A Qualified Supervisor (QS) is the person a competent-person scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT holds responsible, day to day, for the safety, technical standard and quality of every job a registered business does. The role comes from the Electrotechnical Assessment Specification (EAS), not from BS 7671, and the June 2026 edition of the EAS sets the rules: at least one QS per contracting office, Appendix 4 qualifications including a Level 3 periodic inspection award for anyone responsible for EICRs from 1 October 2026, two years' evidence, CPD, and a duty to make sure verification results are accurately recorded on every certificate. If the QS leaves, the scheme must be told within 30 days and a replacement assessed within 120.
- The QS is an EAS and scheme requirement; BS 7671 certificates are signed by whoever did the design, construction and inspection and testing, plus the person who authorises an EICR for issue.
- EAS clause 11.3: at least one QS per contracting office, scaled to the range, scale, geographical spread and categories of work; one person can be both Principal Duty Holder and QS.
- From 1 October 2026 every employed person doing periodic inspection and testing, and the QS responsible for it, needs a Level 3 periodic inspection award, two years' evidence and CPD. Subcontractors count as employed persons.
- The QS must hold the current BS 7671 qualification within two years of a change taking effect (clause 11.15). With A4:2026 published on 15 April 2026, that means by April 2028.
- Supervision does not mean being on site all the time. Appendix 10 scales it to the operative's competence and the risk of the job.
- Leaving: notify within 30 days, assessed replacement within 120 days, and a surveillance visit in between.
What is a Qualified Supervisor?
The EAS defines a Qualified Supervisor as a Competent Person who meets the requirements of Appendix 4 and who has specific responsibility on a day-to-day basis for the safety, technical standard and quality of the enterprise's electrotechnical work (EAS Section 5, Definitions). The EAS is written by a management committee of the scheme providers, trade associations, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Welsh Government, Electrical Safety First, TESP and the IET, and the IET publishes it free. Every competent-person scheme assesses against it, which is why the QS rules are the same whichever scheme you join. See NICEIC vs NAPIT in 2026 for how the schemes differ on fees and scope.
Two other defined roles sit alongside the QS. The Principal Duty Holder (PDH) is the person appointed by the enterprise to be responsible for the overall standard and safety of its electrotechnical work; in practice the owner or a director. Employed Persons are everyone the enterprise engages to do electrotechnical work: direct staff, temporary and agency workers, subcontractors, self-employed people and sole traders. That last definition matters, because the 2026 competence rules below bite on subcontractors exactly as they do on PAYE staff.
The scheme registers the enterprise, not the individual. It assesses the QS, and the QS controls everyone else. A sole trader is automatically their own PDH and QS. Scotland is different: Appendix 7 uses the term Approved Certifier of Construction rather than QS, and the certifier must be a principal or full-time employee of the Approved Body.
Who can be a Qualified Supervisor in 2026?
Appendix 4 of the EAS sets the bar. The QS must demonstrate knowledge, training and practical skills at assessment, normally through a core route plus additional qualifications for the scope of work.
| Requirement | What the EAS asks for (June 2026 edition) |
|---|---|
| Core competence (Tables A4.7 dwellings, A4.8 other) | Route 1: Level 3 electrotechnical apprenticeship with end-point assessment. Route 2: a historical industry-approved apprenticeship or recognised equivalent. Route 3: the Electrotechnical Experienced Worker Assessment. Route 4 (the old dwellings-only experience route) was removed in the June 2026 schedule of changes |
| BS 7671 (Table A4.9) | Level 3 Wiring Regulations award, currently City & Guilds 2382-22 or the A4 update 2382-26; must be held within two years of a BS 7671 change (clause 11.15) |
| Initial verification (Table A4.10) | Level 3 initial verification award, for example 2391-50 or the combined 2391-52 |
| Periodic inspection (Table A4.11) | Level 3 periodic inspection award, 2391-51 or 2391-52, where the enterprise does EICRs |
| Low-carbon scope (Tables A4.12 to A4.15) | EV charging (EAL Level 3 or C&G 2919-01/02, added 9 March 2026), solar PV, electrical energy storage and micro wind awards from 1 October 2026 |
| Experience | At least two years' evidence of responsibility for technical standard, plus evidence of ongoing CPD |
| Relationship to the firm | Nominated by the PDH, accepted by the certification body, present throughout the assessment (clause 15.7) |
A returning QS who held the role within the last two years can apply with a letter from the previous scheme confirming their status and the same scope of work. Trainees and apprentices may carry out inspection and testing under close supervision, which is how a firm grows its next QS. Details of the application fees and what the assessor looks at on the day are in How to become NICEIC registered.
