There is no general renovation-contractor licence in British Columbia, so “licensed and insured” is not one thing you can look up. What you can do is four free public lookups, plus one email: WorkSafeBC, BC Registries, BC Housing and Technical Safety BC, then a certificate of insurance from the contractor’s own broker. Add your municipality’s business licence search and the whole exercise runs about ten minutes. None of the lookups needs the contractor’s permission.
What BC Housing licenses is residential builders, and that licence attaches to specific work: building a new home, building a home that counts as substantially reconstructed, and building envelope renovations that meet the thresholds in the regulation.4 Outside those three, no provincial licence stands behind a renovation contractor — which is why the rest of this list matters.
These checks get skipped a lot, and not because homeowners don’t care. Nobody tells them the registries exist, and asking a contractor to prove themselves feels rude when they are standing in your kitchen being pleasant. So the deposit goes out, and the first time anyone looks anything up is after something has gone wrong.
Here is every check, in the order I’d do them. I run a contracting company, so read this knowing I have an interest in you hiring carefully. The registries don’t care who you hire, and neither do the links below.
Please read this first
This is general information from a contractor, not legal advice. Registry rules and licence requirements change. Verify anything that matters to your decision directly with the body that issues it — every one is linked below.
1. Is my contractor registered with WorkSafeBC?
Start here, because this is the only check on the list that can leave you holding someone else’s bill.
WorkSafeBC runs a free public web application that lets you search the clearance status of any registered business and print a letter. In its own words, a clearance letter “confirms a business is registered with us and paying its premiums.”1
The reason to bother is on WorkSafeBC’s homeowners page. You “could be held jointly liable for any unpaid WorkSafeBC insurance premiums if the contractor you hire does not pay their premiums during the period they worked for you.”2 Jointly — meaning WorkSafeBC can look to you. To be absolved of that liability you must hold a clearance letter addressed to you, confirming the firm was “active and in good standing” for the entire period of your contract.1
Which is where the timing usually goes wrong. A clearance letter certifies current or past status, so the one you pull the week before you sign cannot speak to work that has not happened yet. Pull one before signing, to confirm they are registered at all. Pull one at each progress payment. Then pull a final one after completion — that last letter is what actually covers the period of your contract, and it is the one to keep.
One narrow exception to that timing: firms holding what WorkSafeBC calls GoldStar clearance receive advance clearance to a future date named in the letter, on a test of an account active for 24 of the last 36 months, up to date on paying premiums and filing payroll reports, with no other outstanding liabilities owing.1 It is a paperwork record, not a quality rating, and it says nothing about workmanship.
Two more lines on that same page catch homeowners out. You may be an employer yourself if you hire a person who is not in business but is doing a one-time job for you, with coverage required once the work reaches 24 or more hours.2 And if you act as the prime contractor in the construction of your own home, you are subject to the health and safety provisions of the Workers Compensation Act and may be required to register with WorkSafeBC.2 Both matter if you are thinking about managing the trades yourself.
2. Is the company actually registered in BC?
A business name on a truck is not a company.
BC Registries and Online Services lets you search businesses registered in British Columbia by name or number, and filed and registered documents are public record.3 For most renovations the free search is enough. You want three things: the company exists under the name on the quote, it is active rather than struck or dissolved, and the name matches the one that will appear on your contract.
The trap is the search itself. Sole proprietorships and “doing business as” names sit in a different search application from BC limited companies.3 So finding nothing usually does not mean the business is fake — it means you are in the wrong application, because the business is a sole proprietorship or trades under a name that is not its legal name. Ask for the legal name and incorporation number, then search again with those.
A mismatch works the same way. When the name on the quote is not the name in the registry, the ordinary explanation is a registered trading name belonging to the limited company behind it, which is normal and legal. What you want in return is the legal entity name and incorporation number in writing, and the legal name on the contract, because that is the party you would be enforcing against.
For formal proof of filing status, certified documents such as Letters Under Seal and Certificates of Good Standing can be paid for online and downloaded immediately for benefit companies, active cooperative associations, sole proprietorships and general partnerships.3 For an ordinary BC limited company they come by search request to BC Registries instead, so allow a day rather than a click.3 If the entity on the contract still will not reconcile with the registry after all that, get the explanation in writing before any money moves.
3. Does my renovation need a licensed builder?
For an ordinary renovation, no. BC Housing licenses residential builders in connection with new homes, and the definition of a new home is broader than it sounds: under the Homeowner Protection Act a new home includes “a home that is or is being substantially reconstructed.”4 That is the trigger most people miss, because it has nothing to do with the word on the contract.
BC Housing states that if a project is considered substantially reconstructed, “it is no longer considered a renovation and requires a New Home Registration Form.”4 You then need proof that a licensed builder has arranged home warranty insurance, or a formal exemption such as an Owner Builder Authorization.4
The general test is published. BC Housing considers a home substantially reconstructed when 25% or less of the original structure above the foundation remains, or when 75% or more of the reconstructed home is new.4 Each case is decided on its own merits, and there is a free Substantial Reconstruction Online Query tool built for exactly this question.4
Where a licensed builder is required, 2-5-10 home warranty insurance comes with them — and the two-year tier is more layered than the shorthand suggests:5
- 12 months — detached homes and non-common property in strata units.
- 15 months — common property in multi-unit strata buildings.
- 24 months, on every new home — major systems (electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning), exterior cladding, windows, doors, and defects that make the home unfit to live in.
- 5 years — defects in the building envelope, including unintended water penetration that could cause damage.
- 10 years — defects in load-bearing parts or the overall structure of the home.
Locate that line before you hire. On the far side of it you are owed a licensed builder and a warranty policy; on this side you are not, and no amount of asking afterwards will produce one. If your project is anywhere near a gut, run the query first.
4. Do new siding, a new roof or new windows need a Building Envelope Renovator?
On a detached house, almost certainly not. This is the point the rest of the internet gets wrong most often.
“Building envelope renovation” is a defined term, not a description of the work. BC Housing defines it as construction work on a residential building to repair defects in the building envelope that allow unintended water penetration, or to repair damage caused by unintended water penetration.6 That is repair of water-penetration defects and the damage they cause — not re-siding, re-roofing or window replacement in general. And the licence it triggers is its own class, Building Envelope Renovator (BER), not the generic residential builder licence.6
Begin with the exemptions, because that is where most readers of this article live. The regulation does not apply to:6
- Buildings with only one or two units
- Care facilities, dormitories, hotels
- Multi-unit rental buildings
- Buildings more than 25 years old, based on first occupancy
- Renovations under existing home warranty insurance
- Renovations below the cost threshold
A detached one- or two-unit home is on that list, and so is any building more than 25 years old. Between those two lines, that is nearly every house this article is being read in — and it means new siding on your own home does not put you in BER territory.
Where the regulation does apply, two thresholds must be met together: the renovation must affect 60% or more of any cladding surface, on the entire building or on one face, and cost $10,000 or more, or $2,000 per unit in multi-unit buildings.6
BC Housing attaches its own caveat, worth quoting rather than paraphrasing: “This is not a complete list—contact BC Housing to confirm if licensing and warranty apply.”6 If you own a strata unit, or a building with more than two units, that call is the check.
5. Is the electrician or gas fitter licensed?
Your general contractor can be entirely legitimate and still bring in a subtrade who is not licensed for the regulated work.
Technical Safety BC publishes a Find a Licensed Contractor registry holding information on all contractors it has licensed and what kind of licence each one holds. Only active licences are shown.7 The registry displays the scope of work a contractor is authorized to perform, along with any enforcement actions taken since 2022.7
Technical Safety BC puts the negative case plainly: “If you cannot find your contractor, they may not have an active licence and are not authorized to perform regulated work.”7 Unlicensed work can be reported to 1-866-566-7233, or through the incident form on its site.7
Gas and electrical are where this bites. Moving a gas line for a range, or rewiring for a new panel, is regulated work, and unpermitted regulated work is the kind of thing that surfaces years later when you sell. Ask which company is doing the gas and which is doing the electrical, by name, and search those names rather than your general contractor’s.
