Niceic Domestic minor works certificate

General
The NICEIC Minor Domestic Electrical Installation Works Certificate is to be used only for an addition or an alteration to a single circuit that does not extend to the provision of a new circuit Examples of where this certificate may be used include the addition of a socket-outlet to an existing circuit or the addition of a lighting point to an existing circuit. A separate certificate should be issued for each existing circuit on which minor electrical installation works is carried out Alternatively, for works involving more than one circuit a Domestic Electrical Installation Certificate may be used.

The minor electrical installation work must comply with BS 7671, including amendments. Before commencing the work, the Domestic Installer must ascertain that the rating and condition of any existing equipment including that of the distributor (which may have to carry any additional load), are adequate to accommodate in safety the altered circumstances resulting from the modifications, and that the earthing and bonding arrangements (if necessary for the protective measures applied for the safety of the addition or alteration) are also adequate (see Regulation 131.8).

Where a Domestic Installer discovers the existence of a dangerous or potentially dangerous situation in the existing installation (such as the absence of earthing or protective bonding conductors where the protective measure against electric shock is ADS), the alteration or addition should not proceed and the client should be advised immediately, preferably in writing, to satisfy the duties imposed on competent persons by the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.

The certificate marked ‘Original’ is to be given to the person ordering the work, as required by Regulation 631.1. The certificate marked ‘Duplicate’ is to be retained by the Domestic Installer and made available for review by the NICEIC Area Engineer. The duplicate certificate must be retained for reference purposes for at least 3 years.

It is the responsibility of the compiler of the certificate to ensure that the information provided on the certificate is factual, and that the electrical installation work to which the certificate relates is safe to be put into service.

If wiring alterations or additions are made to an installation such that wiring colours to two versions of BS 7671 exist, a warning notice must be affixed at or near the appropriate consumer unit or distribution board.

Completing the Domestic minor workds certificate

Part 1: Details of the minor works certificate
The minor electrical installation works must be clearly defined such that the work to which the certificate relates can be readily identified. All the boxes must be completed with the appropriate details that will precisely describe the work, its location and any other relevant features. In cases where no contract reference has been allocated and where, as will generally be the case, no departures from BS 7671 are sanctioned by the designer, the box(es) must record ‘None’, as appropriate. Any departures from the requirements of BS 7671 must not reduce the degree of safety.

Part 2: Details of the modified circuit
The information required in the boxes in this part of the certificate refers to both the existing installation and the modified circuit The system type must be indicated by the insertion of a ‘yes’ or a tick ‘/‘ in one of the three boxes, as appropriate. The protective measure for protection against electric shock for the modified circuit must be selected from the available options set out in Chapter 41 of BS 7671. Details relating to the overcurrent protective device and, if fitted, the residual current device together with, if appropriate, the wiring system details must also be entered. Where the protective measure against electric shock is Automatic Disconnection of Supply (ADS), the maximum disconnection time and the maximum earth fault loop impedance (Z5) permitted by BS 7671 must be recorded.

Space has been provided to record any deficiencies in the condition of unrelated parts of the existing installation observed during the course of the work. (There is no requirement to carry out a formal inspection of such unrelated parts of the existing installation in conjunction with the minor works).

Part 3: Inspection and testing of the modified circuit and related parts
The relevant provisions of Part 6 (Inspection and Testing) of BS 7671 must be applied in full to electrical installation works covered by a Minor Domestic Electrical Installation Works Certificate. For example, where a socket-outlet is added to an existing circuit, it is necessary to:

Carry out all necessary inspections and testing of the modified circuit and related parts of the installation and supply on which the circuit depends for protection, including such inspection and testing to confirm that the earthing and protective bonding arrangements are both adequate and reliable

Check continuity and resistance of protective conductor(s) to establish that the earthing contact of the socket-outlet is reliably and effectively connected to the main earthing terminal of the installation via a low impedance circuit protective conductor

Measure the insulation resistances, line to line, line to neutral, and line to earth of the circuit that has been modified, and establish that the resistance values comply with Table 61A of BS 7671

Check that the polarity at the socket-outlet is correct

Measure the maximum earth fault loop impedance to establish that the permitted disconnection time is not exceeded

Check the suitability and effectiveness of the RCD, if the modified circuit is so protected

Provide a warning notice if the installation has wiring colours to two versions of BS 7671.

Generally, all boxes should be completed by inserting a ‘TICK’ to indicate that an inspection or a test was carried out and that the result was satisfactory, by inserting a measured value where appropriate, or by inserting ‘N/A’ to indicate that an inspection or test was not applicable to the particular installation.

Exceptionally, where an inspection or a test is not practicable, the entry should be ‘LIM’ meaning ‘Limitation’, indicating that the particular circumstances prevented such an inspection or test procedure from being carried out. In such cases, the limitation(s) should be agreed with the Client before the work is undertaken, and clearly identified in the space provided at the bottom of Part 3.

