Do You Need a General Contractor Licence in Alberta?

Whether a general contractor needs a licence in Alberta depends on the work and how it's sold. A contractor who solicits, negotiates or signs a renovation contract at your home and takes money before the work is done needs Service Alberta's prepaid contracting licence. Edmonton also requires a City business licence, and certified tradespeople do restricted electrical, plumbing and gas work.

That answer is written for homeowners hiring someone to renovate or repair a house that already stands. Building a new home is a separate subject, and outside the work we do. We are a general contractor based in west Edmonton. Nothing below is legal advice: each rule links to the government page it comes from, so you can read the source yourself.

For a new home, Alberta requires the builder to hold a residential builder licence to get the permits (alberta.ca, builder licensing). A renovation, Alberta says, doesn't need a builder licensed under the New Home Buyer Protection Act, or new home warranty coverage, unless it leaves more than 75% of the finished home as brand new construction (alberta.ca, new home warranty).

The rules at a glance

Alberta's prepaid contracting licence

This is the provincial licence tied to renovation contracts for private homes. Alberta describes a prepaid contracting business as one that solicits, negotiates or concludes contracts in person away from its own place of business and accepts money before all the work is done, for building, maintaining, repairing, altering, adding to or improving private dwellings (alberta.ca). Those contractors must be licensed by Service Alberta and post a security (alberta.ca, hiring a contractor).

Read the description closely and it has two parts: where the deal happens, and when the money moves. On the first part, the province's own example of a place away from the contractor's normal place of business is your home. On the second, a deposit is money paid before the work is done.

Whether a particular business needs the licence is a legal question, and not one we can answer for another company. You can check whether it holds one, though.

How to check a prepaid contractor licence

Service Alberta's licensed-business search shows whether a business holds an Alberta prepaid contractor licence. It includes active licences and registrations only, so a licence that has lapsed won't show up.

Search the legal business name on the contract as well as the name on the truck or the website. The two aren't always the same.

A licence tells you the business is registered with the province and has posted a security. It tells you nothing about the quality of its work. For that, you still need references and photos of finished jobs.

Edmonton's business licence

Edmonton's Business Licence Bylaw 20002 says every person or company that conducts business in Edmonton must have a City business licence (City of Edmonton). It is a separate licence from the provincial one, issued by a different level of government, so a contractor who sells renovation work at your home can need both.

Outside the city, each municipality in the region handles permits its own way. St. Albert, Strathcona County (which includes Sherwood Park), Spruce Grove, Leduc and Fort Saskatchewan each run their own permit process, and Beaumont uses a contracted firm, The Inspections Group Inc., for electrical, plumbing and gas permits (City of Beaumont). Our basement development permit guide lists who handles what in each community.

Certified trades: electrical, plumbing and gas

Alberta lists electrician, plumber and gasfitter (Class A and Class B) as compulsory certification trades. Restricted work in those trades must be done by a certified journeyperson, a holder of a recognized trade certificate, or a registered apprentice supervised by a certified journeyperson (Tradesecrets, Government of Alberta).

A general contractor runs the job and schedules the trades; the certified people do the wiring, the plumbing and the gas lines. When you interview a contractor, ask who will do that work on your job and whether they hold the certificate. Our home page explains how we run a project in Edmonton.

Trade permits follow similar lines. In Edmonton, a homeowner can apply for their own heating and ventilation, plumbing, gas or electrical permit only if they live in the home and it doesn't share a wall with a neighbour. Otherwise a certified trade contractor must apply (City of Edmonton).

A homeowner electrical permit has a further condition. The City issues it only to an owner who lives in the single-family home and does the work themselves, and not for rental properties (City of Edmonton).

Permits and inspections: who applies

Edmonton homeowners can apply for home improvement permits themselves or have their contractor apply for them (City of Edmonton). Whoever holds the permit is responsible for booking the required inspections at each stage, and the work isn't complete until it passes all of them (City of Edmonton).

That is why it matters whose name is on the permit. If it is yours, the inspections are yours to book. On our jobs, we pull the permits and book the inspections for permitted work, so that job sits with us.

Which renovations need permits is its own topic. In short, the City requires permits for work such as building or finishing a recreation room, bedroom or bathroom, adding or enlarging a window or exterior door, and repairing fire or flood damage. It does not require them for maintenance or cosmetic work such as new flooring, painting or installing kitchen cabinets (City of Edmonton). The permit guide goes through the application step by step.

