Is a non-accredited builder a bad builder?

No. Many excellent trades work entirely on referral. It means you do more checking yourself.

Which scheme is best?

They serve different purposes. What matters is that membership is current and relevant to your job.

Does accreditation mean insurance-backed guarantees?

Sometimes. Ask specifically rather than assuming.

Can I check after work has started?

Yes, and it is worth doing even then.

What Do Builder Accreditation Schemes Actually Mean?

Written by James Walker · Last reviewed 15 August 2026

James Walker has 2 degrees in construction (BSc (Hons) Building Surveying · MSc Environmental Design of Buildings) and an extensive background in issue resolution, resolving over £4 billion of consumer issues.

The short answer

Some registrations are legally required. Others are voluntary quality schemes. The difference matters.
Gas work legally requires Gas Safe registration. Certain electrical work is notifiable under Building Regulations.
Voluntary schemes vary widely in how much checking they actually do.
Always verify membership on the scheme's own register, never on the builder's website.
Accreditation lowers your risk. It does not remove it.

On this page

Legally required registration
Voluntary quality schemes
What accreditation actually gives you
What it does not give you
How to verify membership

[VERIFY, check this page against your current partner agreements, particularly anything said about fast-track routes.]

Legally required registration

Gas Safe Register. Anyone carrying out gas work must be registered. This is law, not a quality mark. Ask to see the card, check the register, and confirm the specific work is within what they are qualified for, the card lists categories.

Electrical work and Part P. In England and Wales, certain domestic electrical work is notifiable under the Building Regulations. Electricians registered with a competent person scheme can self-certify their work; otherwise it must be notified to building control. Schemes include NICEIC and NAPIT.

If work that needs certification does not get it, the problem surfaces when you sell.

Voluntary quality schemes

TrustMark is a government-endorsed quality scheme covering work in and around the home, with member firms checked against defined standards.

Buy with Confidence is run through Trading Standards, with members vetted before approval.

Book a Builder is a directory with its own vetting of listed firms.

Trade-specific bodies include the NFRC for roofing and MCS for renewable technologies such as solar. Membership generally involves an assessment against that trade's standards.

[VERIFY, confirm the current descriptions of the three partner schemes above.]

What accreditation actually gives you

Three things, roughly.

A filter. Someone has checked the business before you did, insurance, trading history, sometimes workmanship.

A complaints route. Most schemes offer a dispute process, which is faster and cheaper than court and often produces a response where direct contact has not.

Leverage. A builder with membership to lose behaves differently from one with nothing at stake.

What it does not give you

Accreditation does not guarantee the work. Scheme members produce defective work, run late, and occasionally fail as businesses.

It also does not mean recent checking. Schemes vary in how often they reassess, and a firm can have declined considerably since it was approved.

And it is specific. A firm accredited for one type of work is not thereby accredited for another.

Trusted Payments

We help every project succeed

Trusted Payments sits alongside you for the whole project, not just the payments.
Checked trades. Every tradesperson is vetted before they can be paid through the platform.
Payments tied to real work. You agree the stages before anything starts, and money is only released once you've signed a stage off.
The last payment comes at the end. 10% of the price isn't paid until the whole job is finished properly, snagging included.
A warranty behind the work. Three months while the work is going on, and 24 months after it finishes, underwritten by a fully authorised, A-rated insurer.
An independent ombudsman. If something goes wrong, you have 45 days to sort it out directly — then an independent decision that binds both sides.

See how it works What happens if there's a dispute?

Trades arriving through TrustMark, Book a Builder or Buy with Confidence have already been vetted by those schemes, so they can start on Trusted Payments without a further check. A trade you invite yourself is vetted within three working days, subject to them responding.

How to verify membership

Go to the scheme's own website and search their register. Use the company name, not the trading name if they differ. Confirm the membership is current and covers the work you want done.

Do not rely on a logo, a certificate photograph, or a claim in a quote. All three are trivially easy to reproduce.

How it works

Help your project succeed with Trusted Payments

Trusted Payments project flow: create a project, add a completion payment, manage the project in the app, pay by milestones, snagging and handover, 24-month warranty, and independent resolution if needed.

See how it works

Related guides

Common questions

Is a non-accredited builder a bad builder?: No. Many excellent trades work entirely on referral. It means you do more checking yourself.
Which scheme is best?: They serve different purposes. What matters is that membership is current and relevant to your job.
Does accreditation mean insurance-backed guarantees?: Sometimes. Ask specifically rather than assuming.
Can I check after work has started?: Yes, and it is worth doing even then.