How to Check a Contractor’s Licence in Ontario

Is there one licence every Ontario renovation contractor must have?

No, and this is the single most misunderstood fact in hiring. Ontario does not licence "renovation contractors" as a general category. A company can legally renovate your kitchen with no provincial licence at all, provided nobody on the job performs work reserved for a regulated trade. What Ontario regulates instead is specific kinds of work: electrical, gas and fuel appliances, plumbing and other compulsory trades, and the building of new homes.

The practical consequence is that "are you licensed?" is the wrong question, because for much of renovation work there is no licence to hold. The right question is "which parts of my project involve regulated work, and who is doing those parts?" The sections below cover each regulator, what it actually covers, and how to run the lookup yourself.

Sources: HCRA: Finding a renovator

What does an HCRA licence cover, and why doesn’t my renovator have one?

The Home Construction Regulatory Authority licenses new home builders and sellers, and HCRA states plainly that renovators "aren’t licensed or regulated like new home builders and sellers are". If a contractor is finishing your basement or remodelling your bathroom, HCRA licensing does not apply to them, and the absence of an HCRA licence is not a red flag.

Where HCRA does apply, its Ontario Builder Directory is genuinely useful: it shows licensing status, years of activity, number of homes built, and regulatory actions including conduct concerns, charges and convictions. If your project is a new build, search the company name there before signing anything. If it is a large addition, ask HCRA directly whether your project needs a licensed builder. The boundary depends on the specifics of the work, and it is worth a phone call rather than an assumption.

Sources: HCRA: Ontario Builder Directory (about) · Ontario Builder Directory (search)

How do I check an electrician? (ECRA/ESA licence)

Search the Electrical Safety Authority’s public contractor lookup for the company name or its seven-digit ECRA/ESA licence number. In Ontario, electrical work for hire must be done by a Licensed Electrical Contractor, and an individual electrician’s certificate is not enough for a business to take on your job. Licensed contractors are required to display their ECRA/ESA number on quotes, vehicles and advertising, so a company that cannot produce one is telling you something.

The lookup takes under a minute and shows whether the licence is active. ESA also explains why hiring a licensed contractor matters: the contractor takes out the electrical notification (permit) and the work gets ESA review. That is protection you lose entirely with cash-deal wiring.

Sources: ESA: Hiring an electrician or contractor · ESA: Find a licensed contractor (search)

How do I check gas, furnace or fireplace work? (TSSA)

Any work on natural gas or propane appliances (furnaces, water heaters, gas stoves, fireplaces, BBQ lines) must be done by a TSSA-registered fuels contractor employing certified gas technicians. The Technical Standards and Safety Authority registers the contractors and certifies the individual technicians who touch fuel-burning equipment.

Ask the company for its TSSA registration and ask which certified technician will do the work. A renovation company that subcontracts the gas line hookup to a registered fuels contractor is doing it right; one that "handles it in-house" without registration is not.

Sources: TSSA: Fuels contractor registration

How do I check a plumber or another compulsory trade? (Skilled Trades Ontario)

Search Skilled Trades Ontario’s public register by name to confirm a tradesperson holds a Certificate of Qualification in a compulsory trade. Plumbing, electrical, steamfitting, sheet metal, refrigeration and air conditioning, and several other trades are "compulsory" in Ontario: it is illegal to perform that work for hire without certification or a registered apprenticeship.

This register checks the person rather than the company, which makes it a useful complement to the contractor-level checks above. For a plumbing job, the person doing the work should hold a plumber’s Certificate of Qualification or be an apprentice sponsored by someone who does.

Sources: Skilled Trades Ontario: Working in the compulsory trades · Skilled Trades Ontario: Public register (search)

How do I check WSIB coverage?

Run the company through WSIB’s online clearance search. It is free, instant, and does not require an account. A clearance certificate confirms the business is registered with Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and its premiums are in good standing. That matters to you directly: if an uncovered worker is injured on your property, the dispute can land at your door.

One honest nuance: WSIB coverage is not mandatory for every renovator. Ontario’s compulsory-coverage rules for construction carry an exemption for home renovation work done directly for the occupant, so a small renovator legitimately working under that exemption will have no clearance to show, and that is not by itself a warning sign. Ask which situation applies; a professional will know the answer immediately.

Sources: WSIB: Compulsory coverage in construction (FAQs) · WSIB: Clearance certificate search

What is the Consumer Beware List?

It is the Ontario government’s public record of businesses charged or convicted under consumer protection law, and of businesses that ignored orders from the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery. Searching it takes seconds and costs nothing.

A company’s absence from the list is not an endorsement, since most bad experiences never become charges. But a company’s presence on it is exactly the kind of fact you want before handing over a deposit.

Sources: Ontario: Consumer Beware List (search)

Does the City of Toronto licence renovators?

Yes. Separately from everything above, Toronto requires a municipal Building Renovator licence for businesses doing renovation work in the city. The screening behind it is substantial: the city requires a criminal record check on the business’s principals and can refuse or revoke a licence on conduct grounds. Other GTA municipalities have their own bylaw regimes, which vary widely, so check the city hall website for wherever the work is happening.

A Toronto Building Renovator licence is a municipal business licence rather than a trade certification. It tells you the business passed the city’s screening, not that anyone on the crew is a certified tradesperson. Use it alongside the trade-level checks above, not instead of them.

Sources: City of Toronto: Building renovator licence

How does Filteraty use these registries?

Filteraty screens contractors against these same public sources before they can be matched with homeowners. Each profile states specifically what was checked and when: the licence type, the number where a public registry publishes one, and the date of the check. You can re-run any of it yourself using the steps on this page.

Where a requirement does not apply to a contractor’s trade, as with WSIB’s home-renovation exemption above, the profile says so in plain language rather than showing a scary gap. A fact you can verify beats a badge you have to trust.

Common questions