Verification
Homeowners only see quotes from ID-checked, insured tradespeople.
Business details
Self-employment checks
Sole traders aren't listed on Companies House, so we check your self-employment against HMRC records instead. When our team has checked it, customers see Self-employment checked on your profile and quotes.
Why we ask for these details and how we protect them
Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR): HMRC gives you this when you register for Self Assessment. We check it matches the HMRC document you upload.
National Insurance number: links your UTR to you as a person. We only check its format; we don't contact HMRC with it.
Trading address and start date: we compare them with your HMRC document.
VAT number: optional. If you give one, we look it up with HMRC's public VAT register and compare the registered name with your trading name.
Your UTR and National Insurance number are encrypted before they're stored, and we only ever show them back masked. Customers never see them. A small number of Fettld verification staff can reveal them to compare with your document, and every reveal is logged. We use them only to confirm you're self-employed.
Proof from HMRC
Upload one document that shows your name and UTR. A photo or PDF is fine; PDF, JPEG or PNG up to 10 MB.
Trade credentials
Contractor agreement
Identity check
We check your passport or driving licence against a short selfie video. Our verification partner Didit runs the check in your browser, and it takes about three minutes on a phone or a computer with a camera. We keep the result, not your photos.