In NSW, if you advertise residential building work over $5,000 or specialist trade work of any value (electrical, plumbing, drainage, gasfitting, air conditioning and refrigeration), the licensee’s name and licence number must appear in all your advertising, and your website counts. Put it in the footer of every page as text, and repeat it on your contact and quote pages.
Your licence number is probably the least exciting thing on your website, and on a lot of tradie sites it’s missing, buried on the About page, or belongs to a licence that was renewed under a new number two years ago. It’s an easy fix, and it’s one of the few things on your website that’s a legal requirement rather than a nice idea.
This is general information, not legal advice. If you’re unsure how the rules apply to your business, check with Building Commission NSW or your industry association.
What the rules say
The NSW Government’s page on building trade advertisements is short and clear. At the time of writing (late 2026) it says:
- The licensee’s name and licence number must be shown in all advertising.
- If the licensee has a registered business name, that name can be used instead of the licensee’s personal name.
- The rules apply to print, internet, television, radio and other advertising.
- You can’t advertise residential building work over $5,000, or specialist work of any value, unless you hold a current contractor licence.
“Specialist work” covers electrical wiring, plumbing, draining, gasfitting, and air conditioning and refrigeration. So if you’re a sparky, plumber or fridgie, the value of the job doesn’t matter. Your ads need your licence details.
The same page also covers a couple of things tradies often miss. You can’t advertise a price that’s only part of the cost unless the full price is also clearly stated. And you need to keep a record of who placed each ad.
The Housing Industry Association’s guide to NSW advertising requirements adds that a business phone number should also appear, and says the obligation applies regardless of where the ad is placed, including social media and vehicle signage. At the time of writing, HIA lists the maximum penalties as $1,100 for individuals and $2,200 for companies. The fine is small. The bigger cost is looking like you’ve got something to hide.
Your website is advertising
Some tradies think of the website as information, not advertising. The regulator doesn’t see a distinction: the internet is listed. If a page describes your services and invites people to contact you, treat it as an ad.
That includes:
- Every page of your website
- Your Google Business Profile
- Facebook and Instagram profiles, and paid social ads
- Google Ads (more on that below)
- Online directories like hipages, Oneflare, Yellow Pages and local business listings
- Email signatures and quote templates
- Your ute, trailer and site signs
- Business cards, flyers and letterbox drops
Where to put it on your website
The simplest answer: in the footer, so it appears on every page automatically. On a WordPress site built in Elementor, that’s one edit to the footer template, and every page updates.
Then add it in a few more places where people are making the decision:
- The footer of every page. Name, licence number, ABN and phone number.
- The contact page. Near the phone number and form.
- The quote request page. People about to hand over their details like seeing it.
- The About page. With a sentence explaining what the licence covers.
- Landing pages for ads. If you run Google Ads to a dedicated page, make sure that page has the footer too.
Don’t put the licence number only in an image. Write it as text so it’s readable on phones, by screen readers and by search engines.
How to format it
Use the name exactly as it appears on the licence or registered business name, and include the category when you hold more than one. Some examples:
Northside Electrical Pty Ltd. Electrical contractor licence no. 123456C. ABN 12 345 678 901. Ph 0491 570 156.
Licensed plumber and drainer, NSW licence no. 123456C
Jane Smith trading as Smith Carpentry. Contractor licence no. 123456C (carpentry)
Those numbers are placeholders, obviously. Use yours.
The category matters. If you hold a carpentry licence, calling yourself a “builder” on your website could be misleading under Australian Consumer Law, even if your licence number is displayed. Describe what you’re licensed to do.
Mistakes we see all the time
The old licence number. Licences get renewed, upgraded or moved from a sole trader to a company. The website still shows the old one. Search your site for the number once a year.
The wrong entity. The site shows the owner’s personal licence, but the work is contracted through a company that holds its own contractor licence. The ad should match the entity doing the work.
Licence on the website, not on the Google profile. Your Google Business Profile is advertising too, and for local search it’s often the place people see first. The business description is the easiest spot for it. Our guide to Google Business Profile for tradies covers the rest of that setup.
Only an employee licence. A qualified supervisor certificate or tradesperson certificate is not a contractor licence. If you’re contracting directly with customers, you need the contractor licence, and that’s the number to show.
Google Ads without the number. Ad text is short and the licence number often gets left out. Many tradies handle this with a sitelink or callout, or by making sure the landing page shows it clearly. If you’re unsure whether your ads comply, ask the regulator.
Let people check you
Customers can look you up on the NSW Government’s licence check tool, which shows the licence holder’s name, licence categories, expiry dates and any disciplinary history. Linking to it from your About page sends a message: we’re happy for you to look. Builders in particular benefit from this, and we cover the other trust signals in websites for builders.
Working across the border
Plenty of Northern Rivers tradies take jobs in Tweed Heads one week and the Gold Coast the next. Queensland has its own rules through the QBCC, and they’re more detailed. According to the QBCC’s advertising page, ads need the name you’re licensed under (a trading name alone is likely to be non-compliant), a statement that you’re licensed under the QBCC Act with your licence number, and the details must be reasonably prominent. QBCC lists websites, social media, online directories, vehicles and on-hold messages among the media covered.
If you hold licences in both states, show both. “NSW licence no. 123456C. QBCC licence no. 1234567.” Done.
Your ten-minute fix
- Look up your own licence on the government tool and copy the exact name and number.
- Add name, licence number, ABN and phone to your website footer as text.
- Check the contact and quote pages show it too.
- Add it to your Google Business Profile description and social profile bios.
- Check your vehicle signs, business cards and quote template.
- Put a reminder in your calendar to recheck it when your licence renews.
A footer that’s a pain to edit is often a sign the site needs more than a licence number fixed, and that’s the kind of thing tradie.agency looks at. On the sites we build through our websites for tradies service, the licence details go in the footer before launch, not after someone notices.