Answer · reviewed 2026-09-27

How do I check whether a tradesperson is licensed in NSW?

Short answer

Search the NSW Government Verify licence register at verify.licence.nsw.gov.au using the tradesperson's name, licence number, ABN or suburb. It is free and public. It shows whether the licence is current, cancelled, expired or suspended, plus any conditions, formal cautions, penalty notices and prosecutions under the Home Building Act.

What work needs a licence

In NSW a contractor licence is required for residential building work, electrical wiring, plumbing, draining, gasfitting, and air conditioning or refrigeration work other than plug-in appliances. Painting, landscaping and cleaning generally do not require a trade licence, though building work over the threshold value does.

What the register actually shows

More than a yes or no. The public record includes the licence categories and expiry, any conditions endorsed on it, details of cancellation or suspension, public warnings issued under section 23 of the Home Building Act, formal cautions, penalty infringement notices, non-compliance with tribunal orders, and the results of prosecutions where the holder was found guilty. Clause 69 of the Home Building Regulation 2014 sets what must be disclosed.

You can search without a licence number

This is the part most people miss. You do not need the tradesperson to give you anything. Name, ABN, ACN, licence type, or just a suburb, postcode or LGA will return results. So you can check before you make contact rather than after.

Checking a digital licence on site

If they show a digital trade licence in the Service NSW app, verify it through the app's credential check rather than accepting a screenshot. A screenshot proves nothing.

The practical order

Check the licence before you accept a quote, not before you pay the invoice. Once the work is done, an unlicensed job is your problem to unwind, and insurance and warranty positions change materially.

Sources

Verify licence (NSW public registers), NSW Government. Checked 2026-09-27.
Check a builder or tradesperson licence, Service NSW. Checked 2026-09-27.
Checking your contractor or tradesperson is qualified, NSW Government. Checked 2026-09-27.

Government fees are quoted from the government source. Market prices are the observed spread across the guides listed, not our estimate. Prices change; the checked date is when a human last looked.

Why this page exists

This is the kind of page we write for clients. Not a keyword page with a suburb swapped in, but one real question answered properly, with the numbers sourced and dated so an AI assistant can quote it and be right.

If you run a small business and the answers people get about your trade do not mention you, that is the work. Get a free visibility check and we will show you what ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google currently say.