Trades & Contractors · 6 min read · Last updated
Heating and cooling firms in Hamilton need a business licence of their own, issued under Schedule 29 of By-law 07-170. The definition covers layout, assembly, installation and repairs of cooling or heating and cooling combination systems, in homes and in commercial, institutional and industrial buildings. As with the other trades, the licence cannot be issued until a licensed HVAC master is in your employ.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Trades” category: “HVAC means the layout, assembly, installation or repairs of any cooling or heating/cooling combination system for residential, commercial, institutional or industrial purposes.”
Who needs this licence?
The licence covers the business that carries on HVAC work, which the by-law defines as the layout, assembly, installation or repairs of any cooling or heating and cooling combination system for residential, commercial, institutional or industrial purposes.
Notice that the definition starts at layout. A firm that designs and lays out systems, then subcontracts the physical installation, is still doing HVAC work. And the reach across residential, commercial, institutional and industrial buildings means there is no small-jobs exception.
Your company cannot be licensed until a licensed HVAC master is in its employ. The master is an individual who holds trade papers and a personal photo identification card; the contractor is the business that solicits and performs the work. The two licences are separate and neither substitutes for the other.
Because no master may be employed by more than one contractor at a time, the person you name has to work for you alone. If they leave, your licence loses the qualification it was granted on.
The hiring picture in HVAC is a little easier than in some other trades, because the master licence accepts a certificate of qualification in any of several trades rather than a single one. Schedule 29 of By-law 07-170 sets out the requirements.
What documents do you need?
This checklist is business focused and short. Start with a business registration or corporate profile dated within one year of the application.
Add liability and property damage insurance of two million dollars. HVAC installations combine gas or fuel, refrigerant and electrical work inside buildings people live and work in, which is why the required limit sits at the top of Hamilton's trade licences.
Provide a Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check from the police service board in your city of residence, dated within 36 days of the application. Third party clearances are refused.
The licence then depends on having a licensed HVAC master in your employ. Sort this out first, since it is the only item you cannot produce on your own.
A municipally issued photo identification card is issued for the licence, so allow time for the photo appointment.
Zoning and premises requirements
There is no Zoning Verification Certificate on this checklist and no addendum route. The HVAC contractor licence is a trade licence for work carried out at customers' buildings, so the City is not approving a land use when it issues it.
Zoning applies to any premises your business occupies. A shop, a warehouse for furnaces, coils and ductwork, or a yard for service vans is subject to the zoning of that property, and outdoor storage of equipment is restricted in many zones.
Running the business from home brings the home occupation provisions of the zoning by-law into play. Those apply independently of your trade licence.
At the customer's building, the applicable requirements attach to that property and to the equipment being installed, including any permits the work needs. Your licence authorises the business to carry on the trade; it does not clear an individual job.
Inspections and approvals
No fire, health, parking or compliance inspection is listed, and nothing is circulated for inspection when your application is received.
The City's controls are the licensed master, the insurance limit and the police check. Because HVAC masters qualify on provincial trade papers, the technical competence behind your business is verified through the certificate of qualification rather than by a municipal test.
Installations remain subject to whatever permit and inspection requirements apply to the equipment and the building, which are separate from your business licence. Fuel-burning and refrigeration work in particular carries its own regulatory regime that this licence does not replace.
With nothing inspected, your ongoing compliance is documentary: keep insurance in force, keep your master, and keep the licence current.
How much does it cost?
Three charges apply to a new HVAC contractor application: a processing fee, a licence fee and a photo fee for the municipally issued identification card.
HST applies to the processing fee and the photo fee, but not to the licence fee.
No exam fee arises anywhere in the HVAC stream, because the master licence in this trade is granted on a certificate of qualification rather than a written test.
The contractor licence fee is higher than the HVAC master licence fee, which reflects the difference between licensing a business and certifying an individual. Renewal is the licence fee plus the photo fee each year, and a lapsed licence attracts a reinstatement fee. The City sets amounts in its fee schedule and confirms them during the application.
How to apply
Find your licensed HVAC master first and confirm they are not already named as another contractor's master.
Put liability and property damage insurance in place at two million dollars, in the name of the business that will hold the licence.
Pull a business registration or corporate profile dated within the past year.
Order the Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check from the police service board where you live, so it is within 36 days when you file.
Submit the application, pay the processing, licence and photo fees, and attend in person for the photo. Carry the identification card, since customers replacing a furnace in January are entitled to check that the company at the door is licensed.
Renewals and staying compliant
Renew annually, completing Declarations A and B. Both are required on the contractor side, unlike the master licence where Declaration B alone is needed.
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 the photo fee comes round with each renewal.
Check the status of your master at each renewal. If the licensed HVAC master has left and not been replaced, the requirement your licence was issued on is no longer met.
Align your insurance renewal with your licence renewal, and file before expiry, because reinstating a lapsed licence costs far more than renewing on time. In a seasonal trade, that is a bill best avoided just as the heating season starts.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. Which activities does Hamilton's HVAC definition cover?
The by-law defines HVAC as the layout, assembly, installation or repairs of any cooling or heating and cooling combination system for residential, commercial, institutional or industrial purposes.
2. What does an HVAC contractor need in place before the licence is issued?
The checklist requires the business to have a licensed HVAC master in its employ, which is the qualification the contractor licence rests on.
3. Which fee does an HVAC contractor application not include?
No written exam applies in the HVAC stream, so there is no exam fee; the application carries processing, licence and photo fees.
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.