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Trade Playbook

Framing

No provincial trade licence required

Framing crews build the structure — walls, floors, and roofs — for builders and GCs, usually at piece rates per square foot. No licence is required; speed, crew, and a builder relationship are the business.

Framing at a glance

Licence to do the work
Not required — 403A is voluntary; Working at Heights IS mandatory
Path in
On a crew — productive in weeks, lead framer in a few seasons
Regulated by
Municipality (under the builder's permits); MOL for safety
Insurance baseline
$2M CGL; higher WSIB rate group (falls)
Union route
UBC carpenters locals (ICI side)

Where are you right now?

Learn it. Earn it. Own it. Pick the door that matches where you are.

Getting inBecome a framerHow people actually enter this trade: sponsors, registration, hours, and school.Open Getting certifiedFinish your ticketAlready an apprentice? The Last Mile guide: closing out hours, booking the exam, exam day.Open Going out on your ownStart a framing businessThe step-by-step from qualified tradesperson to incorporated, insured, bid-ready owner.Open Just lookingCommon questionsLicences, costs, timelines: the questions everyone asks, answered straight.Open

The licensing layer, explained

No provincial trade licence — carpentry (403A) is voluntary. You need a municipal business licence, WSIB, insurance, and mandatory safety training (Working at Heights for anything off the ground). The work itself is governed by the builder's permits and the Ontario Building Code; framers work under the builder's permit rather than pulling their own.

Certifications in this trade

Insurance to expect

Framing carries serious fall and structural-collapse exposure — among the higher WSIB rate groups. Carry $2M CGL minimum and keep Working at Heights current across the crew.

Go to the source

The official pages that govern this trade. Bookmark these, they are the final word on requirements and fees.

Keep reading

403A General CarpenterIncorporationCRA RegistrationWSIB & ProvincialTrade LicensingInsuranceSafety ComplianceOperational SetupBid Readiness

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