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If you are an ECS Registered Electrician and renew your card after 01 January 2020, but do not submit a BS7671:2018 qualification by the expiry deadline, you will continue to hold a valid ECS card, but it will not include the words ‘Registered Electrician’ or the BS7671 mark on the bottom right.
If you subsequently obtain BS7671:2018 and upload the qualification to your MyECS account, the Registered Electrician status will visible on your virtual ECS card and on ECS Check free of charge.
If you also then wish to replace your printed ECS card to show the restoration of your ECS Registered Electrician status, you can do so at a discounted cost of £10 plus VAT.
When Registered Electrician status was launched in October 2017, the ECS set a deadline of 01 July 2019 for ECS Registered Electricians to obtain BS7671:2018 (the 18thEdition of the IET Wiring Regulations).
A recent survey of ECS Registered Electricians who have not yet obtained BS7671:2018 revealed that whilst some are in the process of gaining their 18thEdition, demand for courses is high with some waiting a number of weeks for placements. There is also clear concern about the cost of courses, qualification fees and loss of earnings whilst training.
Whilst the JIB is keen to drive up standards, it also recognises external influences that affect cardholders and, in light of this, the deadline has been changed to take these factors into account.
If you trained as an electrician prior to 1999, you may be eligible to apply via the ‘Industry Accreditation’ route if you can supply the appropriate evidence.
This process is strictly based on the submission of appropriate qualification certificates, in addition to bona fide references from current and/or past employers.
If you wish to apply in this way, you will also need to hold or obtain a current ECS Health & Safety Certificate, or recognised exemption.
Documents required:
Route 1:
Route 2:
JIB Recognition of the Electrotechnical Qualification (Trailblazer Apprenticeship Standard for Installation Electrician and Maintenance Electrician)
The qualification combination of the Electrotechnical Qualification (Installation or Maintenance) (available from EAL 601/7345/2 and C&G 601/6299/5) and the AM2 is not recognised by the JIB for the issue of an ECS card.
The JIB recognises the Electrotechnical Qualification when achieved as part of the Electrotechnical Apprenticeship Standard (with the requirement of the AM2S) as a qualification pathway in the JIB 2017 Apprenticeship Scheme, the JIB 2017 Craft Training Scheme or a formal industry recognised apprenticeship framework certificated by one of the UK devolved administrations.
If your card is reaching its expiry date, the best way to renew your card is via the MyECS service – via MyECS you can view your existing card on our system and make your application for a renewed card.
You will need to ensure you have an up to date H&S Assessment you don’t have one already.
Full information about the renewal process is available on our Renew page.
The length of time an ECS card is valid for depends on the card type. Typically, an ECS card will be valid for three years, however, some ECS cards have a shorter expiry date. For instance, ECS Trainee cards are valid for 24 months, Experienced Worker and Provisional graded cards valid for 18 months. Apprentice cards are valid for five years and Industry Placement cards are valid for three years.
You can renew your card when it has less than 3 months before its expiry date.
Trainee cards cannot be renewed. Their training programme requirements must be met at each stage before the trainee can progress to the next stage. Please see the adult training scheme in the JIB handbook for more information.
Experienced Worker, Provisional grade and Industry Placement cards have specific requirements and cannot be renewed. Please see the grading definitions in the JIB handbook for more information.
If you’ve not had an ECS card before, your card should normally issued approximately 4 weeks after we have received your application – providing you have supplied a fully completed application form together with all the necessary supporting evidence, documentation and payment. If there are items missing or that need further investigation, this process may take longer.
If you are renewing an existing card via MyECS, the turnaround time is approximately 2 to 3 weeks.
There may be times when applications may take longer due to a high demand – if this is the case we’ll announce it on the front page of the ECS website.
If your ECS card is lost or damaged it can be reissued using our replacement service. If you apply for this service you will be issued with a copy of the current card you hold, with the same expiry date.
You can apply for a replacement card up to three months before your original ECS card is due to expire. If there is less than three months left on your card, you will need to Renew your card in the standard way.
The easiest way to get a replacement or renewed card is via MyECS.
