a postcode above to compare garden lighting electricians locally.

Deep enough to be safe from digging, armoured, with warning tape above; ask the electrician to note the route.

They are safer to touch, but the transformer still needs a proper outdoor supply.

Yes; angle them onto your own property and set the sensor range sensibly.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in electrical

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Garden lighting electricians near you

Garden lighting electricians in LondonGarden lighting electricians in ManchesterGarden lighting electricians in BirminghamGarden lighting electricians in GlasgowGarden lighting electricians in BelfastAll garden lighting electricians on Locufy →Do it yourself: fitting solar and low-voltage plug-in garden lighting →

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