How to Check a Trade Licence in Ontario — and the Trades That Do Not Have One
Your hairstylist needs a provincial certificate. Your general contractor does not. Here is how to check either.
In short
Ontario has 23 compulsory trades. To work in one you must hold a valid Certificate of Qualification, a provisional certificate or a registered training agreement — and you can confirm any of it yourself, free, on the Skilled Trades Ontario public register.
The surprise is which trades are on the list and which are not. Electrician, plumber, steamfitter and hairstylist are compulsory. General contractor, renovator, roofer, landscaper and home inspector are not — there is no provincial licence for them and nothing to look up.
So the useful question is never “are you licensed”. It is “which of the trades on my job are compulsory, and are those specific people on the register”.
Which trades need a licence in Ontario?
| Compulsory — certificate required | No provincial licence exists |
|---|---|
| Electrician · Plumber · Steamfitter · Hairstylist — and 19 others, 23 in total | General contractor · Renovator · Roofer · Landscaper · Home inspector · Painter |
| Check them on the Skilled Trades Ontario public register | Check insurance, WSIB, references and written contracts instead |
This is worth sitting with for a moment. The trades with the highest financial risk to a homeowner — the person managing a $60,000 renovation, the person telling you whether to buy a house — are the ones with no licence at all. The regulation follows physical danger, not money.
How do I check the register?
Three steps, about a minute, and you only do it once per person rather than once per job.
If nothing comes up, ask before concluding anything. Spellings and legal names differ from what is on the van, and apprentices work legally under a registered training agreement rather than a certificate. Skilled Trades Ontario answers questions about the register on 647-847-3000, or 1-855-299-0028 toll-free in Ontario.
Is a hairstylist really a compulsory trade?
Yes, and it is the fact that makes people re-read the list.
Hairstylist sits alongside electrician and plumber as one of Ontario’s 23 compulsory trades, requiring a Certificate of Qualification. Meanwhile the person who inspects the house you are about to buy for half a million dollars needs nothing at all.
There is a reasonable logic underneath — hairstyling is regulated alongside the public health rules that cover salons, and it involves blades, chemicals and skin. But the contrast is a fair illustration of a system built in pieces over a century rather than designed at once.
What do you check when there is no licence to check?
For the unregulated trades, the register is replaced by four things you verify yourself. None of them is difficult and all of them are refused by exactly the people you want to avoid.
And note the useful overlap: a general contractor needs no licence, but the electrician and plumber working under them do. So on a kitchen renovation you cannot check the contractor on any register — and you absolutely can check the two people touching the wiring and the drains.
Why does certification matter if the work looks fine?
Because the moment it stops looking fine is the moment somebody asks.
After an electrical fire an insurer will ask who did the work and under what permit. When you sell, a buyer’s lawyer may ask about permits on visible renovations. If a worker is hurt on your property, the question of who was insured arrives immediately.
None of those conversations can be improved after the fact, and all of them are easy to prepare for in advance: a name on the register, a permit number, a clearance certificate. Two minutes each, and only ever needed on the worst day.
Red flags
What to do next
Before the work starts, write down which trades are involved. For anything compulsory — electrical, plumbing, gas fitting — get the individual’s name and check the Skilled Trades Ontario public register. For everything else, ask for the WSIB clearance certificate and proof of liability instead.
Then compare home services in Ontario on Ontario24 and contact businesses directly. Ontario24 is a classified directory — we help you find and compare, and we do not vet or verify anyone, which is precisely why these public registers are worth knowing about; our safety tips cover the whole routine.
The two companion pieces: our guide to the ten per cent rule on written estimates, and cancelling a contract in Ontario. For the trade with no licence at all, see home inspector cost in the GTA.
Before you call anyone, it helps to know what this job should cost and what the next one will. What things cost in Ontario in 2026 puts 75 service prices in one table.
Frequently asked questions
Search the Skilled Trades Ontario public register by name. It confirms whether someone can legally work in a compulsory trade, and it is free and open to anyone. If the trade is compulsory and the person is not on the register, that is your answer.
There are 23 compulsory trades, including electrician, plumber, steamfitter and — unexpectedly to most people — hairstylist. Working in a compulsory trade requires a valid Certificate of Qualification, a provisional certificate or a registered training agreement.
No. General contractor, renovator, roofer, landscaper and home inspector are not compulsory trades, so there is no provincial certificate to check. This is why verifying the specific trades working on your project matters more than asking whether the company is licensed.
The credential that allows someone to work in a compulsory trade in Ontario. Journeypersons in compulsory trades must renew it every year, which means a certificate can lapse. Checking the register shows current standing rather than whether someone once qualified.
Because electrical work is a compulsory trade and because an insurer may ask after a fire. A certified electrician on the register, working under an ESA permit, gives you a documented chain. Neither of those is expensive to arrange in advance and both are difficult to recreate afterwards.
Yes. Hairstylist is one of Ontario’s compulsory trades, so a hairstylist needs a Certificate of Qualification to work. It surprises most people, particularly alongside the fact that home inspectors and general contractors have no provincial licence at all.
Ask them directly before drawing conclusions — names and spellings vary, and apprentices work legally under a registered training agreement. If the trade is compulsory and no valid credential exists, Skilled Trades Ontario and the ministry handle enforcement.
Sources
The public register, the requirement to hold a Certificate of Qualification, provisional certificate or registered training agreement to work in a compulsory trade, the count of 23 compulsory trades and the annual renewal requirement are published by Skilled Trades Ontario, the provincial body that administers them; enforcement information is published by the Government of Ontario. Checked 17 September 2026. Trade classifications change — confirm the current list with Skilled Trades Ontario. Ontario24 is a classified directory: we do not license, certify or verify any tradesperson, and nothing here is legal advice.