What changes on 1 October 2026?
The October 2024 revision of the EAS gave the industry two years' notice of a tighter rule for periodic inspection and testing, and that rule applies from 1 October 2026 (NICEIC "EAS changes: what your business needs to know"; ECA, 6 October 2025). The June 2026 edition keeps it and clarifies the Appendix 4 wording.
All employed persons undertaking periodic inspection and testing, and the QSs responsible for it, must hold a Level 3 periodic inspection award such as 2391-51 or 2391-52 (or another qualification listed in the EAS Qualifications Guide, June 2025), evidence of at least two years' experience in periodic inspection and testing, and evidence of ongoing CPD. NICEIC says written confirmation from a current or past employer that you shadowed a qualified person doing EICRs is acceptable experience evidence. Appendix 10 of the EAS adds that an employed person doing periodic inspection must hold the Table A4.11 qualification and be able to demonstrate competence.
What it means for a QS in practice:
| Situation | Before 1 October 2026 | From 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| QS does all the EICRs personally | QS needed an inspection and testing qualification | QS needs 2391-51/52 or listed equivalent, two years' EICR evidence and CPD records |
| Employee or subcontractor does EICRs, QS reviews | Experience and QS oversight generally accepted | Each person doing the inspection needs the award, two years' evidence and CPD, as well as the QS |
| Apprentice or trainee assists on EICRs | Allowed under supervision | Still allowed under close supervision of a qualified employed person |
| Business cannot yet show compliance | No formal action | Assessor records an agreed action plan in the assessment report; NICEIC says this will not immediately affect EICR work under certification, but may in future |
Booking onto the right course is usually accepted as evidence of progress, and so is being booked on the EWA or AM2 where those are course prerequisites. The same date brings the four low-carbon work categories (EV charging, solar PV, EESS, micro wind), each needing a listed Level 3 award for anyone undertaking or supervising that work, with the IET Codes of Practice and MCS MIS 3002/3012 as the technical references.
How many Qualified Supervisors does a business need?
EAS clause 11.3: the enterprise must appoint at least one QS for each contracting office, and the number must be scaled to the range, scale, geographical spread and categories of work. Clause 11.7 requires the PDH to assign all electrotechnical work to a QS, so there can be no job in the firm that no QS is responsible for. NICEIC's PDH and QS Roles and Responsibilities guidance (document PDH-QS-R&R, 29 January 2025) adds that because the supervisory duty limits the time a QS can spend on the tools, "additional QSs may be required".
The practical test is whether one person can honestly say they control the technical standard of everything that goes out. One QS is fine for a sole trader, a two-van firm or a small team on one patch. Two or more are expected where there are separate branches, a high volume of notifiable work, or distinct scopes, for example a firm that installs by day and runs an EICR team for landlords and social-housing providers. Each extra QS goes through the same Appendix 4 check and is assessed in the same way.
Two rules follow from the definition. A QS cannot be a hired name shared between unrelated businesses as a convenience: the role requires day-to-day responsibility and attendance throughout the assessment (clause 15.7), and an assessor who finds a QS who is never involved will treat it as a serious non-conformance. And a QS who leaves must be replaced quickly, as the next section explains.
