About Checkatrade

30 years of trust

Since 1998, we've connected homeowners with trades they can trust. Now we're taking that into the digital age, cutting out the chasing, the waiting and the guesswork, so finding the right tradesperson is quicker and easier than ever. Trusted trades, less friction.

Our history

It started with a storm

In 1998, a tornado tore through Selsey, a small seaside town on the south coast. It damaged hundreds of buildings overnight, and rogue traders arrived soon after. They knocked on doors, offering to patch up roofs and walls for people who were frightened, desperate and had nowhere else to turn.

We decided enough was enough. We checked out the tradespeople in the area ourselves, wrote a list of the ones who could be trusted, and handed it to our neighbours.

That list became Checkatrade.

Our neighbourhood got bigger. Our purpose didn't change.

The storm is long gone, but the question it raised has not. Britain's 29 million households still need to know whom to trust before they let someone through the door. Answering that question is still our job.

Today, 2.5 million jobs are booked through Checkatrade, and around 50,000 vetted trade businesses rely on us to find their next customer.

Backed by Brookfield Asset Management, our team is working to bring home improvement into the modern age. That means faster quotes, quicker bookings and less guesswork, without losing the trust that got us here.

Our team are based at our headquarters in London, along with offices in Portsmouth and Barcelona. Want to join us? Visit our careers website.

Checkatrade Group

Checkatrade Group is the holding company for Checkatrade and Rated People: The Group’s multiple brands let us reach more of the UK's 29 million households through brands they already know and trust.

Trust is our foundation

Trust isn't a feature for us. It's what everything else is built on.

We check every trade before they join

Every tradesperson passes up to 12 checks before they're allowed on the platform. We look at who they are, where they live, their trading history, and any red flags in their background. Higher-risk trades, like roofers, face an even higher bar. Find out more about the Checkatrade vetting process.

Need reassurance? All tradespeople pass up to 12 checks before joining, and we keep checking after.

We keep checking

A place on Checkatrade is earned, and to be kept, high standards must be upheld. Qualifications must stay current and reviews must remain strong for as long as a trade is a member. Every year, we turn away more than 1,400 tradespeople who don't make the grade.

We hold ourselves to a standard, too

The Checkatrade Standard sets out what you can expect from every trade on our platform, and from us. Read about the Checkatrade Standard.

We've got your back if something goes wrong.

It rarely does. But if so, every job is backed by our guarantee of up to £1,000*. Find out more about the guarantee terms.

We've put £4 million into trust and safety over the past two years.

We're compliant with the CMA's (Competition and Markets Authority) guidelines for Trader Recommendation Platforms. We not only set the standard among our peers, but also partner with Trading Standards to help raise the bar for the whole industry, not just meet it. Find out more in our trust hub.

Plus, our annual Checkatrade Awards help us recognise and reward the brands which take their brilliance even further, to help their communities, customers and industry thrive.

How we help

Checkatrade

Tell us what needs doing, whether it's fixing a boiler, building an extension or unblocking a drain. We'll show you checked, reviewed tradespeople near you who can do it. Choose who you want to contact, or use our request-a-quote feature to quickly connect with skilled tradespeople who can quote for your job.

Need help working out what a job could cost, or what it might entail? Visit our advice centre, cost guides and job value estimate calculator.

Checkatrade Express

Finding an available trade used to take hours. Now it takes minutes. Describe the problem, like a broken window or a creaky stair, and you'll see a fixed price straight away. Then pick a time and pay upfront. Checkatrade Express is there to help you book straightforward jobs at an upfront, fixed cost.

For tradespeople

Being on Checkatrade is a badge of honour. Members get found by people actively looking for their skills, and benefit from access to tools that make running a business easier.

A letter from our CEO

Jambu Palaniappan, Chief Executive Officer, October 2026

Checkatrade was born out of a storm. In 1998, a tornado tore through Selsey and rogue traders arrived close behind, preying on people who had nowhere else to turn. We did something simple: we checked out the trades in town and wrote down the ones our neighbours could trust. That list became Checkatrade.

Nearly 30 years on, our neighbourhood is a lot bigger. Almost 3 million jobs are booked through Checkatrade, and around 50,000 trade businesses rely on us to find their next customer. But the question at the heart of what we do hasn't changed: whom can I trust to come into my home?

Here's the truth. For too many people, getting a job done is still harder than it should be. You ring round, leave voicemails and wait days for a quote. For tradespeople, it's the other side of the same problem: evenings lost to admin, missed calls while they're up a ladder, and good work that goes unnoticed. An industry that keeps Britain's homes standing has been left running on paper and phone calls.

We want to change that.

For homeowners, that means getting the right job done quickly and safely. With Checkatrade Express, you can describe a problem, see a fixed price and book in minutes. Quotes are itemised and in writing, and payments are secure. Behind every job is the thing we've always stood for. Every trade is checked before they join and rechecked while they stay, and every job is backed by our guarantee.*

For tradespeople, it means tools that work as hard as they do. Our AI receptionist answers calls around the clock, and smarter matching puts the right jobs in front of the right trades faster. Our trade app brings messages, quotes, invoices and scheduling into one place. Most trades run their business alone. We want every one of them to have the backing of a much bigger operation.

For Britain, it means tackling a problem that affects all of us. The country needs 1.3 million more tradespeople over the next decade. More than a third of today's construction workforce is over 50, and there are over 100 applicants for every apprenticeship place. At the same time, nearly a million young people are not in education, employment or training. Every trade we fail to train today means a longer wait, a higher bill, or a gap a rogue trader is happy to fill. That's why we launched Trade Jumpstart. Working initially with Leeds College of Building, the country’s only specialist construction college, it helps take young people from their first day as an apprentice to running their own business.

Growing like this brings greater responsibility. We've invested an additional £4 million in trust and safety over the past two years, and we work with Trading Standards to raise the bar for the whole industry. As we bring more AI into what we do, we'll use it to make our checks sharper, never softer. Trust is the foundation everything else stands on, and we'll protect it above all else.

With the backing of Brookfield and a team who've built some of the UK's biggest digital platforms, we have what we need to do this properly. We'll build for the long term and put homeowners and trades first. We'll measure ourselves by the jobs done right, not just the jobs booked.

Whether you're a homeowner with a job that needs doing, a tradesperson building your business, or a young person wondering what's next, there's a place for you in what we're building. Come and be part of it.

Jambu Palaniappan

Need support?

Got a question, or need help? Visit the support hub.

News and updates

Check out all our latest news in our press centre.

*Eligibility criteria and T&Cs apply.