How to check a contractor's WSIB clearance in Ontario construction

An Ontario principal who directly retains a contractor for construction work must obtain a valid WSIB clearance before that contractor starts and keep a clearance in effect throughout the work. The contractor also has a legal duty: construction work must not proceed without the applicable clearance. The WSIB construction clearance policy says the clearance confirms the contractor's account is in good standing and protects the principal from specified WSIB payment liability for its validity period. It is not a general safety certification, proof of insurance for every risk, or a substitute for checking competence and site-specific controls.

This guide addresses the Ontario construction clearance workflow: who is principal, when to obtain the document, what to verify, what happens on expiry or revocation, and how long to keep evidence. The existing Complys Canada contractor-prequalification overview covers broader platforms and checks. A separate Ontario page is justified because the WSIB construction clearance has its own legal before-work and during-work duties.

Identify the principal for each contract link

Under WSIB policy, a principal is the person or business awarding or letting a construction contract to a contractor. The chain can have more than one principal relationship. If a general contractor engages a subcontractor, the general contractor is principal for that subcontract. If the subcontractor then hires another construction business, it can become principal for that lower-tier contract. The duty follows who directly retains whom, so an owner should not assume that one clearance for the top contractor covers every lower-tier relationship.

Map the contracts and the work before requesting a document. Confirm the legal entity of the contractor, the principal it is working for, the relevant WSIB account and whether the work falls within construction under the policy. Record who is responsible for obtaining and monitoring each clearance. A procurement system can help organise this, but the legal responsibility remains with the parties identified by the WSIB rules.

The policy contains a limited exception for an occupying or future-occupying householder, or family member, directly retaining a contractor for exempt home renovation work in the circumstances described by WSIB. Do not turn this into a blanket exemption for residential work or assume it applies to a developer, landlord, strata body or commercial property. Check the exact contract and current WSIB interpretation. Where classification or coverage is uncertain, ask WSIB before work starts.

Obtain clearance before work begins

Build clearance into the mobilisation gate. Ask the contractor for the current WSIB clearance, then verify it through the current WSIB clearance service or relevant WSIB account channel. Match the contractor’s legal identity and account to the business you hired, check the certificate’s validity period and record the verification date and number. WSIB now issues a generic clearance number valid for all of that contractor’s contracts and does not print the principal on the certificate; connect the verified number to your own contract record. A screenshot, saved certificate or WSIB confirmation should be associated with the actual contract and start date. A certificate for a different legal entity should prompt a question, not an automatic pass.

The WSIB clearance FAQs state that both principal and contractor have obligations and that construction work without a valid clearance number is an offence. If a contractor is ineligible when requested, the contractor needs to bring its account into good standing or resolve the matter with WSIB. Do not let an urgent start date become an informal exception. The project plan should show a blocked start until the legal condition is met, or a documented WSIB-approved alternative that actually applies.

A clearance is not a statement that the contractor has a good incident record, valid trade licences, adequate liability insurance, WHMIS training or an effective health-and-safety program. Those may be separate prequalification and site-entry checks. Keep the WSIB decision as one clearly labelled gate within the broader contractor file.

For a buyer, the practical distinction is account standing versus job readiness. WSIB verifies its own registration, reporting and payment criteria before issuing a clearance. The principal still decides whether the contractor's scope matches the contract, whether required trade and worker credentials are present, whether insurance terms satisfy the purchase agreement, and whether site-specific safety documents are acceptable. A current clearance can be green while those other gates remain open. Conversely, a strong safety file cannot replace a missing clearance where the construction rule applies. Label each gate in the onboarding record so a project manager does not interpret one green document as overall approval to mobilise.

Keep it valid during the entire job

WSIB policy states that a clearance is valid for up to 90 calendar days, depending on issue date, and can be renewed. A new clearance is required if the original expires or is revoked. For a contract lasting several months, a one-time check at tender is insufficient. Assign an owner to monitor expiry and status before each coverage period lapses. If the clearance is revoked, the contractor must advise the principal; the principal should promptly verify the position and decide whether work must stop until a valid clearance is restored.

