Licences, verification and trust

How people on QSME show they are who they say they are, and that they are allowed to do the work. This page is about people — your identity, your business, your bank account and your trade licences. For the paperwork a build produces, see Site documents.

Everything here is a one-off: do it once and it stays done.

What a client sees

Next to your name, a client sees what you have proved:

Badge	What it means
Verified	Your identity and your business have been checked.
Bank account verified	The account money from your jobs arrives into has been confirmed as yours.
Trade licences verified	The licences you claimed have been checked, individually.
Ratings	What people you have actually finished jobs with said about the work.

Nothing here is a badge you buy or tick yourself. Each one is checked.

The three checks

Your profile shows them as a short list under Verification & trust, with what is still to do.

1. Identity and business

Scan your ID with your phone — it takes about a minute. It is usually decided within one business day, and there is nothing more for you to do in the meantime.

If it cannot be decided from what you sent — usually a photo too blurry to read — you are asked to go again with a clearer one.

Verified members get the badge next to their name and priority in tender matching.

2. Your bank account

Add the account your job money should arrive into, then approve a one-cent check into it. That is what proves the account is yours; no money goes anywhere else.

This matters beyond the badge: open banking payments can only be made to a verified account. Without it a client who wants to pay you straight from their bank cannot, and has to settle another way. See How payments work.

3. Trade licences

Claim the licences you hold and each one is checked on its own — your profile shows "3 of 4 confirmed" rather than one blanket tick.

Where New Zealand keeps an official register, QSME checks the number against it rather than taking your word for it. Licensed Building Practitioner numbers are checked against MBIE's LBP register, including the licence classes you hold and whether any are suspended.

The bodies behind the trades on QSME are the usual ones:

Who	What they license
LBP	Licensed Building Practitioners — design, carpentry, roofing, bricklaying, external plastering, foundations.
EWRB	Electrical Workers Registration Board — electricians.
PGDB	Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board.
CPEng / NZRAB	Chartered engineers and registered architects.
NZIQS	Quantity surveyors.

You can also list certifications and licences in your own words on your profile. Those are what you say; the checks above are what has been confirmed.

Why it is worth doing

A client comparing two prices takes the verified one seriously.
Restricted building work has to be done or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner, and the record of work has to name them. A client checking that before they hire is doing the right thing.
Unlicensed work can void insurance, which is why "builder's and trade licences verified" sits on the project checklist before work starts.
A verified bank account is what lets you be paid straight from a client's bank.

For the person hiring

Look for the badges, and ask for the licence number on anything restricted. The LBP Record of Work and the compliance certificates for electrical, gas and drainage are documents the build produces and are covered in Site documents — they name the practitioner, which is how the two sides of this join up.

Who can do what inside a project is a separate matter again: see Roles and layouts.

Words you will see

Word	What it means
Verified	Identity and business checked. The badge beside a name.
Licence claim	A licence you say you hold, checked individually.
LBP	Licensed Building Practitioner — required for restricted building work.
Restricted building work	Work that affects a home's structure or weathertightness; must be done or supervised by an LBP.
One-cent check	The small payment that proves a bank account is yours.