If your application requires an employer reference, we require the following:
Put simply, if you're not a manager or an apprentice then your occupation is within the craft card application.
A craft card is a term used for the card types that are learned traditionally via a ‘craft’ such as a vocational apprenticeship e.g. electrician.
The general ECS card groups are 'Apprentices', 'Management' (black) cards and then all others, whether gold or white, are 'Craft' cards.
JIB Recognition of the Electrotechnical Qualification (Trailblazer Apprenticeship Standard for Installation Electrician and Maintenance Electrician)
The qualification combination of the Electrotechnical Qualification (Installation or Maintenance) (available from EAL 601/7345/2 and C&G 601/6299/5) and the AM2 is not recognised by the JIB for the issue of an ECS card.
The JIB recognises the Electrotechnical Qualification when achieved as part of the Electrotechnical Apprenticeship Standard (with the requirement of the AM2S) as a qualification pathway in the JIB 2017 Apprenticeship Scheme, the JIB 2017 Craft Training Scheme or a formal industry recognised apprenticeship framework certificated by one of the UK devolved administrations.
The ECS is partnered to the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS). CSCS requires all cardholders to have an up-to-date health & safety qualification. This is designed to prevent accidents and promote safety and quality of work.
The ECS Health and Safety Assessment shows that you have an awareness of Health and Safety that is equivalent to CSCS requirements. It also covers electrotechnical-specific health and safety knowledge required for working in the electrotechnical industry.
However, if you already have an approved and current Health & Safety qualification you will not be required to take the ECS H&S assessment – take a look at our Exemptions page for more information.
UK construction sites require all workers to hold an appropriate level of health, safety and environmental knowledge (HS&E) before they are permitted to enter the part of the site under construction.
As the ECS HS&E assessment is for UK construction sites the assessment is only available in English. The assessment is not available in any other language.
Test centres that provide the HS&E assessment are only allowed to invigilate the assessment to make sure that it is taken within the rules of the scheme and are not allowed to provide any translation services for delegates taking the assessment.
Please note that you must be within an ECS card application in order to do this as the ECS processing team can only verify certificates / documents that have been supplied in an application.
MyECS is an online service that allows you to apply for and renew your ECS card via the internet. You can also view your H&S Assessment status, all qualifications that you have uploaded and other details such as your apprenticeship and JIB grade, if you have them.
To use MyECS you’ll have to register for account – please see the MyECS page for more details
Yes we accept EAL qualifications along with City & Guilds, Logic Certification, BTEC and other recognised awarding bodies – you’ll be able to find the full list of accepted qualifications once you start your application process.
JIB Recognition of the Electrotechnical Qualification (Trailblazer Apprenticeship Standard for Installation Electrician and Maintenance Electrician)
The qualification combination of the Electrotechnical Qualification (Installation or Maintenance) (available from EAL 601/7345/2 and C&G 601/6299/5) and the AM2 is not recognised by the JIB for the issue of an ECS card.
The JIB recognises the Electrotechnical Qualification when achieved as part of the Electrotechnical Apprenticeship Standard (with the requirement of the AM2S) as a qualification pathway in the JIB 2017 Apprenticeship Scheme, the JIB 2017 Craft Training Scheme or a formal industry recognised apprenticeship framework certificated by one of the UK devolved administrations.
If your card is reaching its expiry date, the best way to renew your card is via the MyECS service – via MyECS you can view your existing card on our system and make your application for a renewed card.
You will need to ensure you have an up to date H&S Assessment you don’t have one already.
Full information about the renewal process is available on our Renew page.
If you’ve not had an ECS card before, your card should normally issued approximately 4 weeks after we have received your application – providing you have supplied a fully completed application form together with all the necessary supporting evidence, documentation and payment. If there are items missing or that need further investigation, this process may take longer.
If you are renewing an existing card via MyECS, the turnaround time is approximately 2 to 3 weeks.
There may be times when applications may take longer due to a high demand – if this is the case we’ll announce it on the front page of the ECS website.
If your application requires an employer reference, we require the following: