How to check a Victorian plumber's registration and paperwork

1. Find the practitioner on BPC's register

Ask for the plumber's name and registration or licence number. Use BPC's Find and check a practitioner tool to confirm the person's current status, classes of work and any conditions or limits. A business card or 'licensed plumber' claim isn't a substitute for the register.

If the entry doesn't match what you've been told, ask the business to clarify who will do the work and under whose authority before agreeing. The register can also help identify conditions or limitations.

2. Registered and licensed have different roles

A registered plumber may perform work within their authorised class subject to applicable supervision requirements. A licensed plumber can issue a compliance certificate for work requiring one and can supervise relevant work within their licence class. Check the actual class, particularly for gasfitting, water supply or drainage.

3. Ask about the compliance certificate

BPC says a compliance certificate is required when the total value of plumbing work exceeds $750, counting labour, materials, appliances and GST, even if you supply the materials yourself. Some specified work needs a certificate regardless of its price, including certain gas appliance or gas-piping work and construction, installation or alteration of below-ground sanitary drains. Ordinary drain clearing is not automatically the same as constructing or altering a sanitary drain.

Only an appropriately licensed plumber may issue a required certificate. Ask who will issue it and expect it within five days of completing the work. BPC describes mandatory insurance for work requiring a certificate, with cover for specified plumbing defects and related loss for six years after certificate issue, subject to terms and exclusions—not a blanket six-year guarantee. For work priced at the exact $750 boundary, BPC's guidance pages use different wording; confirm the requirement with BPC or the licensed plumber.

Before you proceed

Ask for the job description, practitioner's details, total price including GST and any necessary certification or inspection charges. For examples of how drainage and hot-water scopes differ, see Blocked-drain quotes: inspection, jetting, CCTV and repair and Hot-water diagnosis and replacement quotes.

For suspected gas escape or dangerous electrical work, follow the relevant official emergency guidance rather than relying on this registration checklist to make the situation safe.