What happens when the QS leaves or changes?
| Event | EAS clause | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| QS stops acting in that role | 11.8 | PDH notifies the certification or registration body without delay and within 30 days |
| Any change affecting the QS or other registration details | 19.1 | Notify within 30 days |
| Replacement QS | 19.1 | Assessed replacement in place within 120 days of the change |
| Assessment of the replacement | 14.3 | A surveillance visit is required when a QS leaves; the replacement's suitability is assessed under the body's procedures |
| Conditions of registration significantly affected | 19.2 | New application or surveillance visit may be required |
NICEIC charges a £65 administration fee for a change of QS on its 2026/27 fee schedule, and an additional assessment visit is £430 ex VAT if one is needed. Until the replacement is accepted the registration can be suspended, which stops the business self-certifying notifiable work under Part P; Part P notification explained covers the building-control alternative while that is sorted out. Non-compliance with the scheme rules can lead to suspension or cancellation of certification.
What does the QS actually sign?
BS 7671 is silent on supervisors. The model forms in Appendix 6 of BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 are signed by the people who did the work:
| Certificate | Who signs the model form |
|---|---|
| Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) | Designer, constructor, and inspector and tester (one person may sign all three for a small job) |
| Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate | The person responsible for the design, construction, inspection and testing of the minor works |
| Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) | The inspector who carried out the inspection and testing, and the person who authorises the report for issue, in the declaration section |
Nothing in BS 7671 says any of these must be the QS. An employed electrician who designed, installed and tested a new circuit signs for all three on the EIC. What the EAS adds is clause 11.12: the QS must ensure that the results of the verification process are accurately recorded on the certificates or reports, and Appendix 6 (England) and 6A (Wales) require the QS to verify and authenticate Building Regulations compliance certification. On an EICR the model form already separates the inspector from the person who authorises issue, which is the natural place for the QS. On an EIC or Minor Works certificate from a third-party form there is often no QS box, so the review is evidenced by a countersignature, an "authorised by" entry or a record in the job system. Electrical Installation Certificate explained and Minor Works certificate: when to use it describe the A4 forms in detail.
What should the QS check before a certificate goes out?
The QS's responsibility is for the standard of the work and the accuracy of the record. A review that would satisfy an assessor covers:
- The right form. A new circuit or consumer unit change needs an EIC; a Minor Works certificate is for additions and alterations to an existing circuit (Regulation 644.4.201).
- The edition and amendment stated on the declaration, which from 15 October 2026 should be BS 7671:2018 amended to A4:2026, A2 and A3 having been withdrawn that day.
- Credible test results. A Zs lower than the measured Ze, 999 MΩ on every circuit, or identical loop readings across a board all get questioned. Readings should come off the instrument, not out of memory.
- RCD protection where Regulations 411.3.3 and 411.3.4 require it, with the 643.8 test result recorded.
- A complete schedule of inspections, with the extent and limitations agreed with the client written down.
- EICR observations coded with a regulation reference, and only C1 or C2 making the report unsatisfactory; on the A4 model report FI is advisory, not a fail. EICR codes explained and How to write EICR observations cover the current wording and Electrical Safety First Best Practice Guide 4 Issue 7.4.
- Notifiable work notified to the scheme, and the Building Regulations compliance certificate issued.
A QS who signs off certificates without reading them is taking responsibility for whatever is in them. That is the point of the role.
Why does the review have to happen before issue?
An issued certificate is a formal declaration to the client. For a landlord EICR in England it is the document relied on under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, with a maximum penalty of £40,000 for the landlord, and a wrong code cannot be quietly corrected once a letting agent has it. At the annual assessment the assessor samples the year's certificates and, under EAS clause 15.8, assesses the QS against Section 11; inconsistent, incomplete or wrongly coded certificates are a finding against the QS's supervision, not just the electrician who filled in the form. Records of work, certificates and reports must be kept for at least the preceding six years (EAS 10.1 and 16.1.1), which is the retention figure NICEIC also uses; certificate retention and GDPR has the detail.
How much supervision does the EAS expect?
