How to Join TrustMark

Written by James Walker · Last reviewed 16 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

TrustMark is the government-endorsed quality scheme for work in and around the home.
You join through a registered scheme provider, not TrustMark directly. That surprises most applicants.
Assessment covers technical competence, trading record, insurance and customer care.
It is required for most grant-funded retrofit and energy efficiency work.
Registered businesses can start on Trusted Payments without further vetting.

On this page

The route in
What gets assessed
What it costs and how long
Why trades join

The route in

TrustMark operates through scheme providers, trade bodies and certification organisations licensed to register businesses under the TrustMark framework.

You apply to a scheme provider appropriate to your trade, they assess you, and registration follows. Which provider suits you depends on what you do, so it is worth asking two or three before committing.

What gets assessed

Broadly: technical competence (qualifications, and usually a site assessment of completed work), trading record (how long, financial standing, complaints history), insurance (public liability, and employers' liability if you have staff), and customer care (terms, complaints handling, and a dispute route).

The site assessment is the part most applicants underestimate. Have a recent job you would be happy to show.

What it costs and how long

Annual fees to the scheme provider, plus assessment. Timescale depends on the provider and how quickly you supply documentation.

Why trades join

Grant-funded work. Retrofit and energy efficiency schemes routinely require it. If you want that work, this is the gate.

Consumer confidence. Homeowners are increasingly told to check the register.

Local authority work, which often specifies it.

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?

If you are TrustMark registered, you skip the vetting on Trusted Payments, you have already been assessed.