Licence IDs
Your Licence ID includes your photograph and your classes of Registration.
Digital Licences — valid from 1 September 2024
Digital licenses will be available for all Electrical workers (EWs) as of September 2024. From this time, we will no longer issue plastic ID cards for EWs.
If you have a current licence, you can download your Digital Licence in the EW portal. You can print or save this to a computer or a mobile device. If you have a plastic ID card, you can continue using this as long as your licence remains active, and the card displays your current Registration classes.
Your Digital Licence will be in PDF format and will show your photo and details. It will also include a QR code, which others can scan to verify your status on the EW Public Register.
View instructions on how to download your new digital licence from the EW portal:
Downloading your digital licence
If you need to update the personal details displayed on your Digital Licence, you can update your personal details and contact information via the EW Portal. This will allow you to download a new Digital Licence that has your updated details.
Issuing of IDs
New licences
All Registered Electrical Workers must hold a Practising Licence to carry out prescribed electrical work.
From September 2024, when you apply for Registration for the first time, you will be able to download a Digital Licence using the EW Portal. This Digital Licence will show the photo and details you have provided with your Registration.
Renewing
You must renew your Practising Licence every 2 years from the date your Practising Licence was issued.
After you renew your Practising Licence, you will be able to download a new Digital Licence that displays your new expiry date and any changes you have made to your personal details. You do not need to upload a new photo when you renew your licence, but you may choose to do so at that time.
Requirements for photographs
Digital Licences include a photograph and your classes of Registration on a single page. This ensures that no one else can use your Digital Licence, and improves the overall professionalism of the trade.
To ensure that your Digital Licence is produced to a high standard, only passport standard and sized photographs will be accepted. Photographic images of a different size may result in a stretched image on your licence.
We strongly recommend that you obtain a professionally produced digital photograph to passport standards. However, if you already have a photo or wish to take your own photo that meets the standard, it will be accepted.
You can check that your photo meets the requirements using the online photo checker tool below.
Online photo checker(external link) — New Zealand passports
You can upload your photograph at the time you renew your Practising Licence online. New Zealand Post can help you find your nearest Post Shop to take your photograph.
New Zealand Post(external link)
The Board may also refuse photographs which are not of adequate quality or are composed in a way that is unsuitable for use on an ID card.