Appendix 10 of the EAS is the part most firms have never read, and it is the part that decides whether a QS with four vans on the road is compliant. Supervision "does not necessarily require continuing attendance at the work site". The level depends on two things: the employed person's competence level (Table A10.1, Levels 1 to 3, with Level 3 being a skilled operative whose supervisory experience is comparable to a QS) and the risk of the work (Table A10.2: low, medium, high). Table A10.3 maps one against the other, and Table A10.4 gives the outcomes.
| Risk of the work | Instruction | QS involvement on site |
|---|---|---|
| Low (routine work by a skilled operative) | Verbal instruction is likely to be adequate | Remote |
| Medium | Written procedures or instruction | Periodic |
| High (complex or unfamiliar work, less experienced operative) | Written procedures | Close and detailed |
NICEIC's own guidance says the same: low-risk work may need only verbal instructions, while higher risk or complexity calls for written procedures and closer QS involvement. The PDH must have systems to show that all work is done by competent persons, and Appendix 11 requires the enterprise to keep evidence of each employed person's competence, qualifications, training, CPD and experience. That file is what the assessor asks for when checking the 1 October 2026 EICR rule.
What findings do assessors raise against Qualified Supervisors?
| Common finding | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| QS not genuinely supervising | QS rarely involved, no review records, electricians issuing certificates directly to clients |
| Certificates issued without review | No evidence of a check; errors a review would have caught |
| Inconsistent certificates across the firm | Different forms, missing schedules, different coding standards between electricians |
| Test results not credible | Identical values across circuits, values that contradict the supply characteristics |
| Wrong form type | Minor Works for consumer unit changes or new circuits |
| Employed persons without the periodic award | From 1 October 2026, EICRs done by someone without 2391-51/52, two years' evidence and CPD |
| Out-of-date BS 7671 qualification | QS past the two-year window in clause 11.15 after an amendment |
Most of these come down to one thing: a QS on paper but no working process for reviewing what goes out and no file showing who is competent to do what.
How do digital certificate workflows handle QS review?
Paper pads make QS review awkward: the electrician hands the top copy to the customer and the QS sees a carbon later, if at all. Certificate apps generally solve this with a draft-and-approve workflow. The electrician completes the certificate on site; it is saved as a draft with blank required fields flagged; the QS opens it, checks results, coding and form type, and sends it back or approves it; on approval the PDF is issued with a record of who inspected and who authorised, and when. The advantages at assessment are an audit trail, consistency because everyone uses the same A4 forms and required fields, and a year's certificates in one place when the assessor asks for a sample. Whatever you use, check it supports a separate authoriser step and will not issue a certificate with empty test-result boxes; see what to look for in electrical certification software.
How Certio helps
Certio produces the EICR, EIC, Minor Works certificate and PAT records on the BS 7671 model forms and turns them into branded PDFs. Photograph the consumer unit and the circuit schedule drafts itself; point the phone camera at a Megger MFT-X1 and the reading goes straight into the schedule of test results, or dictate it while your hands stay on the probes. Suggested observation wording with the regulation reference is there for you to check and confirm. The judgement stays yours; the typing goes. Starter is £4.99 a month, charged when you sign up.
Sources
- Electrotechnical Assessment Specification, June 2026 edition (IET, electrical.theiet.org): Sections 5, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16 and 19; Appendices 4, 6, 6A, 7, 10 and 11
- EAS Qualifications Guide, June 2025 (IET)
- NICEIC, "EAS changes: what your business needs to know" (FAQ updated 10 June 2026) and PDH and QS Roles and Responsibilities (PDH-QS-R&R, 29 January 2025)
- ECA, "EAS changes to competence requirements for periodic inspection, testing and low carbon technologies", 6 October 2025
- NAPIT, "Changes to EAS qualifications guide"
- BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, Appendix 6 model forms; Regulations 411.3.3, 411.3.4, 643.8, 644.4.201
- IET Guidance Note 3, 10th Edition
- Electrical Safety First, Best Practice Guide 4, Issue 7.4 (August 2026)
- GOV.UK, Competent person schemes list (updated 17 September 2026) and the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020