HOW TO HIRE · PLUMBING & HEATING

How to hire a boiler engineer in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

Only a Gas Safe registered engineer may legally service or repair a gas boiler. How to check them, what a real service includes and the record you keep.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a boiler engineer in five steps

  1. Check the Gas Safe RegisterAsk for the seven-digit licence number and check it before the visit — by text to 85080 or on 0800 408 5500.
  2. Look at the back of the cardThe back lists what the engineer may work on. It must include gas boilers, not only cookers or fires.
  3. Describe the boiler in one messageMake, model, age, the fault code if there is one, and a photo of the boiler and its data plate.
  4. Agree the call-out and parts in writingWhat the visit costs, whether diagnosis is charged on its own, and that no part is ordered without a price.
  5. Keep the service recordReadings, findings and any warning notice in writing. Many boiler warranties depend on a yearly record.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

Gas Safe Register

Regulation 3 of the 1998 Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations forbids anyone working on a gas fitting for pay unless they belong to the class approved by the Health and Safety Executive, which is the Gas Safe Register. Northern Ireland's 2004 Regulations say the same. A boiler service or repair is gas work, with no small-job exception.

Ask for the licence number and confirm it by texting 'Gas' and the number to 85080, or call 0800 408 5500. gassaferegister.co.uk →

The right category on the ID card

Registration is by type of work. HSE describes the card: photo, licence number and expiry on the front, and on the back the appliance categories the engineer is qualified for. A card that shows cookers and fires but not boilers does not cover your job.

Turn the card over before the engineer starts and read the categories. hse.gov.uk →

Landlord gas safety record

If you let the property, the law requires every gas appliance you provide to be checked each year by a Gas Safe engineer, the record kept for 2 years and a copy given to tenants within 28 days. A service is not automatically a safety check, so say which you want.

Ask whether the visit will produce the annual gas safety record, and get it in writing. hse.gov.uk →

Insurance and trader status

Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 — reasonable care and skill, and the work redone if it falls short — apply when you deal with a trader. Gas Safe registration does not itself tell you about insurance, so ask for the public liability insurer by name.

Look for the trader badge and the insurer's name on the Locufy profile.

VAT

A boiler service or repair is standard-rated at 20%; only grant-funded heating work for a person aged 60 or over, or on certain benefits, in their own home drops to 5%. A trader whose taxable turnover passes £90,000 must register, charge it and show it as a separate line; one below that threshold adds none.

Ask whether the boiler service price is before or after VAT, and for the engineer's VAT number on the invoice. gov.uk →

“What is your Gas Safe licence number, and does your card cover boilers?”

A good answer: A number you can check on the spot, and a card whose back lists boilers. Anything vaguer than that ends the booking.

“What does your boiler service include?”

A good answer: A visual check of the boiler, flue and controls, a combustion analysis with the flue gas readings written down, cleaning where needed and the condensate trap cleared. A five-minute look is not a service.

“Is diagnosis charged on its own, and is it taken off if you do the repair?”

A good answer: A clear yes or no, in writing, before the visit. Many engineers deduct the call-out when the repair goes ahead.

“If the boiler needs a part, what happens next?”

A good answer: They tell you the fault and the part price before ordering, and say whether it is on the van or a second visit.

“Will you check the flue and the ventilation as well as the boiler?”

A good answer: Yes. A flue that leaks fumes is the serious risk with a gas boiler, and a good engineer checks the full run they can see.

“Will this count as my landlord gas safety record?”

A good answer: Only if they carry out the safety check and issue the record. An honest engineer separates the two and prices both.

“Is the boiler still worth repairing at its age?”

A good answer: A straight answer based on the part price and the boiler's condition, without pressure. If they think it is time to replace it, they put that in a separate written quote.

Getting the quote right

  • The engineer's name and Gas Safe licence number, so you can match the person who comes
  • What the service covers, item by item, and whether a gas safety record is included
  • The call-out or diagnosis charge, and whether it is credited against a repair
  • Any part named with its price, and labour for fitting it, before it is ordered
  • Out-of-hours rates if the visit is in an evening or at a weekend
  • Who actually attends to the boiler — the Gas Safe engineer by name, employed or subcontracted
  • The VAT number, with VAT at 20% added as a line of its own

Walk away if

  • No licence number, or a number that does not match the name or the face on the card
  • The back of the card does not list gas boilers
  • No written readings or record left after a 'service'
  • Parts fitted without a price agreed first
  • Pressure to replace the boiler on the spot, before you have a written quote
  • Cash only, or a reluctance to give a business name and address
LOW
£60
TYPICAL
£100
HIGH
£500

