How to Find a Trade Without Using Checkatrade, MyBuilder or Bark
You need a roofer, an electrician or someone to fix the boiler, and your first instinct is to open one of the big directories. But the leads on Checkatrade, MyBuilder and Bark are paid for by the trades, sold to several of them at once, and the “vetting” varies a lot by platform — so the reviews you read are not always the full picture.
The best alternatives to Checkatrade are the official trade registers, a properly checked personal recommendation, and the government-endorsed TrustMark scheme — none of which sell your job as a lead. This guide walks through seven routes UK homeowners can use in 2026 to find a qualified, insured, accountable tradesperson, and exactly what to check before you let anyone through the door. The directories are not useless, but they should never be your only filter.
Why look past the big three at all?
There is nothing wrong with using Checkatrade, MyBuilder or Bark. Millions of jobs go through them. But it helps to understand what you are actually using. Checkatrade is a paid directory where trades pay an annual membership to be listed. MyBuilder and Rated People work on a job-posting model where trades pay to bid on or win your job. Bark sells your enquiry as a lead to several pros who then chase you. In every case the business is built around the trade paying for access to you, and the same job is often sold to more than one of them — which is why you get four phone calls within an hour of posting.
That model is fine for getting quotes quickly. It is less good at one thing homeowners actually care about: independent proof that the person is qualified and insured for the specific work. So treat the directories as a starting list, never as a guarantee, and use the routes below to verify.
- Start with the official register for the actual trade
For anything regulated, the register is the real vetting — and it is free to search. Gas work must be done by an engineer on the Gas Safe Register, and you can check a card number against the public register in seconds. Notifiable electrical work should be done by someone registered with a Part P competent-person scheme such as NICEIC, NAPIT or ELECSA. New windows and doors should come with FENSA or CERTASS certification. For larger building work, look for membership of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
These bodies vet competence in a way a directory profile does not. Crucially, registration lapses annually, so check the register on the day you sign rather than at the first visit — an expired card is one of the most common quiet failures on a UK trade hire.
- Ask for a recommendation — then check it properly
Word of mouth is still the most reliable route, but only if you do the second half. A neighbour saying “he was lovely” tells you about manners, not about whether the work was done to standard or whether anything has gone wrong since.
When someone recommends a trade, ask three things: what exactly did they do, how long ago, and has anything needed putting right since? A recommendation from a job finished two winters ago that has held up is worth far more than a glowing review from last week. Then still run the register check from step one. A personal recommendation plus a live registration is the strongest combination you can get.
- Use TrustMark — the government-endorsed safety net
TrustMark is the only government-endorsed quality scheme for tradespeople working in and around the home. It does not certify individuals directly; it endorses scheme operators — bodies like FMB, NICEIC and Gas Safe — who vet their own members. What TrustMark adds on top is a consumer-protection wrapper: a code of conduct, a complaints route, and on deposit-protected work, an insurance-backed guarantee that survives even if the firm stops trading.
You can search registered businesses by trade and postcode on the TrustMark website. As with any register, verify the firm’s TrustMark number on the public register on the day you commit, because listings are not always kept current.
- Try Which? Trusted Traders and Trading Standards schemes
Two routes carry genuine independent oversight. Which? Trusted Traders assesses businesses through a credit and reference check and a visit, and traders sign up to a code of conduct. Separately, many local authorities run a Trading Standards “Buy With Confidence” scheme, where member businesses are vetted and monitored by Trading Standards officers directly.
Both are slower than posting a job to a directory, and the choice of trades is smaller. But the vetting is done by an organisation with no financial stake in you hiring anyone, which is exactly the independence the lead-selling model lacks.
- Look for manufacturer and trade-body approved installers
If you are buying a specific product — a boiler, a heat pump, solar panels, a particular brand of windows — the manufacturer often runs an approved-installer network. These installers are trained on that product, and using one usually unlocks a longer manufacturer warranty (some boiler warranties stretch to ten years only if fitted by an accredited installer). For renewables, look for MCS certification, which is also the gateway to most government grants.
This route ties competence to the exact job in front of you, which is more useful than a general five-star rating.
- Local Facebook groups and Nextdoor — useful, but unvetted
Community groups and Nextdoor are genuinely good for surfacing names quickly, and you will often see the same trades recommended repeatedly, which is a signal worth noting. The catch is that there is zero vetting and the occasional fake or paid-for recommendation. Treat these as a way to build a shortlist of names, never as proof of anything. Every name you find here still has to clear the register check in step one before it means a thing.
- Ask a trade you already trust
The plumber who has serviced your boiler for years knows the good electrician, the reliable roofer and, just as importantly, who to avoid. Trades work alongside each other and their reputation travels with the referral, so they tend to be careful about who they put forward. If you have one trade you rate, ask them before you do anything else.
Here is the blunt opinion the directories will not put on a billboard: a five-star average on a platform the trade pays to be on is not vetting — it is marketing. Reviews can be gamed, gentle complaints get buried, and a high rating tells you nothing about whether the person is registered for the specific notifiable work you need today. The only checks that actually protect you are the free public registers, a live insurance certificate, and a written quote you understand. Do those three and the platform you found them on barely matters.
What to do in the next 30 minutes
• Write down exactly what the job is and whether it is notifiable work (gas, electrics, windows, structural) — that decides which register applies.
• Search the relevant official register: Gas Safe for gas, a Part P scheme for electrics, FENSA/CERTASS for windows, TrustMark or FMB for general building.
• Ask one person you trust — a neighbour or a trade you already use — for a name, then run that name through the register too.
• Shortlist three names from different sources rather than three off the same directory, so you are not comparing identikit leads.
• When each quote arrives, check it against our guide to red flags in a builder’s quote before you reply to anyone.
Get three vetted quotes without being sold as a lead
Finding good names is half the job; comparing them fairly is the other half. Trade Pilot connects you with vetted local trades and gives you three quotes to compare — without your enquiry being auctioned off to whoever pays the most. However you find your shortlist, keep the certificates, quotes and registration numbers in one place so you can compare like for like and find them again later. You can store every quote, certificate and warranty in a free Home+ logbook, and when the quotes land, our guide to reading a tradesperson’s quote helps you tell a fair price from a tempting one. Try Trade Pilot for three vetted quotes when you are ready to book.
Frequently asked questions
Is Checkatrade actually vetted? Checkatrade carries out checks on its members, including identity and, for many trades, qualifications and insurance, but the depth varies by trade and the business is funded by trades paying for membership. Always confirm the specific registration you need yourself on the relevant free public register rather than relying on a directory badge alone.
What is the safest way to find a tradesperson in the UK? There is no single safest route, but the strongest combination is a personal recommendation plus a live check on the official register for that trade — Gas Safe for gas, a Part P scheme for electrics — plus a current public-liability insurance certificate. TrustMark and Which? Trusted Traders add an independent layer of consumer protection on top.
Are MyBuilder and Bark reviews trustworthy? Reviews on any platform funded by trades should be read as one data point, not proof. Look for detail and consistency across several sources, be wary of a wall of identical five-star reviews posted close together, and always back a review up with an independent register check.
Do I need a TrustMark tradesperson? You are not legally required to use one, but TrustMark is the only government-endorsed scheme and it brings a code of conduct, a complaints route and, on protected deposit work, an insurance-backed guarantee. For larger or higher-risk jobs it is a sensible filter.
How many quotes should I get? Three is the standard advice — enough to spot an outlier price in either direction without drowning in appointments. Try to get them from trades found through different routes rather than three from the same directory, so you are genuinely comparing.
