Which Competent Person Scheme Should I Join?

Summary

A Competent Person Scheme (CPS) is the UK government's mechanism for letting tradespeople self-certify their own work as Building Regulations compliant. Without a CPS membership, every regulated job (a new circuit, a replacement boiler, a new front door) requires you to submit a Building Control notice, pay a fee, and wait for an inspector. With CPS membership, you do the work, log a self-certified compliance certificate with the scheme, and the scheme notifies Building Control automatically. The customer gets the certificate as proof their installation is compliant.

For a tradesperson, CPS membership is essentially a licence to operate efficiently — without it, you can still do regulated work but the Building Control notification process becomes a real cost and timing problem. Most established trades treat scheme membership as a non-negotiable business cost.

This article covers which scheme applies to which trade, the differences between competing schemes for the same trade, the costs, what you need to pass assessment, and the consequences of working without registration where it's required.

Key Facts

• Mandatory schemes — Gas Safe Register (gas work in Great Britain by law), HETAS or OFTEC where applicable for fuel-burning appliances
• Discretionary but commercially essential — Part P electrical schemes (NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA, BSI, STROMA/RECS, Certsure); FENSA/CERTASS for windows; APHC/CIPHE for plumbing
• What CPS gives you — self-certification of building regs compliance, scheme-issued compliance certificates, ability to register work without separate Building Control notices, public listing in the scheme's customer directory
• Cost (typical annual) — £400–£900 first year (including assessment fee), £200–£500 renewal
• Assessment requirement — initial workplace inspection by scheme assessor, ongoing periodic re-assessment (usually annual or biennial)
• Insurance requirement — scheme will require evidence of Public Liability insurance (typically £2m–£10m)
• Qualifications needed — varies by scheme. Electrical: 18th Edition (BS 7671) + relevant NVQ level 3 or equivalent. Gas: ACS (Accredited Certification Scheme) certification per appliance type. Plumbing: relevant NVQ level 2/3
• Working without CPS — legal for most trades (illegal for gas work without Gas Safe). But all regulated work must still go through Building Control with a fee per notice (typically £200–£500 per job)
• Approved Document Part P (Electrical) — defines notifiable electrical work and the CPS schemes authorised to self-certify
• Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010 — the underlying statute enabling CPSs

Quick Reference Table

Detailed Guidance

Gas Safe Register (mandatory for all gas work)

You cannot legally work on gas appliances or gas pipework in Great Britain without Gas Safe Register registration. Working unregistered is a criminal offence under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. Registration requires:

• ACS certificates for each appliance type you'll work on (e.g. CCN1 + CENWAT for domestic boilers; HTR1 for gas fires)
• Business registration with HSE-approved scheme administrator
• Public liability insurance
• ID card with your scheme number — must be presentable on demand

Annual cost ~£400 first year, ~£200 renewal. Includes a randomly-allocated inspection of your work.

Electrical Part P schemes — choosing between competitors

Part P of the Building Regulations covers electrical safety in dwellings. Notifiable work (new circuits, work in bathroom zones 0–2, consumer unit replacement) must be either:

• Self-certified by a Part P CPS member, or
• Notified to Building Control before starting

The major Part P schemes are:

• NICEIC — the oldest, most recognised. Two tiers: Approved Contractor (commercial work) and Domestic Installer (residential)
• NAPIT — competitor scheme, similar offering, slightly cheaper
• ELECSA — now part of Certsure (the same body that runs NICEIC)
• BSI — fewer members, more rigorous assessment
• STROMA Certification — broader CPS provider, covers electrical and other trades
• Certsure — parent body of NICEIC and ELECSA; provides direct scheme access

All schemes give equivalent regulatory cover — you can self-certify Part P work as a member of any of them. NICEIC has the strongest brand recognition with consumers; NAPIT is often cheaper. Choose based on cost, geographic assessor availability, and any specialism (EV, solar, etc.) you want extra accreditation for.

HETAS and OFTEC — solid fuel and oil

HETAS (Heating Equipment Testing and Approval Scheme) covers solid fuel, biomass, and wood-burning appliance installation. Becoming HETAS registered lets you self-certify Building Regulations Part J (combustion appliances) compliance.

OFTEC (Oil Firing Technical Association) covers oil-fired boilers and tanks. Self-certification under OFTEC covers Part J and Part L for oil systems. Both schemes require evidence of training, public liability insurance, and competence assessment.

