Understanding Trade Categories
Categories are how we funnel jobs to the right trade, getting this right is crucial.
To ensure that jobs are directed to the right tradespeople, each trade within our system is linked to one or more categories. Every job created in our platform must include a valid categoryId, which determines which trades will receive the job request.
This means that when integrating with our system, you’ll need to either:
- Map your own categories to ours, or
- Provide your customers with a way to choose the appropriate category themselves.
Note: We currently have over 1,000 categories, presenting this entire list to customers up-front can be overwhelming and may discourage them from starting a job request.
While we’re developing semantic search tools to automatically suggest categories, in the short term we recommend using:
- A fuzzy search to help customers find what they need, or
- A curated, shorter list of relevant categories depending on the context or trade.
Parent Categories
Parent categories are used to organise the large number of subcategories into broad groups such as “Builder”, “Plumber”, or “Gardener.”
While a parent category can be used to create a job, it covers a very broad range of work. For example:
- Not all “Builders” will handle both extensions and loft conversions
- A “Gardener” might mow lawns but not install fencing
Submitting a job under a parent category increases the risk that the selected tradesperson may not actually perform the specific type of work requested.
Recommendation: Always select a sub category whenever possible to ensure the job reaches the most relevant tradespeople.
Sub Categories
Sub categories represent the specific types of work that fall under each parent category. These categories are much more granular and describe the exact service being requested — for example:
- Parent Category: Builder
- Sub Categories: House Extension, Loft Conversion, Brickwork, Garage Conversion
- Parent Category: Plumber
- Sub Categories: Leak Detection, Bathroom Installation, Boiler Repair, Unblocking Drains
- Parent Category: Electrician
- Sub Categories: Fuse Box Installation, Rewiring, Lighting Installation, Electrical Safety Certificate
Sub categories ensure that:
- Jobs are matched with qualified and relevant tradespeople
- Customers receive faster responses and better-quality matches
- Tradespeople only receive job requests they are interested in or capable of performing
If you’re integrating with our system, we recommend:
- Mapping your categories to our subcategories wherever possible.
- Using keyword search or smart matching (e.g., fuzzy search) to help users find the right subcategory.
- Defaulting to parent categories only as a fallback when no specific subcategory can be determined.
Tip: When designing your UI, consider grouping subcategories under their parent to help users navigate easily while still encouraging specific selection.
Categories API
Our categories don't change very often but to ensure you always have the most up to date list, we recommend you use our API to get the most up to date data.
You can get the full list of categories, grouped by parent category as follows:
GET https://search.checkatrade.com/api/v1/category
Response format:
[
{
"id": number,
"label": string,
"name": string,
"subcategories": [
{
"id": number,
"label": string,
"name": string,
"subcategories": [],
"noindex": boolean,
"nofollow": boolean
}
],
"noindex": boolean,
"nofollow": boolean
},
}Here is an example response:
[
{
"id": 834,
"label": "Rubbish / Waste / Clearance",
"name": "rubbish-waste-clearance",
"subcategories": [
{
"id": 1570,
"label": "Aggregate Supplier",
"name": "aggregate-supplier",
"subcategories": [],
"noindex": false,
"nofollow": false
},
{
"id": 1693,
"label": "Office Clearance",
"name": "office-clearance",
"subcategories": [],
"noindex": false,
"nofollow": false
},
{
"id": 1326,
"label": "Scrap Cars",
"name": "scrap-cars",
"subcategories": [],
"noindex": false,
"nofollow": false
},
{
"id": 1409,
"label": "Scrap Metal",
"name": "scrap-metal",
"subcategories": [],
"noindex": false,
"nofollow": false
},
{
"id": 1694,
"label": "Warehouse Clearance",
"name": "warehouse-clearance",
"subcategories": [],
"noindex": false,
"nofollow": false
},
{
"id": 1932,
"label": "Emergency Rubbish / Waste / Clearance Service",
"name": "emergency-rubbish-waste-clearance-service",
"subcategories": [],
"noindex": false,
"nofollow": false
},
{
"id": 836,
"label": "Data Shredding",
"name": "data-shredding",
"subcategories": [],
"noindex": false,
"nofollow": false
},
{
"id": 1169,
"label": "House Clearance",
"name": "house-clearance",
"subcategories": [],
"noindex": false,
"nofollow": false
},
{
"id": 835,
"label": "Recycling",
"name": "recycling",
"subcategories": [],
"noindex": false,
"nofollow": false
},
{
"id": 1171,
"label": "Salvage",
"name": "salvage",
"subcategories": [],
"noindex": false,
"nofollow": false
},
{
"id": 1430,
"label": "Waste Clearance",
"name": "waste-clearance",
"subcategories": [],
"noindex": false,
"nofollow": false
}
],
"noindex": false,
"nofollow": false
}
]Updated 2 months ago