6. Does the contractor have a municipal business licence?
The licence that applies to ordinary renovation work is municipal, not provincial, and it is one of the faster checks on this page.
In Vancouver it is not optional: under Licence By-law No. 4450, a valid business licence is required in order to operate a business in the City of Vancouver.8 The City also publishes a free public licence search — by business name, by “doing business as” name, and by licence type.8 It is a second, independent place where the legal name and the trading name have to line up.
Metro Vancouver municipalities each run their own licence office, so a contractor working across the region may hold several. The one that matters is the licence for the city your house is in. Ask which municipalities they are licensed in, and confirm yours is among them.
7. Can a subcontractor put a lien on my house?
They can, and the numbers involved are larger than an unpaid premium bill. If your contractor does not pay a subcontractor or a supplier, that claim can end up registered against your title even though every payment you made went out on time.
British Columbia’s Builders Lien Act sits between those two facts. Section 4(1) requires the person primarily liable on each contract and subcontract to retain a holdback equal to 10% of the greater of the value of the work or material as actually provided, and the amount of any payment made on account of the contract price.9 That retained money is what unpaid subcontractors and suppliers are meant to claim against, instead of your equity.
The holdback is a statutory scheme with its own timing rules, and a blog post is not the place to work them out for your job. Before signing, ask in plain words how the holdback will be handled and have the answer written into the contract beside the payment schedule. If a lien is ever filed against your title, that is a call to a lawyer the same day.
8. How do I check a contractor’s insurance?
Everything above is a registry. Commercial general liability insurance — the coverage that responds if a contractor damages your property or injures a third party — is a private policy, so there is nothing public to search. This is the item that requires a person rather than a website.
Ask for a certificate of insurance sent to you by the broker, naming your project. Both versions arrive as a PDF; the difference is who stands behind the file. A certificate the contractor forwards tells you the policy existed when they saved it. One the broker sends tells you it exists today.
Then read it for two things: that the dates cover your build through to completion, and that the named insured matches the legal entity name you confirmed in the registry. A certificate in a trading name that is not the contracting party does not do much for you. It is one sentence in an email, it is standard practice in the trade, and nobody reputable will bristle at being asked.
9. Which checks does my project need?
Not every job needs every check. This is how they sort:
| Your project | WorkSafeBC clearance | BC Registries | BC Housing licence | Technical Safety BC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bathroom or kitchen renovation | Yes | Yes | No, unless the work meets BC Housing’s substantial-reconstruction test | Yes if any gas or electrical work is done |
| Deck or fence | Yes | Yes | No | Yes if wiring or a gas line is run |
| New siding, roof or windows on a detached home | Yes | Yes | No — one- and two-unit buildings are exempt from the building envelope regulation | Yes if the work disturbs wiring or gas |
| Whole-home renovation, taken to the studs | Yes | Yes | Yes if 25% or less of the original above-foundation structure remains — run the query tool | Yes |
| New build or laneway house | Yes | Yes | Yes — a new home requires a licensed residential builder | Yes |
The municipal business licence and the certificate of insurance apply to all five rows, and so does matching the name on every document to the legal entity name in the registry.
10. What happens when I ask a contractor for these documents?
Someone running a legitimate company has handed over a clearance letter and a certificate of insurance more times than they can count. It is a Tuesday-afternoon request, not an accusation, and the reply usually lands the same day: clearance letter attached, certificate coming direct from the broker, legal name and incorporation number typed into the email.
Two responses are worth slowing down for. The first is defensiveness about a request that every established firm fields routinely. The second is a promise to send it later that never arrives — ask twice, and if the second ask goes nowhere, you have learned that before a deposit was at risk.
If everything comes back clean, you have taken a whole category of risk off the project before spending a dollar, and your attention can go where it is useful: scope, schedule and selections.
