Checking a conveyancer's licence before you buy or sell
Use the correct Victorian or NSW register, distinguish licensed conveyancers from solicitors and clarify contract review, searches and settlement fees.
Before handing over a property contract, establish who will do the conveyancing and which professional status applies. A licensed conveyancer and a solicitor may use different registers. This guide walks through Victorian and NSW verification and gives you a scope checklist so a low quote does not hide the work you expected before signing or settlement.
Identify whether you are engaging a conveyancer or a solicitor
NSW Fair Trading explains that conveyancing transfers property ownership and is commonly handled by a licensed conveyancer or solicitor. Its guidance identifies legal-practitioner and other stated exceptions to the NSW conveyancer-licensing requirement. Ask for the name and role of the person responsible for your matter. If the provider acts as a solicitor, verify the relevant legal practising status rather than treating absence from the conveyancer register as proof it cannot do the work. The examples here do not replace advice about your particular contract.
Professional roles, licensing exceptions and consumer information.
NSW Government: legal and conveyancing servicesVictoria: use the licensed-conveyancer register
Consumer Affairs Victoria advises confirming that the conveyancer is licensed. Its online register includes the licensee's name, licence number and type, relevant business names and licence conditions. It contains current information; a full historical extract is a separate service. Match the named licensee with the engagement and read any conditions. If the result, trading name or responsible person is unclear, resolve the difference with the provider or regulator before proceeding. Do not assume a directory profile is a substitute for the official entry.
Current public fields and the distinction from a historical extract.
Consumer Affairs Victoria: licensed conveyancer registerNSW: check the person or licence number
Service NSW provides an online conveyancer-licence check using the licensee name or licence number. NSW Fair Trading explains that its licensing register also records matters such as disciplinary findings. Read the actual result and match the identity rather than relying on a screenshot supplied during a sales conversation. For a property in another jurisdiction, use that jurisdiction's regulator and ask which professional registration covers the service. A NSW or Victorian search is not a national licensing clearance.
Official name or number search route.
Service NSW: check a property conveyancer licenceContext for licence records and exceptions.
NSW Fair Trading: licensing and professional rolesWorked brief: review before signing and work through settlement
Hypothetical example. Quote A covers settlement administration but charges separately for reviewing the sale contract before you sign. Quote B includes one pre-signing contract review and settlement but lists searches and other disbursements separately. Tell both providers when you need advice, whether the contract is already signed and what deadlines apply. Ask what the review delivers, which searches are included, who handles an unusual condition or delayed settlement and when extra fees arise. Then compare the same stages. A professional-status check does not decide whether a particular contract is suitable for you.
Keep a written engagement and confirm payment details
NSW Fair Trading's consumer guidance says to keep a written copy of the service contract and its terms. Ask for the professional fee, disbursements and additional-work basis, plus the contact for questions about the file. Keep any changed instructions with that engagement. If payment instructions change, verify them independently with the professional using contact details you have already established. Do not treat a matching business name or a new email alone as enough to authorise a transfer. Seek the responsible professional's advice before a contract deadline rather than relying on a general article.
A property-boundary survey is a separate specialist engagement.
Booking a registered boundary surveyorCondition inspections and conveyancing answer different property questions.
Reading a building inspection scopeYour quick checklist
Tick these off as you go. This checklist resets when you leave.
Useful starting points
General information to help you ask questions. Check requirements for the particular service and your state or territory.