Check a licence in five steps
Ask for the licence ID
Every licensed electrical worker has one, either a plastic card or a digital licence on their phone. It shows their photo, their registration class and number, and the date the licence expires. A good sparky won't mind you asking, and the EWRB (Electrical Workers Registration Board) tells homeowners to ask.
Look at the photo and the date
Make sure the face matches the person standing in front of you, and that the expiry date hasn't passed.
Scan the QR code, or search the register
A digital licence carries a QR code that opens the worker's profile on the public register. Without one, search the register at kete.mbie.govt.nz/EW/EWPRSearch/ by name, town or city, licence type, registration class or registration number.
Read what the register says
It confirms whether the person is registered and licensed, shows their licence history, and says whether they've been disciplined in the last three years. Check the licence hasn't been suspended, because a card in someone's wallet can't tell you that.
Match the class to the job
The registration class sets out the electrical work a person is licensed to do. If you're not sure the class on the ID covers your job, ask them to explain it. Someone who does your kind of work every week will answer in one sentence.
Registered and licensed aren't the same thing
Registration is the class a worker is qualified in, such as Electrician, Electrical Inspector, Electrical Installer, Electrical Service Technician or Electrical Appliance Serviceperson. A practising licence is the permission to actually do the work, and it has to be current.
A practising licence must be renewed every 2 years, and to hold one the worker must have passed a Board-approved competence course within the last 2 years. So a licence that lapsed a few months ago is a real problem, not a paperwork technicality.
The EWRB says registered people without a current practising licence aren't permitted to do prescribed electrical work for others, whether they're paid for it or not. Prescribed electrical work covers most of what you'd call an electrician for: installing, testing and maintaining fittings, working on installations and appliances, and restoring power after a fault.
Apprentices, big companies and specialist work
Apprentices can work on your house, but only under supervision by a registered worker with a current practising licence in the same scope of work. Anyone supervising more than two trainees or limited certificate holders at once needs an endorsed supervision class. Ask who's supervising and check that person too.
Larger organisations can hold an EWRB Employer Licence, which lets their own staff do prescribed electrical work under the organisation's safety and quality systems. People on contracts for service can't work under it. If a worker says they're covered by their employer's licence, it's fair to ask the company to confirm that in writing.
Specialist endorsements started on 1 September 2026. From their next renewal, Electricians, Electrical Installers, Electrical Service Technicians and Electrical Appliance Servicepersons need an extra endorsed class for mining operations, medical cardiac protected areas, hazardous areas or mains parallel generation systems. Most home jobs don't touch these, but if yours might, ask.
Reasons to stop and ask more questions
- They won't show a licence ID, or say they'll bring it next time.
- The photo doesn't match, or the expiry date has passed.
- You can't find them on the public register, or the register shows the licence is suspended.
- They offer a lower figure for doing the job without certificates.
- They describe themselves as an electrician but the class on their licence is something narrower, and they can't explain why it covers your job.
- They claim approval from the Commerce Commission. It doesn't endorse or approve any business, so that claim is false by definition.
If someone isn't licensed
The EWRB wants to hear about anyone claiming to be a licensed electrician when they're not, anyone doing prescribed electrical work without a licence, and any employer using an unlicensed person for that work. It can investigate and prosecute.
Claiming to be licensed or registered when you aren't is an offence under section 161 of the Electricity Act 1992. In 2022, one person was fined $8,000 on charges that included holding himself out as a registered Electrician. The EWRB says the District Court can fine unregistered or unauthorised workers up to $50,000, and companies up to $250,000.
There's a practical cost for you too. The EWRB warns that unlicensed work is often unsafe, and that your insurance can be affected when the work isn't done, and signed off with a certificate, by a licensed electrical worker.
Using the register properly
The register is there so the public can find and check electrical workers. It notes 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. Checking the person you're about to hire is exactly what it's for.
Your part, and the electrician's
You can
- Ask to see the licence ID before work starts.
- Check the photo, the class and the expiry date.
- Search the register, or scan the QR code on a digital licence.
- Write the worker's registration number on your copy of the quote.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- Hold a current practising licence and show it when asked.
- Only do work their registration class covers.
- Supervise any apprentice on your job in person and in the same scope of work.
- Give you the right certificates for the risk level of the job.
What we'd do before anyone starts
We'd check the licence before anyone walks inside, not after the job's done. It's two minutes on your phone, and it's the one check that tells you the certificates you get at the end will mean something. If someone gets awkward about being asked, that tells you plenty too.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.