How to check a trade licence
A business card is not a licence. Before you sign, search the public register for the state or country where the work will happen. The register should show the name, the class of work and whether the licence is current.
Licences do not always travel. A registration in one state is not automatically the right permission for a different state. Use the register for the place where the house is.
What to look for
Match the legal name, not a nickname. Check the class covers the work you are buying, such as residential building, drainage, or electrical contracting. Note the expiry or the status, and read any conditions.
If the register lists disciplinary action, read it. A current licence can still carry a condition that matters for your job.
Australia
Each state and territory keeps its own registers. The links below are the official pages. Some registers are split, so a builder and an electrician in the same state may be on different searches.
- NSW — verify a licence (opens in a new tab)
- NSW — Service NSW guide to checking a builder or tradesperson (opens in a new tab)
- Victoria — Building and Plumbing Commission, find a practitioner (opens in a new tab)
- Victoria — Energy Safe Victoria public registers (opens in a new tab)
- Queensland — QBCC licensee register (opens in a new tab)
- Queensland — QBCC list of registers, including plumbers (opens in a new tab)
- Queensland — Electrical Safety Office licence search (opens in a new tab)
- South Australia — Consumer and Business Services, find a licence holder (opens in a new tab)
- South Australia — check an occupational licence (opens in a new tab)
- Western Australia — Building and Energy licence search (opens in a new tab)
- Tasmania — CBOS, find a licensed tradesperson (opens in a new tab)
- Australian Capital Territory — Access Canberra construction public registers (opens in a new tab)
- Northern Territory — public register of building practitioners (opens in a new tab)
- Northern Territory — how to check a builder is registered (opens in a new tab)
New Zealand
Restricted building work sits on the licensed building practitioner register. Electrical work and sanitary plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying have their own boards. Search the register that matches the trade.
Common questions
The person is licensed interstate. Is that enough?
Not by itself. Mutual recognition has rules and, in some places, a notification step. Check the register for the state where the work will be done, or ask that regulator.
What if I cannot find them?
Try the company name and the nominee's name. If they are still missing, do not treat the quote as licensed work. Ask them which register they are on and search that exact name.