The checks, in order
Registration and a current practising licence
In New Zealand these are two separate things. A practising licence has to be renewed every 2 years, and holding one means passing a Board-approved competence programme course within the last 2 years. We look each person up on the public register and confirm the licence is current and hasn't been suspended.
A class that covers the work
What someone may do depends on their registration class, such as Electrician, Electrical Inspector or Electrical Installer. We only send jobs that sit inside the class they hold. Inspecting high-risk work, for instance, takes a licensed electrical inspector.
Insurance
We see a current public liability insurance certificate before they're matched with anyone.
An active NZBN
So we know the business is real, and trading under the name it gives us.
The jobs they actually do
For each kind of job they want, we ask for evidence: recent jobs, photos, or reviews that mention the work. A job type with nothing behind it doesn't get matched to them.
When we say no
- No current practising licence, or one that's expired or suspended.
- A registration class that doesn't cover the jobs they're asking for.
- No insurance certificate we can see.
- An NZBN that doesn't match the business name we've been given.
- A long list of job types with nothing to show for most of them.
- A licence ID where the photo doesn't match the person.
What licence-checked doesn't mean
It isn't an endorsement from the EWRB, the Commerce Commission or Master Electricians. The Commerce Commission doesn't approve any business, and claiming its approval breaches the Fair Trading Act, so you won't see that claim from us.
It doesn't move responsibility for the work onto us either. The electrician quotes, does and signs off the job under their own licence. The Consumer Guarantees Act gives you rights with them, including reasonable care and skill and a result that's fit for the purpose you asked for.
Why we check more than once
A practising licence runs for 2 years, and the EWRB tells homeowners to check the register for suspensions, so one look on the day someone joins isn't enough. We check the register again regularly, and as soon as a complaint comes up.
The register comes with rules too
The public register says that under section 140 of the Electricity Act 1992 its information can't be used for any other purpose, and that misuse breaches the Privacy Act 2020. We use it to check the people we match, and we don't reproduce it on this site.
Check them yourself as well
You don't have to take our word for it. Ask the electrician for their licence ID, make sure the photo matches and it hasn't expired, and scan the QR code if it's a digital licence. Our licence-check guide shows each step.