Ontario regulates electrical work more tightly than any other residential trade, and it does so in two layers. The individual needs a Certificate of Qualification as a 309A Construction and Maintenance Electrician. The business needs a separate Electrical Contractor Licence issued through the Electrical Safety Authority - the ECRA/ESA number you see on trucks and invoices.
Both layers matter to you for a practical reason. Unpermitted electrical work is the single most common thing that derails a house sale, and insurers have grounds to deny a fire claim traced to work that was never inspected. The permit is not bureaucracy; it is the document proving the work was checked.
What electricians do
- Panel upgrades and service changes, typically 100A to 200A
- Adding circuits, outlets, switches and dedicated appliance lines
- Pot lights, fixture installation and lighting design
- EV charger installation
- Knob-and-tube and aluminum wiring remediation
- Generator hookups and transfer switches
- Rough-in and finish wiring for renovations and additions
Does an electrician need a licence in Ontario?
Yes, twice over. The person needs a 309A Certificate of Qualification; the business needs an ECRA/ESA Electrical Contractor Licence.
ECRA/ESA Electrical Contractor Licence
A seven-digit number that must appear on advertising, vehicles, quotes and invoices. If you cannot find it on the quote, ask - a licensed contractor is required to provide it.
Verify with: The Electrical Safety Authority publishes a contractor lookup at esasafe.com.
Open the official lookupCertificate of Qualification, 309A Electrician
Held by the individual. A licensed contractor employs certified electricians and apprentices; the apprentices work under supervision.
Verify with: Skilled Trades Ontario maintains the public register.
Open the official lookupESA notification (the permit) for the specific job
Most work beyond replacing a light fixture requires the contractor to file a notification with ESA and have the work inspected. You should receive a Certificate of Acceptance when it passes. Keep it. You will want it when you sell.
Verify with: ESA confirms whether a notification was filed for your address.
Open the official lookupGeneral liability insurance and WSIB clearance
Two million in liability is standard. Electrical fires are the reason this is not a box-ticking exercise.
What it costs in Ontario
The ESA notification fee is a real line item, usually between $100 and $400 depending on scope, and it is normal for it to be passed through to you. A quote that omits it entirely is either absorbing it or not pulling one - worth clarifying which.
| Job | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Service call / diagnosticTroubleshooting an intermittent fault can take longer than the fix. | $100 – $200 |
| Hourly rateSome contractors quote per-device instead for repetitive work. | $90 – $150 / hour |
| Add an outlet or dedicated circuitCost is driven by how far the run is and whether walls are finished. | $200 – $450 |
| Pot lights, installedPer-fixture cost drops noticeably past six or eight lights. | $150 – $300 each |
| Panel upgrade, 100A to 200AIncludes the ESA notification and inspection. Utility coordination can add time. | $2,200 – $4,500 |
| Level 2 EV charger installDepends on distance from the panel and whether you have spare capacity. | $1,000 – $2,800 |
| Knob-and-tube removal / full rewireThe wide range reflects house size and how much finished surface must be opened. | $8,000 – $25,000 |
| Generator transfer switchExcludes the generator itself. | $1,200 – $3,000 |
These are planning estimates for Ontario, not quotes, and they move with material prices and demand. Use them to sanity-check a quote, not to argue one down.
Questions to ask before you hire
- 1What is your ECRA/ESA licence number? (Then look it up before you sign anything.)
- 2Will you file the ESA notification, and is the fee included in this price?
- 3Will I receive the Certificate of Acceptance when the work passes inspection?
- 4Is my panel at capacity? If this job needs a service upgrade, I want to know now rather than halfway through.
- 5Who is physically doing the work - a certified electrician or an apprentice under supervision?
- 6Does the quote include patching drywall where you cut in, or is that a separate trade?
Warning signs
- No ECRA/ESA number anywhere on the quote, vehicle or website. This one is non-negotiable.
- An offer to skip the permit to save you money. That saving is borrowed against your next insurance claim or home sale.
- A handyman offering to do panel work. Regardless of skill, they cannot file the notification.
- Quotes that vary by thousands with no explanation. Usually one of them has scoped a service upgrade and the other has not.
- Any suggestion that aluminum wiring or knob-and-tube is "fine, leave it" without an inspection.
How to read reviews for this trade
Look for reviews that mention the permit and inspection explicitly. Electricians who consistently pull permits attract customers who mention it, and that is a stronger signal than a high average score. Also weight recency: a contractor licence can lapse, and older reviews cannot tell you about the current state of the business.