Start with your own firm. The Registered Competent Person Electrical site is aimed at householders and landlords looking for an electrician. It lets them check a company name to see whether the firm is listed as registered. The site says every electrician listed and permitted to display the mark is registered with a scheme operator and has been authorised by Government to self-certify compliance with Building Regulations.
The result has limits. The register lists electricians registered for full scope domestic work in England and Wales. A firm's commercial work, and any work in Scotland or Northern Ireland, falls outside it. The site's terms say that the data belongs to the scheme operators and that the publisher gives no guarantee of timeliness or completeness. An agency that edits your site, adverts and van artwork touches every place the claim appears, so it has to know what the register shows and what it leaves open.
What older surveys found about customers checking
The director general of Electrical Safety First said that while most people claimed to use registered tradespeople, only one in five actually requested proof. The charity's research also found that 18 million people felt too embarrassed to ask whether an electrician was registered. Scottish Housing News reported both figures on 13 July 2015, so read them as a direction and not as a current rate.
In Scotland, a research report published by the Scottish Government in 2019 cites a 2017 YouGov survey in which 87% of Scottish homeowners had never heard of NICEIC.
These surveys differ in year, place and question, so, as we read them, none gives a current national rate. Together they described customers who, in the years surveyed, rarely asked, and in Scotland a scheme name that most homeowners had not heard of. None of them shows whether that is still true, so the safe brief assumes it might be. If customers seldom check, the details that let them check without asking carry the weight. Those details are your company name as the register lists it, the scheme name beside the logo, and a link to the register's search.
What the advertising code and one council case say about marks
Under rule 3.52 of the CAP Code, which governs non-broadcast advertising in the UK, a marketer needs the necessary authorisation before showing a trust mark, quality mark or equivalent. The same rule also bars claiming approval, endorsement or authorisation by a public or private body without complying with the terms of that approval. Rule 1.8 goes further, placing primary responsibility for observing the Code on marketers, with agencies also accepting an obligation to abide by it. You carry the risk, and the agency shares the duty.
The scheme operators set their own limits. NICEIC counts as misuse the logo on vans, workwear, websites or advertising when the business is not certified by NICEIC. It also counts use of the logo for a scheme the business is not certified on, even if it is certified on other schemes, and use of the plain logo without the scheme name. A certified business that ignores a removal request faces sanctions that may include suspension or removal from NICEIC's register. For a business it has not certified, NICEIC says it will report the firm to Trading Standards if the logo stays up after a set period.
Hillingdon Council's release of 18 December 2025 shows how that plays out. At Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on 9 December, a construction company's director admitted engaging in an unfair commercial practice over NICEIC logos on a van. The council says NICEIC told its trading standards team on 27 August 2024, officers wrote on 30 August, and a second letter with a 14-day deadline followed. Officers still found the logo on the van at their visit on 7 November 2024.
The council was told in June 2025 that the company had held NICEIC registration until 4 January 2024. The release also records a November 2024 NICEIC statement that the director himself was not, and never had been registered with it. The registration that lapsed was the company's. The release names a company and its director and no agency. The lesson is small and cheap to apply: put the registration's end date in a diary, and give one named person the job of clearing every logo by then.
The gate: marks, scope and licence numbers
Three questions come before any score, because they hold the exposure described above. First, can the agency name the exact logo you may show, taken from your certificate, and the person at your firm who approves every logo change before it goes live? A firm certified under one NICEIC scheme is not cleared to show the badge of another, since NICEIC counts use of the logo for a scheme the business is not certified on as misuse. Second, does it have a written process for the day a registration ends or you change scheme: who holds your renewal date, how many days it needs to clear every placement, and how it confirms removal to you? It should also keep a marks log that records every placement and when it was last checked, and send it to you each month. Placements run from the website, adverts and Google profile to directory listings, van graphics, quotes and social banners. Third, will every claim match your scope and be checkable, with your company name as the register lists it, the scheme named beside the logo and a link to the register's search?