WCB clearance letters

WCB-Alberta's page on clearance letters is written for anyone who hires a contractor. It advises getting a clearance letter before you hire and again before you release payment, and it warns that without one you may be liable for premiums the contractor has not paid (WCB-Alberta).

How to get a WCB clearance letter

Clearance letters can be requested through the myWCB mobile app for employers, through a myWCB account, or through an online form that needs no account (WCB-Alberta). The letter can be emailed, faxed or printed.

Ask for the letter in the name of the business you are actually paying, and get a fresh one before the final payment.

Insurance, in general terms

Ask for proof of liability insurance. A certificate only helps if it is current and names the same business as your contract, so check both before work starts.

It is also worth calling your own home insurer before a large renovation, to ask whether they want to know about it.

Your right to cancel a contract signed at home

Under Alberta's Consumer Protection Act, you can cancel a written contract with a prepaid contractor that was solicited, agreed upon or signed at your home, or elsewhere away from the contractor's normal place of business, up to 10 days after you receive your copy (alberta.ca, Consumer Bill of Rights). The 10 days count from that day, so note the date.

A checklist before you sign

• If the contractor came to your home to sell the job and wants money before the work is done, look the business up in Service Alberta's licensed-business search.
• Ask for the contractor's City of Edmonton business licence.
• Request a WCB-Alberta clearance letter before you hire, and another before you pay.
• Ask who will do the electrical, plumbing and gas work, and whether they are certified.
• Agree in writing on who applies for the permits and who books the inspections.
• Get a written contract that lists the work, the price and the payment schedule, and keep your copy.
• Ask for proof of liability insurance in the same business name as the contract.
• If the house was built before the early 1990s, ask how they will handle materials that might contain asbestos. Alberta health guidance says to have an environmental consultant test for it before renovation work disturbs those materials (MyHealth Alberta).
• If you plan to claim a renovation tax credit, make sure the invoices show the business name, address and GST/HST number, if it has one. Our guide to the multigenerational home renovation tax credit explains why.

Red flags

Some warning signs come straight out of the rules above:

• A contractor who signs you up at the door, wants a deposit the same day and doesn't appear in Service Alberta's search.
• A suggestion that you take out a homeowner permit for work the contractor will do. Edmonton's homeowner electrical permit requires the homeowner to do the work themselves.
• "It doesn't need a permit" for work that moves plumbing or adds wiring. Edmonton requires a plumbing permit to install or alter plumbing (City of Edmonton) and an electrical permit for new electrical installations, renovations included.
• No written contract, or a contract in the name of a different business from the one you have been dealing with.
• Cash only, with no invoice. You would also have nothing to support a tax credit claim.
• Vague answers about who does the electrical, plumbing and gas work.

How we handle it at Meadow

Meadow General Contracting Ltd is licensed and insured in Alberta, with WCB Alberta coverage. We pull the permits and book the inspections for permitted work.

After a site visit, you get a fixed-price quote within 48 hours, and our work carries a 1-year workmanship warranty. Our office is at 22529 99A Ave NW in west Edmonton, open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you are comparing renovation companies, our home renovations page covers how to choose one, and if a kitchen is next, here is what drives kitchen renovation cost in Edmonton.

Frequently asked questions

What is a prepaid contractor licence?

It is a licence from Service Alberta for businesses that solicit, negotiate or conclude contracts for work on private homes in person, away from their own place of business, and accept money before all the work is done. Alberta says those contractors must be licensed by Service Alberta and post a security.

How can I check if a business is licensed in Alberta?

Use Service Alberta's online licensed-business search. It shows whether a business holds a prepaid contractor licence, and it lists active licences only. For the City of Edmonton business licence, ask the contractor. For WCB status, request a clearance letter from WCB-Alberta, which you can do online without a myWCB account.

Who needs a business licence in Edmonton?

Every person or company that conducts business in Edmonton, under the City's Business Licence Bylaw 20002. It is separate from Alberta's prepaid contracting licence, so a contractor who sells renovation work at your home and takes a deposit may need both.

Can I pull my own permits in Edmonton?

Yes, with conditions: homeowners can apply for home improvement permits, but a homeowner trade permit requires you to live in the home, and the home can't share a wall with a neighbour. Our basement development permit guide explains who can pull which permits.

What makes someone a general contractor?

A general contractor takes responsibility for a whole project and coordinates the trades that build it. In Alberta, which licences apply depends on how the contractor sells the work and which trades the job needs, as covered above. Our home page explains how we work as a general contractor in Edmonton.