South Australia · Free check coming soon

Check a builder licence in SA

Builders in South Australia are licensed by Consumer and Business Services (CBS). Here’s how to check a licence on the official register, and what else to check before you sign.

Know Your Builder doesn’t cover SA yet. Want to know when it does?

The waitlist opens when the site launches.

How to check a builder licence in SA yourself

Consumer and Business Services (CBS) publishes licences on the Find a licence holder. It’s free and takes a couple of minutes.

Open Consumer and Business Services’ “Find a licence holder” search.
Search for the builder’s name or licence number.
Check the licence is current, the conditions cover your work, and the name matches your contract.

Home building insurance

Building indemnity insurance is required for domestic building work that needs council approval and costs $20,000 or more. The builder arranges and pays for it, and work can’t start until you and the council have a copy of the certificate of insurance.

Check more than the licence

A current licence doesn’t tell you whether the business is in financial trouble. These national registers cover businesses in every state:

ABN Lookup: Confirms the ABN is active and who it belongs to.
ASIC published notices: Liquidation, administration and winding-up notices.
ASIC banned and disqualified register: People banned from managing companies.

Building in NSW or the ACT instead? Know Your Builder runs all of these checks for you, free.

Common questions

Who licenses builders in South Australia?

Consumer and Business Services (CBS). Its “Find a licence holder” search is free.

Does my SA builder need building indemnity insurance?

Yes, for domestic building work that needs council approval and costs $20,000 or more. The builder must take out the insurance before work starts and give you and the council a copy of the certificate. The threshold was $12,000 until 10 November 2025.

Last reviewed 16 October 2026 against the Consumer and Business Services (CBS) website. Rules change, so confirm with the regulator before you rely on a figure.