What electrical certificates should a charger installer give you?

Ask for an Electrical Installation Certificate covering the new charger circuit, with its inspection and test records. The IET's model certificate includes circuit details and test-result schedules under BS 7671 [S1]. A minor works certificate excludes new circuits [S2]. Agree the documentation before work starts and check that its scope matches the installation you receive. Checked October 2026.

Last checked 16 October 2026

What certificate should you receive for a new charger installation?

Put an Electrical Installation Certificate, or EIC, into the handover requirements for a new charger circuit. The IET model records the installation’s extent and responsibility for design, construction, inspection and testing. It also includes schedules for circuit details and test results [S1].

Ask the contractor to identify the work covered before installation starts. A project might include chargers, a distribution board, a supply cable and alterations elsewhere on the site. You need to understand which documents cover those elements and who is responsible for supplying them.

Request a sample blank certificate with the quotation. This gives your facilities team a chance to agree how assets will be described. It also helps when you compare quotes like for like: the cheapest-looking scope may omit documentation or assessment that another quotation includes.

What electrical certificate requirements should be in your order?

Use a short handover schedule. The following table is a purchasing checklist; ask the installer to identify the applicable evidence for your particular work.

Keep certification, product information and operating instructions together. The IET model forms provide a reference for the electrical certification [S3]; your order can separately specify the operational records your team needs. Do not treat the manufacturer’s product declaration as the contractor’s installation record.

For a multi-stage project, ask how records will be issued for each completed stage. Give the installer the asset naming convention used by your site. Avoid receiving a pack full of unexplained labels that nobody can match to the actual parking bays.

How much does an electrical installation certificate cost?

There is no verified universal certificate price in this guide. Request a written breakdown showing design, inspection, testing, commissioning and documentation within the installation scope. The IET makes blank model forms available under its usage conditions [S3]. That does not make the professional work of testing and certifying your installation free.

When comparing costs, ask whether the quote includes investigation of the existing supply and correction of identified defects. Request separate approval points for additional work. This is more useful than comparing a standalone “certificate fee” without knowing what inspection and testing it buys.

If a contractor proposes only a minor works certificate, ask what work they believe is being carried out. The IET form states that it is for minor work without a new circuit [S2]. Resolve that scope question before placing the order rather than debating the document after the charger is installed.

Does the installer have to provide records for all the electrical work?

Ask for the certification scope and named responsible parties in the contract. The IET EIC distinguishes design, construction and inspection-and-testing responsibilities [S1]. Your project may involve different organisations, so make the handover responsibility explicit to avoid a gap between their scopes.

Ask the installer to explain how its certification relates to BS 7671 Section 722 and the agreed design. Request explanations of departures or exclusions in plain language. Your role is to check that evidence has been supplied and that unresolved questions have an owner, rather than attempting to interpret test readings yourself.

Keep building-control evidence separate. The GOV.UK page for Approved Document P identifies its application to electrical safety in dwellings in England [S5]. Do not use domestic paperwork assumptions for every hotel, farm building or depot. Ask the relevant council which building-control requirements apply to your premises and works. Check legal responsibility with your solicitor if the position is unclear.

What should you do if the charger paperwork is missing?

Write to the contracting party with the site address, project reference and a list of missing records. Request the complete certificate and associated schedules rather than a screenshot of a signature page. Ask who will resolve discrepancies between the paperwork and the equipment on site.

Where a fully funded operator commissioned the work, request the handover route through that operator. For part funded or self funded work, identify the contractor responsible under your own order. Retain the request and the response with the asset record so that the next site manager can follow what happened.

If safety is uncertain, obtain a competent electrical assessment and an agreed operating decision. HSE’s maintenance guidance explains the need to prevent danger and to tailor maintenance to the equipment [S4]. Do not use a successful charging session as a substitute for the missing inspection evidence.

Finally, ask for the ongoing maintenance arrangements. Record how faults are reported, who can isolate equipment and where subsequent repair records will be kept.

What should you do next?

Include your required handover pack when you get matched with an installer that covers your area. Review what a site survey checks before agreeing the installation scope.

Piggy Pineapple Ltd operates this referral service. We refer enquiries to installer partners and may be paid a fee. Our owner holds shares in at least one partner. Before passing on your details, we name the proposed partner and disclose any shareholding our owner holds in it. Read how we work.