Note that a certificate must not be issued if the result of an inspection or test is unsatisfactory. Therefore, the insertion of a ‘X’ to indicate that the result of an inspection or test was unsatisfactory is not an option for a Minor Domestic Electrical Installation Works Certificate.

The inspections and tests identified on the certificate with the mark "TICK" are considered essential for confirming the safety of all minor electrical installation work.

Part 4: Declaration
The name and signature of the person responsible for the design, construction, inspection and testing of the modified circuit must be inserted in the spaces provided. The inspection and test results should be reviewed by the registered Qualified Supervisor, who should confirm such review by signing in the appropriate space provided. By signing this section, the Qualified Supervisor is confirming that the certificate has been completed satisfactorily prior to issue. Only a registered Qualified Supervisor employed by the Domestic Installer is recognised by NICEIC as eligible to sign the certificate to take responsibility for reviewing the results of the inspection and testing. Only a registered Qualified Supervisor directly employed by the Domestic Installer may sign the certificate to take responsibility for both the inspection and testing, and for reviewing the results.

This safety certificate has been issued to confirm that the minor electrical installation works to which it relates has been designed, constructed, inspected, tested and verified in accordance with the national standard for the safety of electrical installations, British Standard 7671 (as amended) - Requirements for Electrical Installations (the lEE Wiring Regulations).

Where, as will often be the case, the existing installation incorporates a residual current device (RCD), there should be a notice at or near the main switchboard or consumer unit stating that the device should be tested at quarterly intervals. For safety reasons, it is important that you carry out the test regularly.

Also, for safety reasons, the complete electrical installation including the minor electrical installation works which is the subject of this certificate will need to be inspected and tested at appropriate intervals by a competent person. NICEIC* recommends that you engage the services of an NICEIC Approved Contractor for this purpose. There should be a notice at or near the origin of the existing installation (such as at the consumer unit or main switchboard) which indicates when the inspection of the complete installation is next due.

Only the NICEIC Domestic Installer responsible for the work is authorised to issue this NICEIC certificate. The certificate has a printed serial number which is traceable to the Domestic Installer to which it was supplied by NICEIC.

You should have received the certificate marked ‘Original’ and the Domestic Installer should have retained the certificate marked ‘Duplicate’. The ‘Original’ certificate should be retained in a safe place and shown to any person inspecting, or undertaking further work on, the electrical installation in the future. If you later vacate the property, this certificate will demonstrate to the new user that the minor electrical installation works complied with the requirements of the national electrical safety standard at the time the certificate was issued.

The Minor Domestic Electrical Installation Works Certificate is intended to be used only for an addition or alteration to an existing circuit that does not extend to the provision of a new circuit. Examples include the addition of a socket-outlet to an existing circuit or the addition of a lighting point to an existing circuit, or the replacement or relocation of a light switch. A separate certificate should have been received for each existing circuit on which minor works has been carried out. This certificate would be considered by NICEIC to be invalid if you requested the Domestic Installer to undertake more extensive work, for which a Domestic Electrical Installation Certificate should have been issued.

Part 3 of this certificate is intended to facilitate the recording of information associated with the inspection and testing of the modified circuit, and the related parts of the existing installation on which the modified circuit depends for its safety. Generally, each box should have been completed to confirm the results of a particular inspection or test by a ‘Yes’ or a tick ‘/‘, or by the insertion of a measured value. Where a particular inspection or test was not applicable, this should have been indicated by ‘N/A’, meaning ‘Not Applicable’. Where an inspection or a test was not practicable, the entry should read ‘LIM’, meaning ‘Limitation’, acknowledging that the particular circumstances prevented the particular inspection or test procedure from being carried out. In such a case, each limitation should have been recorded in the box entitled ‘Agreed limitations, if any, on the inspection and testing’, together with the reason for each limitation.

If wiring alterations or additions are made to an installation such that wiring colours to two versions of BS 7671 exist, a warning notice should have been affixed at or near the appropriate consumer unit.

Should the person ordering the work (eg the client, as identified on this certificate), have reason to believe that any element of the work for which the Domestic Installer has accepted responsibility (as indicated by the signature on this certificate) does not comply with the requirements of the national electrical safety standard (BS 7671), the client should in the first instance raise the specific concerns in writing with the Domestic Installer. If the concerns remain unresolved, the client may make a formal complaint to NICEIC, for which purpose a standard complaint form is available on request.

The complaints procedure offered by NICEIC is subject to certain terms and conditions, full details of which are available upon application and from the website. NICEIC does not investigate complaints relating to the operational performance of electrical installations (such as lighting levels), or to contractual or commercial issues (such as time or cost).

* NICEIC is a trading name of NICEIC Group Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Electrical Safety Council. Under licence from The Electrical Safety Council, NICEIC acts as the electrical contracting industry’s independent voluntary regulatory body for electrical installation safety matters throughout the UK, and maintains and publishes registers of electrical contractors that it has assessed against particular scheme requirements (including the technical standard of electrical work).