A badge says what we checked. Nothing more, nothing less.

Badges sit beside a member's name on their listings and profile. They look like this:

NZBN checked — the member gave us a New Zealand Business Number, we found it on the NZBN register, and the business name shown is the one on the register. We matched it to the member using the register's directors, owners, trading names or website.

LBP — the member holds a current Licensed Building Practitioner licence in the classes shown. We checked the licence number and the name against the LBP register. LBP badges carry the licence's expiry date and come down by themselves when it passes.

On a computer, hover over a badge to see the date it was checked. Badges are shown to signed-in members only, for the same reason seller names are: it keeps members' details away from scrapers.

• It isn't a recommendation, a rating or a guarantee of the material.
• It doesn't mean the person is licensed for the job you have in mind, or that anything they sell is fit for a particular purpose.
• It doesn't replace your own checks. Count the material, see it in person, and pay in a way you can trace — the usual advice still applies.
• No badge doesn't mean anything either. Badges are optional, and plenty of good sellers are private people clearing out a garage.

1. 1The member adds their NZBN or LBP number in their account and ticks a declaration that it's theirs. We keep the exact wording they agreed to, and when.
2. 2A person at Leftover looks the number up on the public register and matches it to the member — name, role in the business, email domain. If it doesn't match, the claim is refused and the member is told why.
3. 3One LBP licence can carry one badge. If a second account claims the same licence, we look at both before anything goes up.
4. 4LBP badges come down automatically on the licence's expiry date. If a licence is suspended or a business is removed from the register, we take the badge down.

Leftover's Terms forbid it, but it's more than a breach of our rules. Depending on what's claimed and what happens next, these laws can apply:

Penalties are the maximums set by law; a court decides the actual figure. A bill before Parliament (the Fair Trading Amendment Bill, introduced May 2026) would raise the Fair Trading Act maximums substantially. This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice.

• Remove the badge straight away.
• Take down the member's listings and close the account.
• Where it fits, report it — to MBIE for a false LBP claim, to the Commerce Commission for false claims in trade, and to the Police where someone has been defrauded.
• Keep the record. Because the member's declaration is stored word for word with the date, we can show exactly what was claimed and when.

Tell us through the contact page and choose Report a listing or member. Include a link to the listing or profile and what doesn't add up. We look at every report, and we'd much rather hear about one that turns out fine than miss one that isn't.

For each badge: the number you gave us, any note you added to help us match you, the declaration you ticked and when, and when we checked it. Only the badge wording and the date checked are ever shown, and only to signed-in members. The number and your note are never shown on the site. Remove a badge, or delete your account, and the claim goes with it.