FENSA and CERTASS — windows and doors

Replacement windows and doors are regulated under Part L (energy efficiency) and Part Q (security, on new builds). Both schemes let you self-certify replacement installs, with the scheme registering the work with the local authority and issuing a certificate to the customer.

• FENSA — Fenestration Self-Assessment Scheme. Largest, most established
• CERTASS — competitor scheme, similar fees and coverage

A FENSA or CERTASS certificate is something solicitors check on house sale — replacements without it require the customer to retrospectively obtain a Building Regulations Certificate, often involving rework. Skipping registration is a real cost to the customer.

APHC, CIPHE, and WaterSafe — plumbing

The plumbing trade has no Part P equivalent for general plumbing work — most plumbing isn't notifiable. Where notification is required (e.g. unvented hot water cylinder install, Building Regs Part G), the schemes that exist are:

• APHC (Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors) — competent person scheme covering unvented hot water and Part L heating commissioning
• CIPHE Registered Plumbers — Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering's member scheme
• WaterSafe — UK-wide scheme for installers approved under the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999. Required for Reg 4 notifiable work or as alternative to notifying the water company

MCS for renewables

The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) is not a Building Regs CPS — it's a quality scheme that's required to access government grants (Boiler Upgrade Scheme, Smart Export Guarantee). Solar PV, heat pump, biomass, and battery installers must be MCS-certified for the customer to access grant funding. Most installers route MCS through their existing CPS provider (NICEIC, NAPIT, Certsure, etc.).

Costs and renewal

Most tradespeople end up paying £600–£1,200/year total in scheme fees across the schemes their trade requires.

The cost of NOT joining

If you do notifiable work without CPS registration, you must submit a Building Control notice, pay the fee (typically £200–£500 per job), and wait for inspection. Skipping this entirely is illegal — the work is non-compliant, the customer can't easily sell the property without remediation, and you can be prosecuted for breach of Building Regulations. The CPS fees pay for themselves on the first 2–4 jobs of the year for most trades.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I join multiple schemes for the same trade?

Yes — some electricians join NICEIC for the brand recognition AND NAPIT for the customer-finder service. Costs add up, so most settle on one. For multi-trade businesses, you may need different schemes for different trades (e.g. Gas Safe + NICEIC + HETAS for a heating-and-electrical firm).

What happens if I fail an assessment?

The scheme will give you a remedial period to address issues — typically 3–6 months. Repeated failure or serious issues can lead to expulsion. Most failures are paperwork-related (test certificates not maintained, IRMs not done) rather than work-quality.

Do I need a CPS to work commercially?

Most commercial schemes require Approved Contractor level (NICEIC AC, NAPIT AC) which has stricter requirements than the domestic-only schemes. Some commercial clients require specific scheme membership as a tender condition.

Can a non-CPS member do Part P work and just notify Building Control?

Yes, legally. Practically, the fee per job (£200–£500) and the inspection wait time make this uncompetitive for any electrician doing more than a handful of jobs a year. CPS is the de facto standard.

What if my customer asks "are you Part P registered?"

The correct answer is your scheme membership (e.g. "I'm NICEIC-registered, here's my number"). "Part P registered" isn't technically a thing — Part P is the regulation, not the scheme. Scheme members are "Part P CPS members" or "registered with NICEIC for Part P self-certification."

Regulations & Standards

• Building (Approved Inspectors etc.) Regulations 2010 — the statutory basis for Competent Person Schemes

• Approved Document Part P — Electrical safety in dwellings; defines notifiable work and CPS schemes

• Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 — statutory requirement for Gas Safe Register registration

• Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 — defines notifiable water fittings work and approved installer scheme (WaterSafe)

• Building Regulations Part L, Part Q, Part G, Part J — the parts most commonly self-certified via CPS membership

• Competent Person Schemes — current list — gov.uk official list

• Gas Safe Register — Gas Safe

• NICEIC — NICEIC

• NAPIT — NAPIT

• FENSA — FENSA

• HETAS — HETAS

• cscs card types and routes — site access certification (separate from CPS)

• public liability — insurance requirements for scheme membership

• building control process — when you DO have to notify Building Control

• two way and intermediate switching — example of Part P notifiable work