How to Check a Builder's Licence in Ontario, BC and Alberta

Ontario, BC and Alberta each license new home builders and keep a public record of who holds a licence, so checking one takes a few minutes. The search shows whether the builder may legally build your house and whether the home will carry the provincial warranty. Run it before you sign or pay a deposit: a builder missing from the registry is a serious warning sign.

Who needs a builder's licence in Ontario, BC and Alberta

All three provinces license the builder of a new home, a custom home on your own land included. What differs is who runs the licence, where you search it, and where the home's warranty shows up by address.

The licence matters because the warranty rides on it. A licensed builder enrols or registers each new home, and that is what brings the provincial new home warranty: Tarion's 1, 2 and 7 years in Ontario, the 2-5-10 in BC and the 1-2-5-10 in Alberta.

How to check a builder's licence in Ontario

Ontario's licensing rules make it illegal to build or sell a new home without a valid HCRA licence, and a builder of a custom home on land you own must be licensed as both a vendor and a builder. The HCRA's Ontario Builder Directory is a free online database, and the HCRA says to search it before you sign or pay a deposit:

1. Search both names: the legal name on the contract, then the operating name on the website or the sign.
2. Read the licence status first. A builder that is listed but not licensed carries a warning.
3. Read the record under it: conditions on the licence, notices and orders, charges, and Discipline Committee decisions.
4. Check the experience figures: years active, homes built and associated companies.
5. Check the warranty information the directory shows, which comes from Tarion.

A custom home adds two steps with Tarion: your builder must attach a Warranty Information Sheet to the contract, whether it is cost-plus or fixed price, and you register the contract with Tarion.

How to check a builder's licence in BC

In BC, a residential builder needs a BC Housing licence before starting construction on a new home, even where no building permit is required. Search the Public Registry of Residential Builders by company name, licence number, the name of the person responsible for the company, licence type, location or status.

Then check the licence type. BC Housing says a custom home needs a builder with general contractor status, so a custom home in Vancouver or Kelowna needs that licence type, and a builder holding only a developer licence has to contract with a general contractor to build it.

Since November 19, 2007, the registry has also listed builders that are not in good standing, and only a builder in good standing may call itself a Licensed Residential Builder.

The licence is half the check. Each new home must be registered with BC Housing, with warranty insurance or an exemption, before the building permit is issued, and the New Home Registration Form is the municipality's proof of licensing and warranty. After that, BC's New Homes Registry shows the home by street address, with its warranty insurance or the exemption it was built under.

How to check a builder's licence in Alberta

Every residential builder in Alberta needs a licence to get permits for new homes, and shows its Certificate of Licence and the home's Approved New Home Registration to get one. The province's public registries cover builders and homes separately, and the builder registry shows:

• the builder's name and contact details, licence status and licence class
• the persons in control and any associated companies
• enforcement actions under the New Home Buyer Protection Act
• the number and location of homes built since February 1, 2014, and previous licences

A builder without a current licence does not appear, and neither do applications under review or denied ones; a suspended or cancelled licence shows with that status.

Licences run for 1 year and each numbered company needs its own; the general contractor class typically covers up to 4 dwelling units and the developer class 5 or more. From January 1, 2027, new and renewing builders must also confirm they meet builder competency requirements. The property registry then gives the warranty provider, the builder and the coverage start date for an address.

Do renovation contractors need a builder's licence?

Not for an ordinary renovation in Ontario, BC or Alberta. The builder licence attaches to new homes, and each province draws the line where a renovation turns into one:

• Ontario: renovations or upgrades typically do not make a home new, so the builder needs no HCRA licence, though coach houses, laneway homes and tiny homes generally need a licence and warranty coverage.
• BC: a renovation counts as a new home when 25% or less of the original structure above the foundation remains, or 75% or more of the reconstructed home is new. BC Housing decides case by case, and the line matters before renovating or rebuilding an older house.
• Alberta: a renovation needs no builder licence or warranty unless over 75% of the finished home is brand new construction, but a renovator that sells the job in person away from its premises, such as at your home, and takes money before the work is finished needs a prepaid contracting licence.

With no builder licence to look up, vetting a renovator rests on references, insurance, a workers' compensation clearance and a written contract, which Ontario requires for any renovation contract worth more than $50.

Building your own home without a licence

Each province lets you build a house for yourself without a builder licence, and in each the defects a builder's warranty would cover become yours to carry. The routes differ:

In Ontario, a house can count as owner-built even with a licensed builder on site. On a custom home build, Tarion may treat it that way when the landowner exercises significant control over the construction or supplies an essential element, such as the foundation, framing, plumbing or building envelope.

What to do if a builder is not licensed or not listed

In Ontario, the HCRA calls a builder missing from the directory a serious warning sign. Building a new home without a licence, or building one that is not enrolled with Tarion, is illegal building: the HCRA can lay charges and issue administrative penalties, and a home that was never enrolled can miss Tarion's warranty protection. Report it through the HCRA's illegal building complaint form.

BC Housing's Licensing and Consumer Services answers on 1-800-407-7757 when a BC builder cannot be found. In Alberta, a builder that is not on the registry has no current licence and cannot get the permit for a new home, so ask to see its Certificate of Licence before you sign.