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StandardsNAPIT, NICEIC and competent person schemes: who tells building control about your solar
Every domestic microgeneration installation is notifiable work under the Building Regulations in England and Wales. If your installation team is in a competent person scheme, they notify on your behalf and you never touch a form.
Updated 4 August 2026 · written by the Clearline guidance team
The short answer
All microgeneration installations are notifiable works under the Building Regulations in England and Wales. That includes solar panels, battery storage and heat pumps. Somebody has to tell building control the work happened and that it complies.
There are two routes. Either the installer is a member of a government authorised competent person scheme and self-certifies the work, with the scheme notifying building control on their behalf, or a separate building control application has to be made. The first costs you nothing extra and involves no forms. The second is slower, and it is your problem to sort out if the installer cannot.
Ask one question
Is the electrical work on this installation being self-certified through a competent person scheme? If the answer is yes, name the scheme. If the answer is no, you need to know who is making the building control application and who is paying for it, before you sign.
What NAPIT is, and what it is not
NAPIT wears two hats, and confusing them is the source of most of the muddle in this area.
| Role | What it means |
|---|---|
| MCS certification body | NAPIT certifies installer businesses against MCS standards, as a UKAS accredited certification body. Its MCS offering covers battery storage, heat pump systems, photovoltaic systems, small wind turbines and solar heating systems. |
| Competent person scheme operator | NAPIT is a government authorised scheme operator for Building Regulations self-certification, which is what lets a member notify work without a separate building control application. |
Source: NAPIT MCS scheme pages, accessed August 2026.
NICEIC is the other name you will see filling both roles. Between them, NAPIT and NICEIC are the bodies whose logos appear most often on solar and battery paperwork in UK homes, once as the certification body behind the MCS certificate, and once as the competent person scheme behind the Part P notification.
You do not choose the certification body
The installer picks which UKAS accredited body certifies them, in the same way an accountant picks their professional body. Your job is not to have a preference between NAPIT and NICEIC. Your job is to confirm that one of them, or another UKAS accredited body, actually certifies that firm for the technology you are buying.
Part P and the electrical work
Electrical work on a domestic solar installation is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations in England and Wales. That is the specific regulation the competent person scheme discharges. The installer either self-certifies through their scheme, or a separate building control application is needed for the electrical work.
You should end up holding two related documents: an electrical installation certificate for the work itself, and a Building Regulations compliance certificate issued through the competent person scheme. They are not the same piece of paper and you want both in the file.
The structural side people forget
Building regulations apply to a domestic solar installation regardless of its planning status. Two areas matter. The roof structure has to be proven able to carry the load of the panels, and some roofs need strengthening before an array can go on. And the electrical work has to comply, which is the Part P point above.
Planning permission is a separate question with separate rules, and permitted development covers most house mounted solar in England subject to limits. Do not let a quotation conflate the two: being permitted development says nothing about building regulations compliance.
Scotland works differently
Scotland operates its own building standards system based on building warrants rather than the England and Wales notification model. Do not apply English competent person scheme logic to a Scottish installation without checking the current gov.scot guidance for your specific case, because the paperwork and who issues it are not the same.
What to do if it was never notified
This surfaces most often at the point of sale, when a buyer's solicitor asks for the certificates and nobody can find them. If the work was done by a scheme member, the first call is the installation team, then the scheme, because the notification record sits with them.
- Ask the installation team for the Building Regulations compliance certificate and the electrical installation certificate.
- If the installation team has gone, contact the competent person scheme directly with the address and the approximate date of the work.
- If the installation team was never in a scheme, contact your local authority building control about a regularisation application.
- Keep the MCS certificate and the network operator paperwork with them, because a conveyancer will ask for the set, not one document.
Want the paperwork checked before you commit? A free remote design call covers what you should be issued and when.
Get your free quote →Where this fits with everything else
Competent person schemes sit alongside, not instead of, the other protections. MCS certifies the technical quality of the installation and unlocks export payments. A consumer code such as RECC or HIES governs the sale and insures your money. The competent person scheme handles building regulations compliance. Our comparison of the schemes lays out which one does what.
Clearline gives independent guidance and never installs. Work is carried out by an MCS-certified installation team for your area who hold the certifications above. If you want the numbers for your own roof, every county page carries a local calculator, and the help section covers the process end to end.
Building Regulations and scheme detail were checked against the Planning Portal and NAPIT in August 2026. Requirements differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Building regulations questions, answered
Do solar panels need building regulations approval?
The work is notifiable under the Building Regulations in England and Wales, but you do not usually need to apply for anything yourself. If your installation team is in a government authorised competent person scheme they self-certify and the scheme notifies building control on your behalf. If they are not, a separate building control application is required.
What is a competent person scheme?
A government authorised scheme whose members can self-certify that their work complies with specific parts of the Building Regulations. NAPIT and NICEIC are the operators most commonly seen on domestic solar and battery work, and membership is what removes the need for a separate building control application.
What is Part P?
Part P is the part of the Building Regulations covering electrical safety in dwellings in England and Wales. Electrical work on a domestic solar installation is notifiable under it, which is why the competent person scheme route matters.
Is NAPIT better than NICEIC?
Neither is better for you as a homeowner. Both are UKAS accredited MCS certification bodies and both operate competent person schemes. The installer chooses which one certifies them. What matters is that the firm is genuinely certified for the technology on your quotation.
My installation team never notified building control. What now?
Start with the installation team, then their competent person scheme if they had one, because the notification record sits with the scheme. If there was no scheme membership, speak to your local authority building control about regularising the work. Do it before you try to sell, not during.
Does the roof need checking for the weight?
Yes. Building regulations require that the roof structure can carry the load of the panels, and some roofs need strengthening first. A competent surveyor assesses it as part of the design, and it is one of the things a remote design call flags early rather than on installation day.
See the numbers next: Duracell Dura16, installed, or the battery storage guide.
Figures and specifications in this guide are sourced below and were checked on the date shown. Rates and product specifications change; we confirm the current picture on your free design call.
Sources
- NAPIT, MCS scheme pages: MCS certification body role, competent person scheme, notifiable works napit.org.uk
- Planning Portal, solar panels and building regulations: structural and electrical requirements planningportal.co.uk
- NICEIC, redeveloped MCS installer scheme: certification body and scheme roles niceic.com
- MCS, about the scheme: UKAS accredited certification bodies mcscertified.com
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