Six Strangers in Your Home for Six Weeks. Who Are They?
licensing required for UK builders
average people on a home renovation crew
to verify each person with Certifyd
The reality of builders in the UK.
Identity verification for builders addresses a unique challenge: building projects involve multiple people rotating through your property over extended periods. Certifyd uses bi-directional authentication — both the homeowner and each tradesperson cryptographically prove their identity to each other in real time. The system verifies not just who they are, but that each person holds an active membership with the building company and is authorised for that specific project. Every visit creates a tamper-proof, auditable record.
Building is entirely unregulated in the UK. There is no licensing requirement, no register of builders, and no mandatory identity check. Unlike Australia (where builders must hold a licence) or many US states (which require contractor licensing), anyone in the UK can advertise building services with no oversight whatsoever.
Home renovation projects compound the risk. A typical kitchen or extension project involves the main contractor plus subcontractors: electricians, plumbers, plasterers, tilers, decorators. The homeowner books one company but multiple unknown individuals arrive over weeks or months. The main contractor may have vetted their direct employees, but subcontractors bring their own crews — and nobody verifies the chain.
When something goes wrong — theft, damage, disputes over work quality — the homeowner often cannot identify which individual was responsible, on which day, working under whose authority. Certifyd creates a cryptographically verified record of every person who enters the property, linked to their organisational membership, for every visit throughout the project.
This is broken.
Here's why.
Building projects bring multiple unknown subcontractors into your home over weeks or months.
The main contractor may be vetted, but their subcontractors bring crews the homeowner has never met.
There is no licensing requirement for builders in the UK — anyone can call themselves a builder.
When theft or damage occurs mid-project, there’s no verifiable record of which individuals were on site each day.
Simple verification.
Every time.
Each tradesperson arrives — both parties open Certifyd and authenticate via their registered device
Each person’s identity is cryptographically verified to the homeowner — bi-directional, not one-way
The system confirms each person’s active membership with the building company or subcontractor and their authority for this project
A tamper-proof record is created for every visit: who, when, where, and under whose authority in the contractor chain
Ready to see it in action?
Book a demo or tell us about your needs.
“We send crews to residential sites. The homeowner has never met most of them. When we swap someone out mid-project, the client just has to trust us that the new person is legit.”— Owner, building and renovation company
Common questions.
No. Unlike many other countries, the UK has no licensing requirement for builders. There is no register, no mandatory insurance, and no identity verification. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and Federation of Master Builders offer voluntary schemes, but membership is not required. This means the homeowner has no formal way to verify that a builder or their crew is who they claim to be.
On a typical building project, the main contractor hires subcontractors who bring their own crews. The homeowner has no direct relationship with these individuals and no way to verify them. With Certifyd, every person on site — whether direct employee or subcontractor — verifies through their device-bound identity and active organisational membership. The homeowner sees exactly who each person is and which company authorised them to be there.
Yes. Every verification creates a tamper-proof record with a timestamp and location. Over the course of a building project, this builds a complete audit trail of which individuals were on your property on which days, working under whose authority. If a dispute arises weeks or months later, you have verifiable evidence — not just memory.
Sole trader builders can register their own Organisation on Certifyd and verify their identity directly to homeowners. This is particularly valuable for small builders competing against larger firms — it provides a verifiable trust signal that sets them apart from unvetted competitors. Every job creates an auditable record that builds their verified track record over time.
Explore more use cases.
Related Solutions
Related Reading
External Resources
Bring verification to your building company
Book a demo to see how Certifyd works for your team, or tell us about your verification needs and we'll get back to you within 24 hours.
Read: Who’s Really at Your Door?