How we verify a tradesman
Before any profile goes live on TrustedTrades, a person on our team looks at the tradesman’s trade registration. This page lists every check we run, and, just as important, the things we deliberately do not check. A trust badge only means something if you know exactly what sits behind it.
What we check on every tradesman
A person reviews the documents
Every submission lands in a review queue that a person on our team works through by hand. There is no automated approval and no rubber stamp. The reviewer can approve, reject, or send the submission back for a clearer photo.
Proof of trade on file
The tradesman uploads the registration document for his trade. The profile stays offline until a person has looked at it and approved the submission.
Verified email, SA mobile number on file
Sign-up requires a working email address, confirmed with a one-time code, and a South African mobile number. The email is verified; the number is on file as given, not SMS-checked, and we say so.
Approval is not permanent
A profile that breaks the rules, or a document that turns out to be wrong, can be taken off the directory. The badge describes the checks that passed, not a lifetime guarantee.
The trade-specific check
Plumbers: proof of PIRB registration
The Plumbing Industry Registration Board registers qualified plumbers and runs a public lookup. The plumber submits proof of PIRB registration and a person reviews it before the profile goes live. You can check a plumber’s registration yourself at pirb.co.za.
Electricians: the registration behind the CoC
We check the registration that lets an electrician issue a Certificate of Compliance. To be straight with you: South Africa has no public self-serve registry for that number, so this check is the document seen by a person, not a registry confirmation.
What we do not check
Most platforms stop at the badge. We would rather you know its limits, because the gaps are covered by different tools: escrow for the money, reviews for the track record, and the in-app chat for everything that should be in writing.
We do not guarantee workmanship
Verification tells you that the tradesman’s trade registration exists and that a person has looked at it. It does not tell you the next job will be perfect. That is what escrow and reviews are for: the money only moves when you confirm the work, and the reviews tell you how his past platform jobs went.
We do not set or check prices
You and the tradesman agree the price in the chat. We publish typical South African ranges as a yardstick, but we do not vet, cap or approve any quote.
We do not run criminal record or credit checks
The check is trade registration. If a criminal record check matters for your situation, arrange one yourself before the job.
We do not verify insurance
We do not confirm whether a tradesman carries liability insurance. If the job needs it, ask him for proof in the chat, where the answer stays on record.
We cannot vouch for off-platform work
The escrow and the job record only exist for jobs that run through the platform. Work arranged on the side is between you and the tradesman, with none of the protection.
How escrow protects both sides
You pay in
Through PayFast, into escrow
We hold it
The tradesman cannot touch it
Job confirmed
You confirm it is done
We release
Payout follows that confirmation
The client’s money never goes straight to the tradesman. It sits in escrow until the client confirms the job is done, and a person on our side does the release, so a disputed job can be stopped before the money leaves. The tradesman gets the mirror-image protection: the money is already committed before he starts, so a finished job cannot go unpaid.
How reviews stay real
Reviews come from two places. Platform reviews are left by the client of a job that was booked, paid and completed through TrustedTrades. Reference reviews come from past clients a tradesman invites when he joins, for work done before the platform existed, and they count towards his rating. We do not import ratings from other sites and we do not buy reviews. TrustedTrades is new, so review counts start small and grow one job at a time. We think an honest small number beats an inflated one.
Checked people, protected money.
Post a job and get matched with a verified electrician or plumber in Potchefstroom, or join as a founding tradesman and get checked first.