The register's own scope is domestic work in England and Wales. Copy that implies the same cover for commercial jobs, or for Scotland, needs another source. Wording matters too, because all electrical work in dwellings in England and Wales must meet Part P of the Building Regulations. A competent person scheme is one way to self-certify instead of getting building regulations approval. An agency that passes can say, sentence by sentence, whether it means the rule or the route.
For electricians (electrical contractors in the US) who advertise there, licence numbers belong in the gate as well. Texas sets a duty for electrical contracting companies: advertising designed to solicit electrical business must show the electrical contractor's name and licence number, and that includes business cards, though the rule lists exceptions. California's board wants the licence number on every kind of advertising a licensed contractor uses. No other state's rules were read for this article, so check with the licensing board in each state where you advertise.
Fail any one of the three and the agency drops out, however well it might have scored on the rest.
Scoring the agencies that pass
Passing the gate says nothing about whether an agency can bring the work you want at a cost you can see, so the six scored rows in the closing scorecard are commercial. The weights are illustrative, not validated, and you should change them to fit your firm. A firm that does no rented-property work sets row 1 to zero and shares its weight across the others. Score each row from 0 to 3 on evidence you can see. Multiply the score by the row's weight, divide by three, and add the results for a total out of 100.
Row 1 is landlord inspection work. In England, regulations require landlords to have the electrics in their rented properties checked at least every 5 years by a properly qualified person, and since 2025 they cover social landlords too. That cycle makes EICRs (electrical installation condition reports) repeat work an agency can plan around. A 3 goes to pages and campaigns built around the inspection rules in each nation you cover, with inspection bookings counted separately and a plan for reaching each landlord again before the next inspection falls due.
Row 2 is job mix. Tell each agency which jobs you want more of, such as consumer unit (fuse box) changes, rewires or small commercial fit-outs, and which you would rather turn away. A 3 goes to an agency that gives the jobs you want their own pages and budgets, keeps each claim inside your registered scope, and moves spend each month toward the job types that pay.
Row 3 is quote-to-job conversion. Much of an electrician's larger work is quoted before it is won, so an enquiry count says little about what the marketing earned. Ask how the agency would track quotes sent and quotes won by job type, matched to your own job system. One that reports wins by job type, and asks you why the lost quotes were lost, scores 3.
Row 4 is call handling. A call about a power cut and a request to quote for a rewire need different responses, and a missed call can cost the job either way. A 3 goes to an agency that tracks answered and missed calls by hour, shows how quickly missed calls were returned, and agrees with you who covers calls out of hours.
Row 5 asks who, by name, does the work: who edits your site, adverts and posts, and who covers when that person is away. A named person can answer a question about a campaign that stopped bringing calls. A team cannot.
Row 6 is the report, monthly, which is frequent enough to spot a falling job type within weeks. Booked jobs should be split by type, such as call-outs, EICRs, consumer unit changes and rewires, with quotes won and calls missed beside them. A report that shows only clicks tells you nothing about whether the marketing pays.
Running it across a shortlist
First, search your own firm on the register. Then list every place your marks appear today, and pull last year's jobs by type with the quotes you won and lost. Send every agency the same written pack: your scheme names, the placement list, your job mix, the three gate questions and the six rows. Score each reply on its own. Finally, pick one live client page from each agency and check its registration claim against the register yourself. An agency that cannot offer a page to check has told you something.
If your only need is keeping logos current, a diary reminder and a freelancer or an office manager can do it. The case for paying an agency rests on the work around the marks. Contract length, who owns the accounts and what happens when results slip are covered in how to choose a marketing agency you can trust.
We set out how we work with electricians, covering the register, Google listings and landlord work, on marketing for electricians.
