HOW TO HIRE · PLUMBING & HEATING

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

Only an engineer on the Gas Safe Register may be paid to work on gas. How to check the licence and categories, and agree the hourly terms first.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a gas engineer in five steps

  1. Check the licence numberText 'Gas' and the seven-digit number to 85080, or call 0800 408 5500, before your gas engineer arrives.
  2. Match the card to the jobBoilers, cookers, fires and meters are separate categories on the back of the ID card.
  3. Agree the hourly termsThe rate, the call-out or first-hour minimum, out-of-hours rates and how parts are charged.
  4. Describe the applianceMake, model, what it is doing wrong and a photo of the data plate, in one message.
  5. Ask what you will be givenA record or certificate for the gas work, and any warning written down.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

Gas Safe Register

Regulation 3 of the 1998 Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations — and regulation 3 of Northern Ireland's 2004 Regulations — bars anyone from paid work on a gas fitting unless they are in the HSE-approved class, the Gas Safe Register. Registration is a legal condition, not a quality mark.

Check the licence by text to 85080 or on 0800 408 5500, and match the name and photo. gassaferegister.co.uk →

The right category

Gas engineers register for particular appliances. HSE notes the back of the card lists them, so an engineer qualified for boilers may not be qualified for a gas fire or a range cooker.

Read the categories on the back of the card against the appliance in front of them. hse.gov.uk →

What is not gas work

HSE's list of exemptions is short: replacing the hose or regulator on a portable heater, the hose from a refillable cylinder, and moving a freestanding bayonet-fitted cooker to clean behind it. Everything else on a gas appliance needs a registered engineer.

If a job is not on that short list, book a gas engineer rather than a handyman. hse.gov.uk →

Landlord gas safety record

Landlords must have every gas appliance they provide checked by a Gas Safe engineer every year, keep the record for 2 years and give tenants a copy within 28 days.

If the visit is the landlord check, ask for the record by name. hse.gov.uk →

VAT

Gas work is standard-rated at 20%; only grant-funded heating work for a qualifying person — aged 60 or over, or on certain benefits — in their own home is charged at 5%. Registration is compulsory above £90,000 of taxable turnover, and a registered firm has to charge it and itemise it rather than fold it into the price.

Ask whether the gas engineer's hourly rate includes VAT, and for the VAT number. gov.uk →

“What is your Gas Safe licence number, and which categories are you registered for?”

A good answer: A number and a list — boilers, cookers, fires — that you can check against the card and the job.

“What is your hourly rate, and is there a call-out or first-hour minimum?”

A good answer: A stated rate and minimum. Many gas engineers charge a call-out that covers the first hour.

“Do you charge more in the evening or at the weekend?”

A good answer: A stated uplift. Emergencies cost more; agree it before they set off.

“How are parts charged?”

A good answer: At a named price before fitting, not added afterwards.

“Will you test the appliance and the pipework before you leave?”

A good answer: Yes: the appliance run and checked, and a tightness test after any work on the gas pipework.

“What will I have in writing at the end?”

A good answer: An invoice describing the gas work, and a record or certificate where the job needs one.

Getting the quote right

  • The gas engineer's name and licence number
  • The hourly rate, the minimum charge and any call-out fee
  • Out-of-hours rates if the visit is not in normal working hours
  • Parts priced before fitting, with labour stated
  • Who actually attends — the Gas Safe engineer named on the quote, employed or subcontracted
  • The VAT number, and VAT at 20% shown on its own line

Walk away if

  • No Gas Safe card, or a card that has expired
  • A card whose back does not cover your appliance
  • Offers to 'cap off' or move gas pipes with no record of the work
  • A rate that changes once the job has started
  • Cash only, with no invoice
LOW
£40
TYPICAL
£58
HIGH
£95

What a gas engineer costs: £40–£95 per hour

Gas engineers charge by the hour, usually with a call-out or first-hour minimum; parts are added on top. Gas Engineer 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

Gas 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, or book by the hour.

  1. Show the cardThe gas engineer shows the ID card; you check the photo, expiry and categories.
  2. Find the faultThe appliance is tested and the fault explained before parts are ordered.
  3. Isolate and workThe gas supply is isolated at the appliance or the meter before any gas fitting is opened.
  4. TestA tightness test after pipework is disturbed, then the appliance is run and checked.
  5. Write it upAn invoice, any record or certificate, and any warning in writing.

Licence number
The seven-digit number on the Gas Safe ID card.
Categories of work
The appliance types an engineer is registered for, listed on the back of the card.
Tightness test
A pressure test showing gas pipework does not leak.
Bayonet fitting
The push-and-twist connector a freestanding cooker plugs into.
Call-out charge
A fixed fee for attending, often covering the first hour.
Landlord gas safety record
The yearly record of a landlord's gas appliance checks.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the invoice and any recordIt shows a registered engineer did the gas work, which an insurer or buyer may ask about.
Check the applianceIt lights, runs and shuts off as it should, with no smell of gas and no new fault code.
Note any warningIf the gas engineer found a defect, the warning should be written down with what to do next.
Write the reviewSay what the gas engineer did well on the gas work and what they did not. If it fell short, use the make-it-right step first, so the gas engineer can put it right before you publish.

STEP 1Tell the gas engineer, in writingSay what is wrong with the gas work and what you want done about it. Under section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the gas work had to be carried out with reasonable care and skill; if it was not, you can ask the gas engineer to put it right at their own cost (section 55) or for money off (section 56).
STEP 2Use the make-it-right stepRate the gas work below four stars and you are asked whether the gas engineer should see the complaint first; we keep it moving until it is answered, then you review.
STEP 3Illegal or unsafe gas workReport unregistered gas work to Gas Safe Register; HSE enforces the regulations. A tenant without a gas safety record can report the landlord to HSE.
STEP 4Small claims, if money is owedAn unpaid refund or repair bill from the gas work goes to small claims: £10,000 is the limit in England and Wales, £5,000 in Scotland using simple procedure, and £5,000 in Northern Ireland — all designed to be used without a solicitor.

Hiring a gas engineer: questions people ask

Yes, by law in all four UK nations, for any paid work on a gas appliance, fitting or pipework.

Text 'Gas' and the seven-digit licence number to 85080, or call 0800 408 5500. Then read the categories on the back of the card.

No. Installing or reconnecting a gas appliance is gas work, and only a Gas Safe registered engineer may do it.

£40–£95 an hour, about £58 on average, with London at the top. The gas engineer price guide explains the range; your town in the search box above shows engineers who cover it.

Each gas appliance the landlord provides is checked by a Gas Safe engineer every year; the record is kept for 2 years and given to tenants within 28 days.

Very little: replacing the hose or regulator on a portable heater or a refillable cylinder, and moving a bayonet-fitted cooker to clean behind it.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in plumbing & heating

How to hire: Boiler Service & RepairHow to hire: Gas Safety CertificateHow to hire: Boiler ReplacementHow to hire: Boiler InstallationHow to hire: PlumberHow to hire: Emergency PlumberHow to hire: Fireplace InstallationHow to hire: Central Heating InstallationAll 701 hiring guides →

Gas engineers near you

Gas engineers in LondonGas engineers in ManchesterGas engineers in BirminghamGas engineers in GlasgowGas engineers in BelfastAll gas 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. Gas Safe Register
  5. HSE — domestic gas safety: frequently asked questions
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  7. mygov.scot — make a court claim for money
  8. 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
  9. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  10. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register