Use the date on the actual certificate rather than assuming every clearance lasts 90 days. Set an internal reminder early enough to obtain a replacement without interrupting work. Check that the new generic clearance is for the correct contractor and starts without a gap; link it to the same relationship in your internal record. If work is split into phases or a new legal entity takes over, repeat the identity and contract check rather than rolling the old clearance forward automatically.

WSIB's construction policy recognises certain exceptional routes, such as an approved payment arrangement or a letter relieving liability for a closed account. Those are WSIB decisions with specific conditions and possibly different validity periods. A buyer should not mark a contractor “clear” merely because an account issue is being discussed. Obtain the actual WSIB clearance or applicable written determination.

Retain a defensible evidence trail

The policy says principals and contractors must keep records of clearances for at least three years from the date obtained. Keep the certificates, issue and expiry dates, contractor and principal identities, contract or purchase-order reference, verification date, renewals and any WSIB correspondence that explains an exception or revocation. If a job lasts longer than one certificate period, the history should show uninterrupted coverage across the work, not just the most recent certificate.

The three-year period is a minimum under this policy, not a universal retention rule for every construction record. An organisation may have other legitimate legal and business retention duties. Apply appropriate access controls to account identifiers and commercial documents. If a clearance is challenged later, the principal should be able to show exactly what it obtained before commencement and during performance.

For a large project, use a register with one row per principal–contractor relationship and each contractor’s generic clearance and renewal linked beneath it. Useful fields include legal entity, WSIB account reference, work scope, contract tier, clearance number, verified-by, valid-from, valid-to, status, evidence file and next action. The register should reflect WSIB's live status, not simply the presence of an uploaded PDF.

What if the contractor uses another subcontractor?

The WSIB FAQ explains that a contractor hiring a subcontractor becomes the principal in that relationship. Each tier should identify its direct hire and obtain the required clearance. An owner or general contractor may also choose to require visibility of lower-tier evidence through contract terms, but that commercial oversight is not a replacement for the direct principal's statutory obligation.

This distinction matters when workers arrive on site under a new trading name. Ask whether the entity is truly an employee group of the approved contractor or a separate subcontracting business. If it is a separate contractor, identify the actual principal and obtain the right clearance before work. Do not infer coverage from a similar company name, common director or the prime contractor's certificate.

Example: a long-running renovation

A general contractor retains an electrical subcontractor on an Ontario commercial renovation. It obtains and verifies a WSIB clearance before the electrician's first day. The certificate expires during the second phase, so the contractor obtains a new one before the old period ends and the general contractor records the renewal. Midway through, the electrician hires a separate specialist to complete part of the work. The electrician is principal for that subcontract and must obtain the specialist's clearance. The general contractor may request evidence under its subcontract terms, while still checking that its own directly retained electrician remains covered. If the specialist's eligibility is unclear, the work is held until WSIB confirms the applicable position.

Common clearance mistakes

• Checking only at tender. The clearance must exist before construction begins and remain effective during the work.
• Assuming a 90-day life for every certificate. Check the actual validity dates and any revocation.
• Matching by trading name alone. Verify the legal contractor and principal relationship.
• Treating a clearance as a safety audit. It addresses WSIB good standing and specified liability, not all prequalification requirements.
• Relying on the top contractor's clearance for every tier. Each direct principal–contractor relationship needs its own analysis.
• Applying a broad home-renovation exemption. The WSIB exception is narrower and fact-dependent.
• Letting an ineligible contractor start while paperwork is fixed. Obtain an applicable clearance or WSIB determination first.
• Discarding old certificates after renewal. Keep records for at least the policy's three-year period from obtaining them.

How Complys may support the process

The verified Complys Canada site describes contractor and document-record workflows. A buyer assessing Canadian contractor management software can ask whether the deployed product records contractor identity, principal relationship, clearance dates, evidence and reminders in the way their contracts need. This article does not claim Complys issues or validates WSIB clearances, checks live WSIB status automatically, approves an exception, stops physical work or provides insurance coverage. The principal and contractor must obtain and monitor the actual WSIB clearance.

Before bringing an Ontario construction contractor on site, check the current WSIB construction policy, obtain the right clearance for the direct relationship and calendar its renewal through the job. Reconfirm WSIB's current verification route, the proposed Complys URL and the actual product configuration before publication.

For the related Complys product, see Contractor Management Software. This guide is general information, not legal advice; verify current requirements against the official sources linked above.