How to Verify a General Contractor Is Legitimate in Ontario

Hiring the wrong general contractor in Ontario can cost you tens of thousands of dollars and leave your home in worse shape than before. The good news: a few targeted checks — done before you sign anything — can tell you almost everything you need to know about whether a GC is legitimate.

Why General Contractors Are Harder to Verify Than Licensed Trades

Electricians, plumbers, and gas fitters in Ontario operate under clear licensing regimes. The Electrical Safety Authority (ESA), TSSA, and Skilled Trades Ontario each maintain public registries you can search by name or licence number. General contractors don't have an equivalent province-wide licence. Anyone in Ontario can legally call themselves a general contractor and take on renovation work without holding a specific GC credential.

That doesn't mean there's nothing to check — it means you have to be more systematic. A legitimate GC will have a paper trail across several independent sources. A problematic one will have gaps in at least one of them.

Step 1: Confirm WSIB Coverage

This is non-negotiable. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) covers workers injured on the job. If someone working on your property isn't covered and gets hurt, they may look to you, as the property owner, for compensation.

Ask any GC you're considering for their WSIB account number, then verify it yourself at the WSIB's online clearance certificate portal (wsib.ca). A valid clearance certificate confirms the contractor is registered and their account is in good standing. The certificate is date-specific, so request a fresh one — don't accept a printout from months ago.

If the contractor tells you they're an independent operator exempt from WSIB, ask them to prove it in writing. Some are: a business that does only home renovation work, hired and paid directly by the homeowner, is exempt for its owners (it must still cover any employees). Subcontractors they bring onto your job need their own coverage.

Step 2: Check Business Registration and Corporate Status

A legitimate general contractor should be operating as a registered business — either a sole proprietorship registered with the Ontario government, or a corporation. You can search Ontario business names and corporations through the Ontario Business Registry (ontario.ca/page/ontario-business-registry).

What you're looking for:

Also check whether the contractor is registered for HST. Any business billing more than $30,000 per year in taxable supplies must be registered. If a GC is doing significant renovation work and can't provide an HST number, that's a serious concern.

Step 3: Verify Liability Insurance

Ask for a Certificate of Insurance showing general liability coverage. For most residential renovation work, you want to see at least $2 million in coverage — many reputable GCs carry more. The certificate should name your address as the project site, and you should be listed as an additional insured for the duration of the project.

Don't just look at the certificate. Call the insurance broker listed on it and confirm the policy is active. Insurance can lapse between the time a certificate is issued and the time work begins.

If a contractor hesitates to provide proof of insurance or tells you it's "not necessary for small jobs," walk away. Liability insurance protects your home, your belongings, and your neighbours.

Step 4: Look for Trade-Specific Licences Among Their Subcontractors

A general contractor coordinates work across multiple trades. They may not personally hold an electrical licence, but any electrical work done on your project must be performed by an ESA Licensed Electrical Contractor, which takes out the ESA permit. The same care applies to gas work (a TSSA-certified gas technician) and plumbing (a plumber with a Skilled Trades Ontario Certificate of Qualification).

When interviewing a GC, ask directly:

A GC who pushes back on permits is one to avoid. Permitted work is inspected, which protects you. Unpermitted work can complicate your insurance coverage, your home sale, and your safety.

You can search for electricians across Ontario and plumbers across Ontario on ProScore to cross-reference any subcontractor names a GC gives you.

Step 5: Dig Into Their Reputation Across Multiple Signals

Star ratings on a single platform are a thin slice of the picture. A contractor with 4.8 stars from 12 reviews tells you very little compared to one whose reputation has been assessed across dozens of data points over time.

Here's what to look at beyond the obvious:

Review recency and volume. A contractor with strong reviews from three years ago and nothing recent may have changed staff, ownership, or quality. Look for consistent, recent feedback.

Response to negative reviews. How a contractor responds to a complaint is often more revealing than the complaint itself. Defensive, dismissive responses are a warning sign. Measured, solution-oriented responses suggest professionalism.

BBB complaints. The Better Business Bureau (bbb.org) maintains a complaint history for many Ontario contractors. A pattern of unresolved complaints — especially around project completion or deposits — is worth weighing seriously.

Lien history. Construction liens in Ontario are registered at the Land Registry Office. A contractor with a history of placing liens on client properties (or having liens placed against them by suppliers) may have cash flow or management problems. A real estate lawyer can search this for you, or you can use the Teranet land registry system.

ProScore pulls together reputation signals, credentials, customer sentiment, and business transparency into a single Trust Index score for contractors across Ontario. You can search general contractors across Ontario and filter by city to see how GCs in your area are scored — whether you're in Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, or London.

Step 6: Evaluate the Quote and Contract

A legitimate general contractor provides a detailed written quote — not a rough ballpark scribbled on a napkin. The quote should itemize labour, materials, subcontractor costs, and a payment schedule tied to project milestones.

Red flags in a quote or contract:

Ontario's Consumer Protection Act gives homeowners some rights around contracts for home services, including a 10-day cooling-off period for certain agreements. But the best protection is a clear, detailed contract before work begins — not legislation after something goes wrong.

How ProScore Helps You Cut Through the Noise

Verifying a contractor manually takes time. ProScore does the heavy lifting by scoring Ontario contractors across more than 20 trust signals drawn from 10+ data sources, including reputation, credentials, customer sentiment, and business transparency — all consolidated into a single Trust Index score visible at a glance.

Contractors rated Elite or Trusted on ProScore have demonstrated consistent strength across all four of those inputs. A Caution tier rating is a signal to dig deeper before committing. You can learn more about what each tier means at /methodology.

ProScore currently covers 14,800+ contractors scored across 870+ Ontario cities, with 30,000+ reviews analyzed. It's built specifically for Ontario — so the data reflects our regulatory environment, our climate, and our market.

If you're a contractor reading this and you haven't claimed your profile yet, listing your business on ProScore lets you surface your credentials and reputation to homeowners who are actively vetting their options.

FAQ

Does a general contractor in Ontario need a licence?

Ontario does not require a province-wide general contractor licence for most residential renovation work. Most GCs need WSIB coverage — a business that does only home renovation work, hired and paid directly by the homeowner, is exempt for its owners but must still cover any employees. However, a legitimate GC will carry liability insurance, register their business, and ensure that any regulated trade work (electrical, plumbing, gas) on their projects is performed by appropriately licensed tradespeople who pull the required permits.

What should I do if a contractor asks for a large cash deposit upfront?

Be cautious. A request for a large cash deposit — especially with no written contract — is one of the most common precursors to contractor fraud in Ontario. Legitimate contractors typically tie payment schedules to project milestones. If you're asked for a significant upfront payment, ask for a detailed written contract first, verify their credentials independently, and consider paying by cheque or credit card rather than cash so you have a paper trail.

Can I check if a general contractor has had complaints filed against them in Ontario?

Yes, through several channels. The Better Business Bureau maintains complaint histories for many Ontario businesses. New-home builders are licensed by the Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA) — you can search its Ontario Builder Directory if new construction is involved. For renovation contractors, lien searches through the land registry and a review of court records can surface patterns of disputes. ProScore also aggregates reputation signals across multiple sources to give you a consolidated view.