BS 7671

What is BS7671?

"BS 7671" stands for the British Standard 7671 which is the "Requirements for Electrical Installations", a publication by the IET (The Institution of Engineering and Technology), covering the 17th Edition of the Wiring Regulations.

BS 7671 is the green book to which all electrical installations within the UK must comply.

It is also used by other countries such as Mauritius, St Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Cyprus and others.

The first edition has been published by the IET (formerly IEE) in 1882. Since then after many amendments we have reached the most current one – the 17th edition with its first amendment released on the 31th December 2011.

Since the 15th edition the BS 7671 closely followed the IEC 60364, which is the corresponding international standard.

The Regulations apply to the design, erection and verification of electrical installations, also additions or alterations to existing installations.  Existing installations that have been installed in accordance with earlier editions of the Regulations may not comply with this edition in every respect. This does not necessarily mean that they are unsafe for continued use or require upgrading.

The standard is a massive achievement in harmonising everything from cable colours to current-carrying capacities within the electrical industry.

There is another publication, also form the EIT, which is called "The On-Site Gide" aimed at installation electricians working on construction sites.

In order to find out more about the 17th Edition of the Wiring Regulations please feel free to use any of the links below.