The scorecard to take into each meeting
Fill in one copy per agency from its written replies. The gate rows are pass or fail, and the six weighted rows add up to 100.
| Row | What it tests | Illustrative weight | Scores 0 | Scores 1 | Scores 2 | Scores 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gate A. Your logo | The exact logo, matched to your certificate and scheme, and who approves changes | Pass or fail | Fail: plain logo, or no answer | Not used | Not used | Pass: scheme-specific files matched to your certificate, and a named approver for every logo change |
| Gate B. A lapse | What happens when a registration ends | Pass or fail | Fail: no written process | Not used | Not used | Pass: a named date, a stated number of days, written confirmation, and a monthly marks log |
| Gate C. Scope and checks | Whether claims match your scope and can be checked | Pass or fail | Fail: logo only, or scope never checked | Not used | Not used | Pass: name as registered, scheme named, link to the search, US licence numbers where a state requires them |
| 1. Landlord inspection work | Whether the plan reaches landlords who must have their electrics checked | 20 | No plan for it | One generic landlord advert | Pages and campaigns built around the inspection rules in each nation you cover | As 2, plus inspection bookings reported on their own and a plan to contact each landlord again before the next inspection falls due |
| 2. Job mix | Whether spend goes to the jobs you want more of | 15 | Every job treated alike | One generic campaign | Own pages and budgets for chosen job types, inside your registered scope | As 2, plus spend moved monthly toward the job types that pay |
| 3. Quote-to-job conversion | Whether quotes won are tracked, not only enquiries | 15 | Enquiries only | Quotes sent | Quotes sent and won by job type, matched to your job system | As 2, plus reasons for lost quotes, taken from your notes |
| 4. Call handling | Whether calls are answered when they arrive | 15 | Calls not tracked | Total calls only | Answered and missed calls by hour, with time to call back | As 2, plus out-of-hours cover agreed with you |
| 5. Who does the work | Which named people touch your site, adverts and accounts | 10 | "The team" | An account manager only | Names whoever edits the site, ads and posts | As 2, plus a named deputy |
| 6. Reporting | What the report contains and how often | 25 | No report | Clicks and impressions | Monthly, with booked jobs by type | As 2, plus quotes won and calls missed |
Send the list of places your marks appear today when you tell us about your business. The reply will say whether the job needs an agency or a diary reminder.
↳ Frequently asked
01Is being on the Registered Competent Person register the same as meeting Part P?
No. Part P is the part of the Building Regulations that covers electrical work in homes in England and Wales. Registration with a competent person scheme is one way to self-certify that work meets it, in place of getting building regulations approval. The register is a list of firms in those schemes, so it shows how a firm can certify domestic work. It does not show that a particular job was done well.
02If my agency puts the NICEIC logo on the wrong page, who answers for it?
Under the CAP Code, primary responsibility falls on you as the marketer, and agencies also accept an obligation to follow it. NICEIC separately treats use of its logo for a scheme the business is not certified on as misuse, and says a certified business that does not remove a logo when asked faces sanctions that can include suspension or removal from its register. Put a clause in the contract that makes the agency check your certificate before any placement and name who removes a logo, and by when.
03Does the Registered Competent Person register cover an electrician working in Scotland?
No. The register lists electricians registered for full scope domestic work in England and Wales, so it cannot confirm a firm's standing for work in Scotland. Scheme names were also little known there: a research report published by the Scottish Government in 2019 cites a 2017 YouGov survey in which 87% of Scottish homeowners had never heard of NICEIC. Ask any agency you shortlist how it would show your credentials to customers in Scotland.
04How soon must a lapsed NICEIC or NAPIT registration come off the van?
None of the sources read for this article sets a number of days. In the Hillingdon case, officers gave a deadline of 14 days after a warning letter, and the logo was still on the van at the next visit. NICEIC says it gives a set period to remove a logo before it acts. Work back from the registration's end date so that nothing still carries the logo after it, and ask your agency to confirm in writing when each placement has gone.