Can I do it myself, or does the law require a licensed person?
New Zealand is a DIY country with licensing law that is stricter than the folk wisdom: the exemptions are real but narrow, their conditions apply together, and the law changed in January 2026. Pick the job and see who the law requires, cited to the acts, verified 2026-07-17.
What kind of work is it?
Pick the job and see who the law requires, and exactly what you may do yourself. Rules verified 2026-07-17, including the January 2026 law change.
Pick a job type to see the rules.
Worth knowing
- Building consent and licensing are separate systems: work can be exempt from building consent and still legally require a licensed person, and consented work still has its own licensing rules.
- By law the rules above bind whoever does the work. A quote from an unlicensed person for restricted work is a question to raise before any money moves, not after.
Check the person before they start
We have public entries from the legal registers for building work, electrical work, plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying: Licensed Building Practitioners, Electrical Workers Registration Board, and the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board. For any trade, check the business by name, see which registers cover each trade here, or browse tradespeople with public evidence.
Common questions
Can I do my own building work in New Zealand?
Restricted building work must be carried out or supervised by a licensed building practitioner under section 84 of the Building Act 2004. The 2011 definition Order pins down what that covers: work on the primary structure or the external moisture management system of a house or a small to medium apartment building, done as bricklaying or blocklaying, carpentry, external plastering, foundations or roofing work, plus the design work behind those elements. The owner-builder exemption lets you do restricted building work on your own home without a licensed building practitioner, but its conditions travel together: you must have an interest in the property and live or intend to live there, do the work yourself or with unpaid friends and family, and not have used the exemption on a different home in the previous 3 years.
Can I do my own plumbing in New Zealand?
The householder exemption in section 15 is real but narrower than the folk version: it covers sanitary plumbing only, in premises you own and occupy or intend to occupy as your own residence, with help only from family members who live with you, and it applies only in the places a Ministerial determination switches it on. Since 15 January 2026 it also does not cover plumbing for a consent-exempt small stand-alone dwelling. The Board's own consumer guidance lists what anyone may do regardless: install a dishwasher or washing machine, and replace or repair taps, ball cocks and plugs.
Can I do my own gasfitting?
Fixed gasfitting is never a solo DIY job. The only lay route, section 21, keeps its conditions together: work strictly under the supervision of a licensed supervisor, with nothing connected to a gas supply while you work, and the finished work tested, certified and connected by the supervising licence holder. Portable bottled appliances such as a barbecue with its own bottle are outside gasfitting.
If the work does not need a building consent, do I still need licensed people?
Building consent and licensing are separate systems: work can be exempt from building consent and still legally require a licensed person, and consented work still has its own licensing rules. The January 2026 law change also tied the two systems together in new places: the consent-exempt small stand-alone dwellings sit outside both the owner-builder route and the householder plumbing exemption.
This is guidance from the public rules, not legal advice. The exemptions are narrower than most summaries suggest and their conditions apply together, the law changed in January 2026, and councils and the registers decide real cases. Check the cited text or the official body before you rely on any single rule.
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