What a boiler engineer costs: £60–£500 per visit

A service is usually a fixed price for the visit; a repair is priced as a call-out or diagnosis fee plus the part and the time to fit it. Boiler Service & Repair price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Boiler engineers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. Check the cardBefore any panel comes off, the engineer shows the Gas Safe card and you check the boiler category on the back.
  2. Look and listenThe boiler is run while the engineer checks the flue, the case seals, the controls and the pressure.
  3. Test the combustionA flue gas analyser measures what the boiler is burning; the readings go on the record.
  4. Clean and adjustThe parts that need it are cleaned, the condensate trap cleared and settings put back to the maker's figures.
  5. Record and hand overYou are given the written record, told of any defect, and shown anything you need to do.

Gas Safe ID card
The card every registered engineer carries; the back lists the work they may do.
Combustion analysis
A measurement of the gases the boiler produces, showing whether it burns cleanly.
Flue
The pipe that carries fumes out of the house; it must be sealed along its run.
Condensate trap
The part of a condensing boiler that collects water from the flue gases; it can block.
Diverter valve
The valve in a combi boiler that switches between heating and hot water; a common repair.
Landlord gas safety record
The yearly safety check record a landlord must keep for 2 years and give to tenants.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the service recordFile it with the boiler manual. The maker's warranty, a future buyer and your insurer may all ask for it.
Check the boiler yourselfHot water and heating both working, pressure on the gauge in the normal band, no new fault code on the display.
Note the repair guaranteeHow long the part and the labour are guaranteed, written on the invoice.
Write the reviewSay what the boiler engineer did well on the boiler service and what they did not. If it fell short, use the make-it-right step first, so the boiler engineer can put it right before you publish.

STEP 1Go back to the boiler engineerWrite it down: what the boiler engineer did, what is wrong with the boiler service and what would fix it. Reasonable care and skill is the standard section 49 of the 2015 Act sets; if the boiler service missed it, ask for the work to be redone free, or for part of the price back.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right stepGive the boiler service fewer than four stars and you can send the issue to the boiler engineer first; we stay on it until there is an answer, and then your review is posted.
STEP 3Unsafe or unregistered gas workReport it to Gas Safe Register, which investigates illegal gas work for the Health and Safety Executive. A tenant without a current gas safety record can report the landlord to HSE.
STEP 4Small claims, if money is owedA claim against the boiler engineer that will not settle can go to court without a lawyer — the small claims track for up to £10,000 in England and Wales, simple procedure for up to £5,000 in Scotland, and the small claims court for up to £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a boiler engineer: questions people ask

Yes. Anyone paid to service or repair a gas boiler must be on the Gas Safe Register; it is the law in England, Wales and Scotland under the 1998 Regulations and in Northern Ireland under the 2004 Regulations.

Text 'Gas' and the seven-digit licence number to 85080, or call Gas Safe Register on 0800 408 5500. Then check the back of the card lists boilers.

No. The landlord record comes from a safety check of every gas appliance the landlord provides. Many engineers do both on one visit, but ask for both by name.

£60–£500 per visit, with about £100 typical — a routine service at the low end, a repair with a new pump, fan or board at the top. The boiler service and repair price guide has the detail; enter your town above for engineers near you.

Many boiler warranties ask for a yearly service, so check the maker's terms and keep every record. For a let property the gas safety check is a yearly legal duty.

Only if the plumber is also on the Gas Safe Register for gas boilers. The water side of a heating system is open to any plumber; the gas side is not.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in plumbing & heating

How to hire: Boiler ReplacementHow to hire: Boiler InstallationHow to hire: Gas Safety CertificateHow to hire: Gas EngineerHow to hire: Power FlushingHow to hire: Radiator InstallationHow to hire: Central Heating InstallationHow to hire: Emergency PlumberAll 701 hiring guides →

Boiler engineers near you

Boiler engineers in LondonBoiler engineers in ManchesterBoiler engineers in BirminghamBoiler engineers in GlasgowBoiler engineers in BelfastAll boiler engineers on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 3
  2. Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004, regulation 3
  3. HSE — Gas Safe Register: the scheme, its coverage and the ID card
  4. HSE — domestic gas safety: frequently asked questions
  5. Gas Safe Register
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 55 — repeat performance
  8. nidirect — the small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  9. Energy-saving materials and heating equipment (VAT Notice 708/6) — 3.3 Central heating systems (5% only when grant-funded); 2.23 otherwise standard-rated
  10. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  11. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register