# Checkatrade Scraper — UK Tradesperson Directory Leads (`studio-amba/checkatrade-scraper`) Actor

Scrape verified UK tradesperson profiles from checkatrade.com: business name, trade, phone, address, and ratings. Sitemap-driven full-directory walk with resume support, built for lead generation.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/studio-amba/checkatrade-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Studio Amba](https://apify.com/studio-amba) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 result scrapeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Checkatrade Scraper — UK Tradesperson Directory Leads (No Login)

Scrape verified UK tradesperson profiles from checkatrade.com — the UK's largest vetted trades directory, covering plumbers, electricians, builders, roofers, and every other trade category.

### What is Checkatrade?

Checkatrade vets and lists tradespeople across the UK, with each profile carrying a phone number, address, trade category, and a customer rating built from real reviews. It's the go-to directory homeowners use to find a vetted plumber, electrician, or builder — which makes it a strong source of structured, contactable lead data for anyone selling to or researching UK trades businesses.

- **Lead generation** — Build a contact list of tradespeople by trade or region for B2B outreach (tools, insurance, finance, trade accounts)
- **Market research** — Analyze the density and rating distribution of trades by category or postcode area
- **Competitive intelligence** — Track how many vetted competitors operate in a given trade or location
- **Directory/aggregator building** — Source structured trade listings for your own local-services product

### What data does Checkatrade Scraper extract?

- Business / tradesperson name
- Trade category (e.g. "Household Water Treatment", "Condensation Control")
- Phone number
- Address, city, and postcode (outward code)
- Average rating (Checkatrade's 0-10 scale) and review count
- Full profile URL

### How to scrape checkatrade.com data

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `category` | String (optional) | Trade keyword to narrow the walk, e.g. `"plumbing"`, `"electrician"`, `"roofing"` |
| `location` | String (optional) | Location keyword to narrow the walk |
| `maxResults` | Integer | Maximum tradesperson profiles to return (default: 100) |
| `brightDataApiKey` | String (secret) | Bright Data Web Unlocker API key — required, see below |
| `proxyConfiguration` | Object | Not used by this actor — kept for input-schema compatibility |

**A Bright Data Web Unlocker API key is required.** Checkatrade serves a Cloudflare Turnstile "Just a moment..." challenge to plain requests. Bright Data's Web Unlocker (UK exit) solves the challenge server-side and returns the real profile page. Get a key at [brightdata.com](https://brightdata.com).

**How discovery works:** Checkatrade has no working category/location listing URL (`/trades/in/london/plumbers` returns 404) — every profile is discovered via the site's own XML sitemaps (`/trades/sitemap/index.xml` → ~48,000+ profile URLs). Profile slugs are business names, not trade-segmented paths, so `category`/`location` match loosely against the slug text (e.g. a company literally named "Giles Plumbing Services" matches `category: "plumbing"`). This is an honest limitation of the source data, not a bug — leave both fields empty to walk the directory unfiltered.

**This is a detail-page scraper — one Bright Data request per profile.** A run for a few hundred profiles finishes in minutes; a run for tens of thousands can take hours. Large runs ship with automatic resume: if Apify migrates the run to a new host mid-way, it picks up exactly where it left off instead of restarting and duplicating rows.

### Output

Each tradesperson profile is returned as a structured JSON object:

```json
{
    "businessName": "Wired Weston",
    "tradeCategory": "Electric Vehicle Charger Installation",
    "phone": "07450 564806",
    "address": "Weston-super-Mare, Somerset",
    "city": "Weston-super-Mare",
    "postcode": "BS22",
    "rating": 9,
    "reviewCount": 30,
    "url": "https://www.checkatrade.com/trades/wiredweston",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-07-13T09:12:00.000Z"
}
```

### Output fields

| Field | Type | Example |
|-------|------|---------|
| `businessName` | String | `"Wired Weston"` |
| `tradeCategory` | String | `"Electric Vehicle Charger Installation"` |
| `phone` | String | `"07450 564806"` |
| `address` | String | `"Weston-super-Mare, Somerset"` |
| `city` | String | `"Weston-super-Mare"` |
| `postcode` | String | `"BS22"` (outward code, when shown) |
| `rating` | Number | `9` (Checkatrade uses a 0-10 scale) |
| `reviewCount` | Number | `30` |
| `url` | String | Full profile URL |
| `scrapedAt` | String | ISO 8601 timestamp |

### Cost estimate

Each profile costs one Bright Data request, so this actor uses roughly **1 compute unit per 10-15 profiles**. Bright Data spend is the dominant cost for this actor — budget for it on large runs.

