Contractor licensing in Quebec
Quebec is the most demanding province on this. Where Ontario licenses particular work and Alberta licenses particular money, Quebec licenses the activity itself: doing construction work for another person, or bidding on it, requires a licence from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec unless a specific exemption applies.
The rules, with sources
Every line below links to the authority it came from and the date we last read it.
| Who needs a licence | A contractor licence is necessary for any person who, for another person, carries out or has construction work done, or submits bids for such work. Anyone doing construction work in Québec must be licensed by the RBQ unless exempted by law. |
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checked 2026-09-09
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|---|---|---|
| Owner-builders | Owner-builders are not required to hold a licence to carry out, or have carried out, construction work covered by the licence subclasses of Schedule III — nor to have work carried out by a general contractor. |
Schedule III ↗
checked 2026-09-09
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| The $20,000 ceiling | Owner-builders are not required to hold a licence where the planned work involves only renovation, repair or maintenance of their property and is estimated at less than $20,000. |
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checked 2026-09-09
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Bidding counts as needing the licence
The obligation attaches to submitting bids, not only to doing the work. A contractor quoting a Quebec job needs the licence before the quote goes out, which catches out-of-province firms who assume they can win the work first and sort the paperwork afterwards.
The owner-builder exemption is about your own property
It exists so an owner can manage work on their own building. It is not a route for a contractor to take on someone else's project unlicensed, and the $20,000 estimate ceiling applies only to renovation, repair and maintenance — not to new construction.
If you work across the Ontario–Quebec line
Nothing about your Ontario position carries over. Ontario has no general contractor's licence at all; Quebec requires one for essentially every contractor. A crew that works both sides of the river needs the RBQ licence for the Quebec side regardless of how long they have operated in Ontario.
Questions people actually ask
Do you need a licence to be a contractor in Quebec?
Yes. A contractor licence from the RBQ is necessary for anyone who, for another person, carries out or has construction work done, or submits bids for such work, unless a specific exemption applies.
Does bidding on work require an RBQ licence?
Yes. The requirement covers submitting bids for construction work, not only performing it.
Can an owner do work on their own property without an RBQ licence?
Owner-builders are exempt for work covered by the Schedule III subclasses, and for renovation, repair or maintenance of their own property estimated at less than $20,000.
Is there a dollar threshold for the RBQ licence?
The $20,000 figure applies to the owner-builder exemption for renovation, repair or maintenance. It is not a general threshold below which contractors may work unlicensed.
I'm licensed in Ontario — does that cover Quebec?
No. Ontario has no general contractor's licence to carry over, and Quebec requires an RBQ licence for contractors working there.
Holding licences in more than one province means keeping more than one set of numbers current, and GoBuild keeps each as a record with its issuer, number and expiry — so a licence that has lapsed surfaces before a bid does, not after. Whether a particular job needs an RBQ licence is your call; making sure the licence you are relying on is still valid is the part worth automating.
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This is a plain-English summary written for contractors, not legal or tax advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the source or talking to your accountant or lawyer. Rules change; each line above carries the date we last checked it. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.