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Check a tradie's licence yourself

Every state's register, free, straight from the regulator. Takes about a minute.

Anyone can say they are licensed. The register is the only place that settles it, and every state publishes one you can search for nothing. Get the licence number off the quote, then look it up below.

What a licence does and does not tell you. It says the regulator has issued a licence and whether it is current. It does not say the work will be good. Check the register, then ask for references and read the quote properly.

What to look for once you find them

  1. The name matches the quote. A licence in someone else's name is not their licence.
  2. It is current, not expired or suspended. The register shows the status.
  3. The class covers your job. A licence to do one trade does not cover another.
  4. Look at the conditions. Some licences are restricted to certain work or a dollar limit.

Where to check, by state

New South Wales

NSW Fair Trading, through Service NSW — builders and tradespeople. Electrical and plumbing licensing sits with Building Commission NSW, and the same search covers them.
Check a builder or tradesperson licence ›

Victoria

Building and Plumbing Commission — builders and plumbers. It replaced the Victorian Building Authority on 1 July 2025.
Building and Plumbing Commission ›
Electricians are separate: Energy Safe Victoria public register

Queensland

Queensland Building and Construction Commission — builders and trade contractors
QBCC licensee register ›
The full register shows a licensee's whole history, which the quick contractor search does not. Electricians are separate — that is the Electrical Safety Office (WorkSafe QLD): electrical licence search

Western Australia

Building and Energy, Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
WA online licence search ›

South Australia

Consumer and Business Services
Find a licence holder ›

Tasmania

Consumer, Building and Occupational Services
CBOS licensing and registration ›

Australian Capital Territory

Access Canberra
Access Canberra public registers ›

Northern Territory

Three bodies share this one, so the name on a licence may not be the one you expect: builders are registered by the NT Building Practitioners Board, plumbers and drainers by Licensing NT, and electrical work by NT WorkSafe — Electrical Safety Regulator. All three are searchable in the same public register.
Licensing NT public register ›

Air-conditioning and refrigeration — anywhere in Australia

Australian Refrigeration Council. Handling refrigerant is licensed nationally, so this one is the same wherever you are.
ARCtick licence check ›
Every link above goes to the government regulator, not to us. We checked each one on 23 August 2026. If a page has moved, search the regulator's name — the register is always free and always public.

Can't find them on the register?

Try the licence number as well as the name — people trade under a business name that differs from the one on the licence. If they still do not come up, ring the regulator and ask. Do not take a screenshot as proof; anyone can make one.

This page explains how to check a licence. It is not legal advice and it is not a compliance check. Yamate does not issue, assess or certify licences, and we do not say whether a licence is required for your job — the regulator does. Every rule about who needs what licence lives with them.

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