Common questions
Can I really be liable for a contractor’s unpaid WorkSafeBC premiums?+
Yes. WorkSafeBC states that a homeowner could be held jointly liable for any unpaid WorkSafeBC insurance premiums if the contractor they hire does not pay their premiums during the period they worked for them. To be absolved you need a clearance letter addressed to you, confirming the firm was active and in good standing for the entire period of your contract. Because a clearance letter certifies current or past status, the letter that does that job is the one you pull after the work is finished.
Does a renovation contractor need to be a licensed residential builder in BC?+
There is no general renovation-contractor licence in British Columbia. BC Housing licenses residential builders in connection with building a new home, with homes that count as substantially reconstructed (which the Homeowner Protection Act treats as new homes), and with building envelope renovations that meet the thresholds in the regulation. An ordinary kitchen, bathroom or deck renovation falls outside all three.
Does new siding or a new roof need a Building Envelope Renovator?+
On a detached one- or two-unit home, no. BC Housing’s building envelope regulation does not apply to buildings with only one or two units, to buildings more than 25 years old based on first occupancy, to multi-unit rental buildings, or to care facilities, dormitories and hotels. Where it does apply, the renovation must both affect 60% or more of any cladding surface and cost $10,000 or more, or $2,000 per unit in multi-unit buildings. BC Housing notes its list is not complete and asks you to contact it to confirm.
What does 2-5-10 home warranty insurance actually cover?+
The two-year materials-and-labour period is tiered: 12 months for detached homes and non-common property in strata units, 15 months for common property in multi-unit strata buildings, and 24 months on every new home for major systems (electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning), exterior cladding, windows, doors, and defects that make the home unfit to live in. After that, five years on defects in the building envelope including unintended water penetration, and ten years on defects in load-bearing parts or the overall structure. It applies to new homes built by licensed residential builders in British Columbia.
My contractor isn’t in the Technical Safety BC registry. Is that a problem?+
It depends on the work. The registry lists contractors licensed for regulated work in Technical Safety BC’s technologies, such as gas and electrical, and only active licences are shown. A general contractor who subcontracts the gas and electrical to licensed firms will not necessarily be listed. Ask which company is doing the regulated work and search that name instead.
How long do these checks take?+
The four provincial lookups — WorkSafeBC clearance, BC Registries, BC Housing’s substantial reconstruction query and the Technical Safety BC registry — take about ten minutes between them, if you have the exact legal name to hand. Your municipality’s business licence search adds a minute. The certificate of insurance is the only item that depends on someone replying to you.
Ask us for ours first
Before you check anyone else, check us. Ask and we will send our WorkSafeBC clearance letter and a certificate of insurance from our broker, along with our legal entity name and a written scope for your project — no obligation, and no need to have decided anything.
Sources
Every figure and quotation above comes from the body that issues the rule. All sources accessed 1 September 2026.
- WorkSafeBC — Why do I need a clearance letter?, Get a clearance letter, GoldStar clearance.
- WorkSafeBC — Homeowners: who needs coverage. Joint liability, homeowner-as-employer, prime contractor.
- Province of British Columbia — Request business or organization records; BC Registries and Online Services.
- BC Housing — Builder Licensing; Regulatory Bulletin No. 6: Substantially Reconstructed Homes (October 2023); Substantial Reconstruction Online Query.
- BC Housing — Home warranty insurance for new homes. The 2-5-10 tiers.
- BC Housing — Building envelope renovations. Definition, BER licence class, exemptions, thresholds, caveat.
- Technical Safety BC — Find a Licensed Contractor; Licensed Contractor Guide.
- City of Vancouver — Business licences (Licence By-law No. 4450); business licence search by name.
- Builders Lien Act, RSBC 1997, c. 45, s. 4(1) — BC Laws.
Related reading
- How to Choose a General Contractor in Vancouver
- Renovation Permits in Vancouver: What Actually Needs One
- Laneway Houses and Multiplexes in Vancouver
Naybur Contracting · 2184 W Broadway #615, Vancouver, BC · 236-516-3566 · Serving Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam, Delta and Langley.
