Trades & Contractors · 6 min read · Last updated
The drain repair master licence certifies you personally as qualified in drain work. Hamilton offers two routes to it: pass the City's examination, or produce a Red Seal Trade Certificate in Drain Repair, which exempts you from writing at all. Every licensed drain contractor in the city needs a master on staff, and you may only be one contractor's master at a time.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Trades” category: “Drain work includes any work of drain laying, weeping tile installing, septic tank installing, drain reconstruction or repair or removing tree roots or other obstruction from drain or private drain connections. No master shall be employed by more than one contractor at a time.”
Who needs this licence?
This licence is held by an individual. It says you are qualified in drain work, which the by-law defines as drain laying, weeping tile installing, septic tank installing, drain reconstruction or repair, and removing tree roots or other obstructions from drains or private drain connections.
The restriction that shapes a master's working life is simple: no master shall be employed by more than one contractor at a time. Your licence backs one company's contractor licence, and you cannot let a second firm list you while you are working for the first.
There are two ways to qualify. The default is the City's examination. The alternative is a Red Seal Trade Certificate in Drain Repair, which exempts you from writing the exam entirely. That exemption is specific to this trade, so do not assume it applies elsewhere in Hamilton's trade licences.
Nothing about business ownership is required of you. Insurance, business registration and the obligation to employ anyone belong to the contractor licence.
Schedule 29 of By-law 07-170 sets out the requirements.
What documents do you need?
Your checklist has three practical parts.
First, a Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check from the police service board in your city of residence, dated within 36 days of your application. Third party clearances are not accepted.
Second, the qualification. Either you write the two hour examination and score at least 70 percent, or you produce a Red Seal Trade Certificate in Drain Repair and are exempt from writing. The exam is open book and covers Sections 3, 7, 8 and 9 of the Ontario Building Code together with the Building Code Act, and the books are available from the Mohawk College book store.
Third, the municipally issued photo identification card, which is issued once you have passed.
If you hold the Red Seal certificate, say so at the start of the process. Presenting it before you register for the exam saves you both the exam fee and the study time.
Zoning and premises requirements
Zoning has nothing to say about a master licence. It attaches to you as a tradesperson, so there is no Zoning Verification Certificate, no addendum and no premise plan in your checklist.
Zoning applies to where the business operates. If the contractor who employs you keeps a yard for excavators, pipe and spoil, the zoning of that yard is the contractor's concern as occupier and licence holder.
At the customer's property, the applicable rules are the ones attached to that address and to the drain or private drain connection you are working on. Those are per job approvals, not licence conditions.
The one time zoning becomes yours is if you set up your own drain contracting business, at which point you are dealing with the contractor licence and a premises of your own.
Inspections and approvals
No inspections are listed for the master licence, and none are circulated when you apply, because there is no premises to inspect.
The examination is the substantive test. Two hours, open book, 70 percent to pass, drawn from Sections 3, 7, 8 and 9 of the Ontario Building Code and the Building Code Act. Open book rewards familiarity: candidates who fail usually know the work but cannot find the provision fast enough.
Buy the code books from the Mohawk College book store early and practise navigating those sections rather than reading them cover to cover.
If you hold a Red Seal Trade Certificate in Drain Repair, the exemption applies and you skip the exam. Your on-site work is still subject to whatever permits and inspections apply to drains and private drain connections at each property.
How much does it cost?
A new master application carries a processing fee, a licence fee, a photo fee for the identification card, and an exam fee.
The exam fee only arises if you write the exam. Producing a Red Seal Trade Certificate in Drain Repair removes both the examination and its cost from your application, which makes checking your eligibility for the exemption the single most valuable thing you can do before applying.
HST applies to the processing fee, the photo fee and the exam fee. The licence fee itself does not carry HST.
The master licence fee is lower than the contractor licence fee, since you are being licensed as a qualified individual rather than as a business. Renewal is the licence fee plus the photo fee, with a reinstatement fee if you let it lapse. The City sets all amounts in its fee schedule and confirms them during your application.
How to apply
Check the Red Seal route first. If you hold a Red Seal Trade Certificate in Drain Repair, you are exempt from the examination, and the rest of the application is short.
If you are writing, get the Ontario Building Code books from the Mohawk College book store and work through Sections 3, 7, 8 and 9 along with the Building Code Act.
Order your Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check from the police service board in your city of residence, timed so the date is within 36 days when you file.
Register for the examination, pay the exam fee and write it. Two hours, open book, 70 percent to pass.
Once you have passed, or produced your Red Seal certificate, attend for the photo so the municipally issued photo identification card can be issued, and pay the processing, licence and photo fees. Carry the card on the job.
Renewals and staying compliant
Renewal is annual and requires Declaration B. Contractors complete Declarations A and B; as a master you complete B only.
A new municipally issued photo identification card is printed each year with an updated expiry date, and a new picture is required every three years, so plan an in-person visit on that cycle.
Renewal costs the licence fee plus the photo fee. You do not re-sit the examination at renewal, and the Red Seal exemption, if you used it, does not need to be re-proven each year.
If your licence lapses, a reinstatement fee applies. Remember that the contractor who employs you relies on your licence being current for their own, so an expired master card can stop a company from operating, not just you.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. Which certificate exempts an applicant from writing the drain repair master exam?
The guide notes that an applicant who possesses a Red Seal Trade Certificate in Drain Repair is exempt from writing the examination.
2. Which parts of the Ontario Building Code does the drain repair master exam cover?
The drain repair master exam is an open book test based on Sections 3, 7, 8 and 9 of the Ontario Building Code and the Building Code Act.
3. What score is needed to pass the drain repair master examination?
The examination runs two hours and requires a 70 percent passing grade.
Skip the paperwork
Tell Permits2Go about your business and it assembles the licence application for you — document checklists, e-signatures and a guided workspace for Hamilton, with more cities on the way.
This guide is general information, not legal or professional advice. Licensing requirements, by-laws and fees change and vary by municipality — always confirm the current rules with the City before you apply.