### Limitations

- `tradeCategory` and `postcode` are not always present — some profiles ship generic location text ("Your Local Area") instead of a real postcode, and generalist profiles sometimes leave the trade category blank
- Where a profile omits the site's aggregate rating block, `rating`/`reviewCount` are derived from the individual reviews embedded on the page, which may undercount the true total review count shown elsewhere on the site
- `category`/`location` filter loosely against business-name slugs, not a structured taxonomy — see "How discovery works" above
- Data is scraped from the public website and may change without notice
- Respect Checkatrade's terms of service and use responsibly

### Frequently asked questions

**Do I need my own Bright Data account?**
Yes. Checkatrade blocks plain requests with a Cloudflare Turnstile challenge, so a Bright Data Web Unlocker API key is required to run this actor.

**Why does a large run take hours?**
Every profile requires its own page fetch — there's no bulk listing endpoint. Set `maxResults` to a few hundred for a quick pull, or let a larger run continue for hours; it resumes automatically if interrupted.

**Why don't `category`/`location` return an exact trade match every time?**
Checkatrade profile URLs are business-name slugs (e.g. `/trades/rhinoplumbing`), not category paths. The filter matches the keyword against that slug text, so it works best for common trade words that show up in company names.

### Related scrapers

- [Local.ch Scraper](https://apify.com/studio-amba/local-ch-scraper) — Swiss local business directory.
- [Firmy.cz Scraper](https://apify.com/studio-amba/firmy-cz-scraper) — Czech business directory.
- [PagineGialle IT Scraper](https://apify.com/studio-amba/paginegialle-it-scraper) — Italian Yellow Pages directory.

### Disclaimer

This actor collects only publicly available business listing data from checkatrade.com for legitimate use such as lead generation and market research. Respect Checkatrade's terms of service and applicable data-protection law (including UK GDPR/PECR rules on unsolicited contact) when using the output.

### Need this data on a schedule, or a custom version?

We run this scraper as a managed service for businesses: scheduled runs, deduplication, delta detection, and delivery to your inbox, Google Sheets, or API — maintenance included. We can also build a custom version with your exact fields and filters, or combine multiple sources into one feed.

See [studioamba.dev/services](https://studioamba.dev/services/) or email <hello@studioamba.dev> for a free data sample. We maintain 300+ European web scrapers and answer within one business day.

# Actor input Schema

## `category` (type: `string`):

Optional keyword to narrow the sitemap walk, e.g. 'plumbing', 'electrician', 'roofing'. Checkatrade profile URLs are business-name slugs, not trade-segmented paths, so this matches loosely against the slug text — leave empty to walk the directory unfiltered.

## `location` (type: `string`):

Optional keyword to narrow the sitemap walk by location, matched loosely against the profile slug text. Leave empty to walk the directory unfiltered.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of tradesperson profiles to return. This is a detail-page scraper (one Bright Data request per profile) — keep this small for a quick test; large values (1000+) can take hours and resume automatically if the run migrates.

## `brightDataApiKey` (type: `string`):

Your Bright Data API key for the Web Unlocker zone. Required to bypass Checkatrade's Cloudflare Turnstile challenge. Get one at https://brightdata.com. Can also be supplied via the BRIGHT\_DATA\_API\_KEY environment variable.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Not used — this actor routes all traffic through Bright Data Web Unlocker (GB), not Apify proxies. Kept for input-schema compatibility.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxResults": 20,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "GB"
  }
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxResults": 20,
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [
            "RESIDENTIAL"
        ],
        "apifyProxyCountry": "GB"
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("studio-amba/checkatrade-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "maxResults": 20,
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
        "apifyProxyCountry": "GB",
    },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("studio-amba/checkatrade-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxResults": 20,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "GB"
  }
}' |
apify call studio-amba/checkatrade-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=studio-amba/checkatrade-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/ygUPlSdTwzVd1La60/builds/Xr05zH7psAOp59emi/openapi.json