Checking a tradesperson’s licence is current
In short
- NSW runs a free public register that shows a licence holder’s name, licence categories, current status and expiry, along with any conditions, suspensions or public warnings.
- It answers a different question from a certificate of currency: it confirms the person is licensed to do the work, not that they hold insurance for it.
- Checking the licence and checking any insurance the job actually requires are two separate steps, and neither one substitutes for the other.
Before engaging a tradesperson, or when work has already started and something feels off, checking whether their licence is actually current is a free, direct step that does not depend on the tradesperson providing anything at all.
This is a different check from asking for a certificate of currency, and it is worth doing both rather than treating one as covering the other — a current licence says nothing about insurance, and a certificate says nothing about whether the licence itself is still valid.
Where to check
NSW maintains a public register for looking up licence and registration information, including trade and contractor licences. A search by name or licence number returns the licence holder’s categories, current status, and expiry date, along with any conditions, cancellations, suspensions or public warnings recorded against them.
This is a direct, primary check — it does not rely on the tradesperson supplying a document, and it reflects the licensing body’s own record rather than a copy that could be out of date by the time it is seen.
- The official register: https://verify.licence.nsw.gov.au/home/Trades
What the check does and does not tell you
A current licence confirms the person is authorised to do that class of work today, and it will show if a licence has lapsed, been suspended or carries a public warning. It says nothing about what insurance, if any, stands behind the business doing the work — because, as this cluster explains throughout, most trade licences carry no insurance condition at all.
Where a job needs evidence of cover — because a contract requires it, or because the licence itself is one of the small number that carries an insurance condition — that is a separate request, made directly, for a certificate of currency.
Doing both checks in the right order
Checking the licence first is the cheaper, faster step, and it can end the conversation quickly if the licence has lapsed or carries a suspension — there is little point requesting a certificate from a business that cannot lawfully do the work at all.
Once the licence is confirmed current, the certificate check follows for whatever cover the job actually requires — which, for most trades, is a matter of what the contract or the site asks for, not what the licence itself demands.
Questions
- Is the licence register free to use?
- Yes — it is a public register maintained by the NSW Government and does not require an account or payment to search.
- If the register shows a current licence, do I still need to ask for a certificate of currency?
- For most trades, yes if the job needs evidence of insurance for any reason — a current licence and current cover are separate facts, and the register only confirms the first one.
- What if the register shows a suspension or a public warning?
- Treat that as a reason to ask questions directly before engaging the business, and be aware that a suspended or cancelled licence means the person is not currently authorised to do that class of work at all, regardless of anything else on file for them.
Sources
- NSW Government — verify licence — The official NSW public register for looking up a trade or contractor licence, its status, categories and expiry.