How to check a tradesperson is genuine

Most tradespeople are honest and good at what they do. The trouble is that a rogue trader looks exactly the same on the doorstep, in a van with a logo, or on a website with five star reviews. The good news is that the checks that sort one from the other are free, quick and mostly online. This guide shows you which check matters for which job, what to look for, and what to do if something does not add up.

Start with the right check for the job

Different trades are regulated in very different ways, and that is where most people go wrong. Some work legally requires registration. Some has a voluntary register. Some, including general building, has no licence at all.

Sources: HSE; GOV.UK competent person schemes.

How to check a gas engineer is Gas Safe registered

This is the one check that is not optional. HSE states that anyone employed to work on gas appliances in domestic premises must be a Gas Safe registered engineer. Unsafe gas work can lead to fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning, so a genuine engineer will expect you to check.

Look at the ID card, front and back

Every registered engineer carries a Gas Safe ID card. Ask to see it before they touch anything. On the front, check the photo is the person in front of you, the card is in date, it shows a seven digit licence number, and the business name matches the one you booked. On the back, check the list of work they are qualified to do. HSE points out that the engineer's competencies are marked on the back of the card. An engineer qualified for boilers is not automatically qualified for a gas fire or a cooker.

Then verify the licence number

• Online: enter the licence number in the Check an Engineer search on the Gas Safe Register website.
• By phone: call the free Gas Safe Register helpline on 0800 408 5500.
• By text: send the word Gas followed by the seven digit licence number to 85080, as HSE explains.

If someone cannot give you a licence number, find another engineer. If you are a landlord, the same rule applies to your annual check, as our guide to gas safety certificates for landlords explains. For what a fair price looks like, see how much a boiler service costs.

How to check an electrician

There is no single licence to work as an electrician, but there is a clear way to tell who is properly registered. Electricians can join a competent person scheme authorised by government, such as NICEIC or NAPIT. Members are assessed and can self-certify that their work meets the Building Regulations, so you get a compliance certificate without paying building control to inspect it.

The quickest check is the Registered Competent Person Electrical register. It covers electricians registered to work in homes in England and Wales, and electrical inspectors registered to carry out safety reports, and you can search it by postcode or by company name. NICEIC and NAPIT have their own search tools too.

This matters most for bigger jobs. A rewire, a new circuit or a new consumer unit is notifiable work, and you will want the certificate when you sell the house. Our guides to what a rewire costs and what an EICR is cover the paperwork you should get at the end.

Checking builders and other trades with no licence

Many people assume someone, somewhere, has checked their builder. Nobody has. There is no licence to trade as a builder in the UK. In an Opinium survey of 1,269 homeowners for the HomeOwners Alliance and the Federation of Master Builders in April 2025:

• 45 percent wrongly believed builders are licensed;
• 32 percent thought builders must register with a government or regulatory body, which they do not;
• 65 percent wrongly expected builders to have insurance that covers accidental damage.

So for builders, roofers, plasterers, decorators and most other trades, you build up the picture yourself:

• TrustMark. The government endorsed quality scheme for work in and around the home. Businesses are vetted before they can register, and you can search them on the TrustMark website.
• Trade bodies. Membership of a body such as the Federation of Master Builders means the business has signed up to a code of practice, and the body may help if things go wrong. Check membership on the body's own website, not just a logo on a van.
• Window and door schemes. Replacement windows must meet the Building Regulations. A FENSA or Certass registered installer can self-certify them.

Check the business is real

If the trader says they are a limited company, search the name for free on Companies House. Look for three things: the company is active, not dissolved or in liquidation; the registered address makes sense; and it was not set up last month. You can also see the directors and any other companies they have run. Sole traders will not appear on Companies House, which is normal, so ask for a trading address and a landline or long standing mobile number instead.

On YourHouseFix, business pages show the Companies House number and the month the company was formed where we have them, with a link to the register so you can check it yourself.

Ask for proof of insurance

Public liability insurance pays out if the trader damages your property or injures someone while working. Ask to see the certificate, not a verbal yes. Check the business name on it matches the business you are hiring and the policy has not expired. Remember the survey finding above: most homeowners assume a builder's insurance covers accidental damage, but you only know what it covers by reading it. For larger jobs, ask whether the work comes with an insurance backed guarantee in case the business stops trading.

Reviews, references and past work

Reviews help, but they are not a qualification check, and they can be faked. Read reviews on more than one site. Look for detail about the actual job, a spread of dates rather than a burst in one week, and how the business replies to complaints. Ask for photos of similar finished jobs, or for a past customer you can speak to. A trader who refuses all references is a warning sign.

If you use a recommendation site, check what it actually verifies. The Competition and Markets Authority advises asking how the site vets traders, how often it rechecks credentials such as insurance and gas or electrical registration, and how it confirms reviews are genuine. We hold ourselves to that too. On YourHouseFix a listing marked Listed from public records, not claimed by the business is exactly that: built from public information and not checked by the business. A Claimed listing means the business has asked to manage its page, we have approved that claim, and the business keeps the page up to date. Neither is a qualifications check, so run the checks in this guide whoever you hire.

Warning signs of a rogue trader

• They knock on your door uninvited and say they have spotted a problem with your roof, drive or chimney. Councils warn this is most common after storms, which our guide on what to do if a storm damages your roof covers.
• They want a decision today, offer a discount that ends tonight, or start work the same day.
• They will only take cash, or want most of the money before they start.
• They give no landline, no address and no written quote.
• The price goes up once the work has started because of a problem they have just found.
• For gas work, they cannot show a Gas Safe ID card, or the card does not cover the job.

If anything on that list happens, stop. A genuine business will still be there tomorrow.

Get it in writing and pay safely

Ask for a written quote, not an estimate. A quote is a fixed price for the work described, while an estimate is a best guess that can change, as our guide to what a plumber charges per hour explains. The quote should list the work, the materials, the price with and without VAT, the start and finish dates, and who clears the waste.

Then protect the money:

• Keep the deposit small, and only for materials on a bigger job.
• Pay in stages against finished work, and keep some back until the job is complete and any certificate has arrived.
• Use a credit card where you can. Under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, the card provider is jointly liable for purchases over £100 and up to £30,000.
• Know your cancellation rights. For contracts made in your home or online, the CMA says you can generally cancel for any reason within 14 days.

What to do if something goes wrong

For gas, if you think an appliance is unsafe, stop using it and contact the Gas Safe Register on 0800 408 5500. If you smell gas, call the National Gas Emergency number on 0800 111 999. Keep photos of the work, receipts, business cards and a note of what was said and when.

For any other trader problem, start with the business in writing. If that fails, the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 can advise you and refer the case to Trading Standards. If the trader belongs to a trade body or TrustMark, use their complaints process too.

Find a local tradesperson and check them your way

You can find a local tradesperson and request a quote free, and the business you choose can come back to you with a price. You decide whether to go ahead, you pay them directly, and you can run every check in this guide before anyone starts. For gas work, find a gas engineer and ask for the licence number up front. For electrics, find an electrician and ask which scheme they are registered with.

Or browse local businesses first: gas engineers in Birmingham, electricians in Birmingham, plumbers in Wolverhampton or builders in Coventry. For more guides on hiring and costs, see all our home advice.