A reaction path for the electroless deposition of Ni-P layers is developed. The steady-state polarisation and impedance responses are calculated. The comparison between the experimental results and the calculation shows the adequacy of the model. The mechanism accounts for most of the experimental features observed for the steady-state and the impedance behaviours and their dependencies with pH, hypophosphite and nickel sulphate concentrations. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.