Electrician is a compulsory trade in Ontario: you need a Certificate of Qualification from Skilled Trades Ontario, earned through roughly 9,000 hours of apprenticeship, just to legally work as an electrician. But holding that certificate alone doesn’t let you run your own electrical business. Offering electrical work to the public requires a separate Licensed Electrical Contractor licence from the Electrical Safety Authority, and every job needs a permit filed with ESA before work starts.
The trade certificate: a compulsory, roughly 9,000-hour apprenticeship
Per Skilled Trades Ontario’s trade information for Electrician, Construction and Maintenance, this is a compulsory trade, meaning you must hold a Registered Training Agreement, Provisional Certificate of Qualification, or Certificate of Qualification, with your information appearing on the Skilled Trades Ontario Public Register, to legally practice it in Ontario. The apprenticeship itself runs roughly 9,000 hours, about five years, split between approximately 8,160 hours of on-the-job work experience and 840 hours of in-school training, before you’re eligible to write the certifying exam.
Being certified doesn’t automatically let you run your own business
This is the part that catches a lot of newly certified electricians off guard. Per the Electrical Safety Authority’s explanation of Licensed Electrical Contractors versus certified electricians, Licensed Electrical Contractors are the only businesses in Ontario legally authorized to offer electrical work to the public. Your individual trade certificate from Skilled Trades Ontario and a business’s Licensed Electrical Contractor (LEC) licence from ESA are two separate credentials from two separate bodies. Per ESA’s page on applying for an electrical contractor licence, a licensed contractor carries a distinct 7-digit ECRA/ESA licence number proving they’re authorized to offer this work commercially. Being a certified electrician qualifies you to do the work; it doesn’t by itself qualify your business to sell that work to the public.
Every job needs a permit filed before work starts
Per ESA’s guidance on hiring a Licensed Electrical Contractor, the Ontario Electrical Safety Code requires that electrical work be reported to ESA by filing a notification of work before the work begins, and whoever actually performs the work is responsible for filing it. When a Licensed Electrical Contractor takes on a job, this notification, and the resulting ESA inspection and Certificate of Acceptance, are part of what you’re paying for as a customer, and part of what a contractor is legally responsible for providing.
What to actually do
- Complete your apprenticeship hours and pass the Skilled Trades Ontario certifying exam to earn your Certificate of Qualification.
- Confirm your certification actually appears on the Skilled Trades Ontario Public Register.
- If you plan to go independent, apply separately for a Licensed Electrical Contractor licence through ESA before offering electrical work to the public.
- File a notification of work with ESA before starting any job, whether you’re doing it as an employee or running your own licensed business.