An Ontario contractor compliance checklist should confirm, at minimum, a valid WSIB clearance certificate, a current certificate of insurance that meets your limits, and any licence or training the trade requires, such as an ESA licence for electrical work or Working at Heights training for construction. The list below is organized so you can work through it before a contractor is approved, before each job, and on a regular schedule after that.
Before you approve a contractor
These are the items most commercial property owners and managers in Ontario confirm once, at onboarding, and then keep current.
- Legal business name, operating name and address, matched against the contract.
- WSIB clearance certificate, verified online through WSIB by business name.
- Certificate of insurance showing commercial general liability, insurer, policy number, limits, and effective and expiry dates.
- Your organization named as additional insured, if your contract requires it.
- Auto liability if the contractor brings vehicles on site.
- Trade licences and certifications relevant to the work.
- A signed service agreement that sets your insurance minimums and document requirements.
WSIB clearance: the Ontario-specific essentials
A WSIB clearance certificate confirms that the contractor is registered with WSIB and their account is in good standing. While it is valid, WSIB waives its right to hold you liable for the contractor's unpaid premiums, interest, charges and surcharges. Without a valid clearance, you can be held liable for those amounts.
- Clearances are free and valid for up to 90 days.
- Most expire on February 20, May 20, August 20 and November 20, so plan a quarterly renewal cycle.
- In construction, the clearance must be in place before work begins and for the whole duration of the work.
- A contractor whose WSIB account is not up to date cannot be issued a clearance, so a refusal to provide one is a signal worth noting.
- Keep clearance records for at least three years.
For more detail, see what a WSIB clearance certificate is.
Insurance minimums
Ontario does not set a single insurance minimum for contractors working on commercial property. Requirements come from your contracts and policies. In practice, $2M per occurrence in commercial general liability is the most common minimum, and $5M is common for higher-risk trades such as roofing, fire protection, demolition, restoration and elevator work, or for larger sites. Some owners ask for more.
Ask for professional liability from consultants and engineers, and pollution liability for environmental or abatement work. Many organizations also ask for 30 days' notice of cancellation.
Trade-specific checks in Ontario
- Electrical: an ESA Electrical Contractor Licence and a designated Master Electrician. Ask whether the job needs a notification or permit filed with ESA.
- Construction work using fall protection: Working at Heights training from a CPO-approved provider for each worker, valid for three years.
- Fire alarm testing: technicians qualified under the Fire Code to inspect and test to CAN/ULC-S536. Many owners use CFAA-certified technicians. Keep records of inspected and tested devices.
- Fire extinguisher service: annual maintenance by a qualified service technician, with a dated service tag attached to each unit.
- Backflow prevention: a certified tester and a test report, following your municipality's bylaw, which usually calls for testing at installation and annually.
Under the Fire Code, the building owner keeps responsibility for fire alarm and extinguisher maintenance even when a contractor does the work. Collecting the contractor's records is part of meeting that obligation.
Before each job
Documents that were valid at onboarding can lapse between visits. A quick check before each job avoids most gaps.
- Is the WSIB clearance valid for the full job, not just the start date?
- Does the insurance expiry fall before the work is finished?
- Are any subcontractors attending, and have they provided their own clearance and insurance?
- Are required permits or notifications in place?
How to put this into practice
Keep one record per contractor with each document and its expiry date, and review it on a fixed schedule: quarterly for WSIB clearances, and 30 days ahead of each insurance renewal. Our interactive contractor compliance checklist lets you build a version for your properties, and Vendorpass can keep these records and expiry dates in one place if you manage many vendors.