Trust & safety
Checked at the source. Held until you approve.
Two mechanisms carry every job on Serproz: licence verification against the official registers, and escrow that releases money only on your say-so.
Verification
How verification works
1. Licence lookup
A tradie's licence number is checked against the official register for their trade — the same public source you could check yourself. We store the evidence of every check.
2. Business match
The business is matched to its NZBN record — identity, status and trading names — so you know who you're actually dealing with.
3. Ongoing re-checks
Verified licences are re-checked on a schedule. A lapse or suspension on the register downgrades the badge and pauses new job eligibility.
Claimed profile with a licence checked and matched against the official register, and NZBN details confirmed. The badge shows the register, licence number and last-checked date.
Profile sourced from public register data, not yet claimed by the tradie. Registered pros can't quote until they claim and complete verification.
The registers
The official sources we check
All three are public — you can verify any licence yourself.
PGDB
Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board
Plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers
Visit the registerEWRB
Electrical Workers Registration Board
Electricians and electrical workers (incl. heat pump installers)
Visit the registerNZBN
New Zealand Business Number register
Business identity, status and trading names
Visit the register
SafeHold escrow
How SafeHold holds your payment
Funded, not paid
When a milestone starts you pay into escrow — the tradie sees the milestone is funded but can't access the money. Big jobs are funded stage by stage, never all upfront.
Held while work happens
The funds stay held for exactly that milestone. If a dispute is opened, only that milestone's money is frozen — the rest of the job is unaffected.
Released on your approval
You approve the milestone and the payment is released to the tradie, less the platform fee. No approval, no release — except through the published dispute process or the 7-day auto-release you're reminded about first.
Payments are processed by our regulated payment provider; Serproz does not hold your money in its own bank account. If something goes wrong, the dispute process is published, evidence-based and SLA-bound.
FAQ
Common questions
- What does the Verified badge actually mean?
- It means we looked the licence number up against the official register for that trade and it matched — with the register name, licence number and last-checked date shown on the badge. It is a register check, not a quality endorsement.
- What's the difference between Registered and Serproz Verified?
- Registered means the profile was sourced from public register data but hasn't been claimed. Serproz Verified means the tradie has claimed the profile and their licence and NZBN details were checked and matched.
- Is my money ever sitting in a tradie's account before the job is done?
- No. Payments go into escrow when a milestone starts and are released to the tradie only after you approve that milestone — or through the published dispute process.
- What happens if a licence lapses?
- Verified licences are re-checked on a schedule. If a licence lapses or is suspended on the register, the badge is downgraded and the tradie can't take new jobs until it's resolved. Jobs already underway are not cut off mid-way.