Ontario

Trade licences in Ontario

A Certificate of Qualification says you can do the work. A licence says you can sell it. These guides cover the ESA, TSSA and HCRA side of that line trade by trade, who has to hold what, and what changes the day the work gets signed for in your own name.

3 ways to move forward

Practical guidesThe licences your trade needsThere is no single contractor licence in Ontario, which is why every answer online contradicts another. Who regulates what, why your personal certificate is not the company licence, and the order that avoids dead time.After you qualifyTrade LicensingSkilled Trades Ontario, ESA/ECRA electrical licensing, TSSA, HCRA/Tarion, and municipal permits for construction trades.Practical guidesC of Q, then whatYour ticket lets you do the work. Something else entirely lets you sell it. Read the Last Mile guide for your code to the end, find out whether your trade needs a contractor licence, and look around a working business before you file anything.

The rest of the Ontario library

Project documents & deliveryFinding construction work in OntarioBidding and prequalification in OntarioPricing construction work in OntarioGetting paid on Ontario constructionConstruction holdback in OntarioHST for Ontario contractorsConstruction bookkeeping in Ontario
Every guideThe whole Ontario libraryPractical guides