Licensed Building Practitioners

About the Licensed Building Practitioner Scheme

The Licensed Building Practitioner Scheme is one of a series of initiatives introduced in the Building Act 2004 to encourage better design and construction in the New Zealand building industry.

The public can have confidence that licensed building practitioners working on their homes and buildings are competent and are designed and built right the first time.

Licensing promotes, recognises and supports professional skills and behaviour in the building industry. Over time, there will be an increased emphasis on education and training, along with better career pathways. Licensed practitioners in the building industry will have their expertise formally recognised.

All licensed building practitioners are listed on a public online register, along with details of their licensing classes.

Licensed building practitioners are accountable for their work via a complaints procedure.  Property owners will be able to make complaints to the Building Practitioners Board about licensed building practitioners if their work is substandard.

It is anticipated that around 22,000 people will be licensed once the Scheme is fully implemented.
The Department of Building and Housing has worked closely with the building industry to develop the Scheme.

Restricted work aspects of the Scheme, which involve some work being restricted to licensed building practitioners only, are intended to apply after 30 November 2010.

Licensing classes

Licensing began on 1 November 2007 with the introduction of the Design 1, 2 and 3, Site 1, 2 and 3 and Carpentry classes.

The External Plastering, Roofing, Bricklaying and Blocklaying classes opened on 1 November 2008 and it is expected that licensing classes for Concrete Structure, Steel Structure, and Foundations will open early to mid 2009 after a consultation process has been completed.