What verified means
In effect from 1 October 2026
“Verified” is a word marketplaces stretch. Here is exactly what KAAM checks, how, and what a badge does not tell you - so you can weigh it properly rather than take it on trust.
Draft. The registered company details and ICO registration on these pages are still to be filled in, and the set should be read by a solicitor before launch.
1. What we check
| Badge | What we actually did |
|---|---|
| Identity | A named person gave us photographic identification and a KAAM reviewer looked at it against the account. |
| Company | The company number was looked up on the Companies House register, live. We record the registered name, its status, and whether it matches the name they trade under here. |
| Public liability insurance | A certificate was submitted showing an insurer, a policy number and an expiry date, and a reviewer read it. We record the expiry and the badge falls away on that date. |
| Trade registration | A registration with a named scheme - Gas Safe, NICEIC and the like - was submitted with its number and expiry, and a reviewer read it. |
| Other requirements | Some services require more before a professional can be matched to them at all. The requirement is listed on the service, not hidden in a profile. |
A professional is not matched to jobs in a service until every mandatory requirement for that service is verified and in date. That is enforced by the system, not by someone remembering.
2. What a badge does not tell you
- It is not a guarantee of the work. A valid certificate says someone is insured and registered. It does not say they will do a good job.
- We are not the issuing body. We read the document; we did not award the qualification, and we cannot vouch for a scheme’s own standards.
- It is a check, not a watch. We see a document on a date. If an insurer cancels a policy the next week, the certificate we hold does not change. We re-check on expiry, and reminders go out 30, 14 and 7 days before.
- It is about the business, not everyone in it. Unless the badge says otherwise, it does not mean every person who might turn up has been checked individually.
- No criminal record check is implied. KAAM does not carry out DBS checks on general trades. Where a service requires one, that is its own separate badge and it says so.
3. Check it yourself, too
Every one of these is checkable by you, free, in about a minute - and you should, for work that matters. Gas Safe, NICEIC, Companies House and the rest all publish public registers. If the person at your door does not match the name on the badge, that is worth a question before they start.
4. When we get it wrong
If you believe a badge on KAAM is not true, tell us at safety@kaam.uk. We re-check it, and we suspend the service while we do where the risk warrants it. False evidence ends the account, and where the document is a public registration we tell the body that issued it.
How to report anything else is on the safety page.