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Electrician day rates

Pick where you work and how experienced you are for a realistic electrician day rate, the sources behind it, and what it leaves you after tax and costs.

Read the full guide→

An experienced self-employed electrician across most of the UK typically charges around £290 to £360 a day. In London that rises to about £370 to £460, and newly qualified it is nearer £240 to £295. These are labour rates charged to the customer, not take-home pay.

Nothing you enter is sent to us or saved. 2026 figures.

Your work

Where you work

Experience

Optional, see what you take home

£

Typical day rate

£290–£360/ day

for an experienced electrician in Most of the UK. Charged to the customer, labour only.

If you charged £325 a day

You keep ≈ £42,486 a year

£61,750 over 190 billable days, minus £8,000 overheads, minus Income Tax and National Insurance on the profit.

A range, not a single number: what you charge also comes down to demand, your reputation and the job.

Rules and registration for electricians

Which electrician work you can take on, and sign off yourself, depends on these. Each point links to the official source it was checked against.

Part P notifiable work

In England, three kinds of electrical work in a home are notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations: a new circuit, a replacement consumer unit, and any addition or alteration to circuits in a special location, such as the space around a bath or shower. A registered competent person can certify that work themselves. An electrician who is not registered has to use a registered third-party certifier or building control for each notifiable job.

Source: Approved Document P (electrical safety in dwellings), gov.uk

Landlord inspections

Landlords in England must have the electrical installation in a rented home inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every 5 years, and give the tenant a copy of the report, usually an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). An EICR is a defined job, so you can quote a fixed price per report based on your day rate.

Source: Electrical safety standards in rented homes, gov.uk

ECS cards on site

On construction sites an ECS card is often a requirement. It is the ID and competence card scheme for electrotechnical workers, a partner of CSCS, run by the JIB in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and by the Scottish JIB in Scotland. Some people still call it the JIB card.

Source: About the ECS, Electrotechnical Certification Scheme

Checked against the linked sources on 15 October 2026.

How this range is worked out

Region, in four bands

Rates are usually highest in London and above average across the South East. We split the country into four bands so the figure matches where you work.

Experience, from the earnings spread

The gap between a newly qualified and an experienced electrician follows the official ONS earnings spread for the trade, alongside the National Careers Service and the JIB and CIJC agreed grades.

The level, from the marketplace

What electricians actually charge a customer comes from marketplace figures: Checkatrade, Simply Business and the cost-guide consensus. The result is a range, with every source shown.

A day rate is not what you keep

After Income Tax, National Insurance, overheads and the days you cannot bill, your take-home is a good bit lower. The self-employed tax calculator shows the full picture for the year.

Work out your take-home →

Once you have a rate, save it in your Trame price book and add it to any quote in one click.

Frequently asked questions

How much do electricians charge a day in 2026?
An experienced self-employed electrician across most of the UK typically charges around £290 to £360 a day. In London it runs higher, around £370 to £460. This is labour charged to the customer, not take-home pay.
What should a newly qualified electrician charge?
A newly qualified electrician typically charges around £240 to £295 a day across most of the UK, building up as they gain experience and reputation.
Which electrical jobs are not notifiable under Part P?
In England, replacements, repairs and maintenance are not notifiable anywhere in the home. Nor are additions and alterations to existing circuits outside a special location, such as new sockets or lights on an existing circuit away from a bath or shower. Fitting a built-in cooker is only notifiable if it needs a new circuit.

Sources: Approved Document P (electrical safety in dwellings), gov.uk; Building regulations approval, gov.uk

Which schemes let an electrician self-certify?
For electrical installations in homes in England, the authorised competent person schemes are run by BESCA, Blue Flame Certification, Certsure (trading as NICEIC), NAPIT and OFTEC. Joining one also puts you on the Electrical Competent Person Register, which is designed to give householders one place to find a registered electrician in their area.

Source: Competent person schemes, gov.uk

What if an EICR finds work that needs doing?
If the report says remedial or further investigative work is needed, the landlord must have it done within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so. Within 28 days of that work being finished, the landlord must give the tenant and the local council the report and written confirmation from the qualified person who did it.

Source: Electrical safety standards in rented homes, gov.uk

Is a day rate the same as take-home pay?
No. A day rate is what you charge the customer. After Income Tax, National Insurance, business overheads and the days you cannot bill, your take-home is lower. The calculator shows both.
Where do these figures come from?
They triangulate several real sources: official ONS earnings, the JIB and CIJC agreed grades, and marketplace figures such as Checkatrade. Each source is shown, and the result is a range.

An estimate, not a quote or financial advice. Day-rate ranges triangulate published marketplace figures (Checkatrade, Simply Business), official employee earnings by trade and region (ONS ASHE, which covers employees not the self-employed, so it sets the shape not the level), the collectively agreed grades (JIB for electrical, CIJC for construction) and National Careers Service bands. Regions are grouped into four bands because the data cannot support precise per-town figures. Take-home uses the HMRC Personal Allowance, Income Tax bands and Class 4 National Insurance for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 tax years. Your real figure depends on your work, costs and circumstances.

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