How to check a builder or tradie licence in NSW

Running a Verify NSW check, step by step

Builders, electricians, plumbers, gasfitters, air-con techs and most other building trades are licensed by Building Commission NSW, and every one of those licences sits on a single free register, Verify NSW. A check takes a couple of minutes.

1. Get the details. Ask for the licence number and the exact name on the licence. That’s often a company, not the person you’ve been chatting to. NSW home building contracts must show the contractor’s name and licence number, and most tradies print it on quotes and vans too.
2. Open the register. Go to the Verify NSW licence check. Service NSW’s “Check a builder or tradesperson licence” page leads to the same place.
3. Search. The licence number is quickest, but you can also search by name, ABN, ACN, licence type or suburb.
4. Open the record. Read the whole thing, not just the status line. The next section explains what you’re looking at.

What the record actually tells you

A Verify NSW record shows whether the licence is current, expired, suspended or cancelled, when it started, when it’s due to expire, and the categories of work it covers, such as general building work, electrical, plumbing, wall and floor tiling or fencing. For a company it lists the directors. The compliance section notes public warnings, finalised disciplinary action and whether home building compensation claims have been paid on the contractor’s work.

Check the type of licence too. Only a contractor licence lets someone advertise, quote and sign a contract with you. A qualified supervisor certificate or a tradesperson certificate means the person can do the work, but under a licensed contractor, so they shouldn’t be the one taking your money.

The register won’t show open complaints or investigations, and it doesn’t always link a company to the people behind it. Search the business name and each director’s name separately.

When NSW requires a licence

The general rule is a contractor licence for residential building or trade work worth more than $5,000 in labour and materials, including GST. Under that, carpenters, tilers, painters, fencers, concreters and landscapers can work without one. A stand-alone contract for internal painting has been exempt since 2015, unless it’s part of other building work. Landscaping only counts when it’s structural: retaining walls, paving, decks and pergolas, not planting.

Specialist work is different. Electrical wiring, plumbing, drainage, gasfitting and air-con or refrigeration work need a licence whatever the job costs, even a single power point. Air-con installers also need a refrigerant handling licence from the Australian Refrigeration Council, which you can confirm on the ARC licence check.

A few trades answer to other regulators. Pest controllers need a pest management technician licence from the NSW EPA. Locksmiths need a Class 2C security licence through NSW Police. Removing more than 10 m² of non-friable asbestos needs a SafeWork NSW licence. Rubbish removal has no trade licence, but the EPA says waste must go somewhere that can lawfully take it, and the owner of the waste can be liable if it’s dumped. Our guide to which trades need a licence compares the other states.

Red flags worth pausing on

• The licence is expired, suspended or cancelled, or runs out before your job will finish.
• The category doesn’t fit the job, like a painting licence on a quote that also retiles the bathroom.
• The name or ABN on the quote doesn’t match the licence holder.
• The licence number on the quote belongs to someone else, or doesn’t come up at all.
• They hold only a supervisor or tradesperson certificate but want you to sign with them directly.
• They want more than a 10% deposit on a home building contract, which NSW doesn’t allow, or any deposit on a job over $20,000 before you’ve seen an insurance certificate.

Home building compensation insurance

For residential building work over $20,000 (including GST), the builder must take out home building compensation (HBC) insurance through icare HBCF and give you the certificate before taking a deposit or starting work. It applies to new homes up to three storeys, renovations of any height, and swimming pool work. It’s last-resort cover if the builder dies, disappears, becomes insolvent or has their licence suspended for not paying a court or tribunal order: up to six years for major defects, two years for other defects and 12 months for unfinished work. Look the certificate up on the HBC Check by certificate number, builder or property address.

Reporting unlicensed work

If someone is doing licensed work without a licence, or a contractor’s work has gone wrong and you can’t sort it out together, contact Building Commission NSW on 13 27 00 or lodge a home building complaint through Service NSW. The complaint service is free. For an unlicensed pest controller, call the EPA’s Environment Line on 131 555.

Rather skip the homework? We check licence, insurance, ABN and reviews before we match you with one local tradie in Sydney or Newcastle. It’s free, and we don’t pass your details to a pile of businesses. Get a free quote and we’ll do the checking for you.