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How do I check a tradesperson's licence in South Australia?

The short answer

Search the Consumer and Business Services licensing register. South Australia is one of the few places you can search by trading name as well as by surname or licence number, so the name on the van is enough to start with.

TradieAnswers editorial · written in-house and sourced to the authorities listed below

Checked against 3 published sources, listed in full at the end of this page. How we source this

One register covers the trades in South Australia. Consumer and Business Services holds it, and it is the place to check whether a person or company is licensed to do the work before you agree to anything.12

What you need before you search

The state's own guidance says you need one of two things: the licence number, or the surname or the trading name of the supplier. That second option matters. Some state registers publish no trading names at all, which makes a business name useless as a search term. South Australia accepts it.2

It also tells you where to find the number, and the list is worth reading as a checklist of where a licence number ought to be appearing: the business card, the written quote, the website, or other promotional material. A trade that publishes its number in none of those places is worth a question.2

Which trades are on it

  • Builders.
  • Plumbers, gas fitters and electricians, which South Australia groups together.
  • Conveyancers, land agents, sales representatives and property managers.
  • Security and investigation agents.12

Two things that sit somewhere else

  • Asbestos removal. The lists of licensed removalists are published by SafeWork SA, not by Consumer and Business Services, so a search of the wrong register returns nothing for a legitimate operator.
  • Solar installation. Whether a builders licence or an electricians licence is required depends on the work involved, so check which one the installer holds against what they are actually doing.21

Related questions

Can I search the South Australian register by business name?
Yes. The state lists the trading name as one of the three things you can search with, alongside the licence number and the surname. That is not true everywhere, so a habit formed in another state does not transfer.

Sources

Every source below was fetched and its response recorded on the date shown. Where a government site blocks automated clients, that is noted rather than reported as a successful check.

  1. Find a licence holder · Consumer and Business Services (SA)Checked 2026-08-10 · live, but blocks automated clients so the specific page could not be confirmed
  2. Check occupational licence holders · Government of South AustraliaChecked 2026-08-10 · live, but blocks automated clients so the specific page could not be confirmed
  3. Plumbers, gas fitters and electricians · Government of South AustraliaChecked 2026-08-10 · live, but blocks automated clients so the specific page could not be confirmed

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