Checking a subcontractor’s RBQ licence
Rules checked on October 13, 2026
In Quebec, a contractor may not give construction work to another contractor who has no licence from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ). The check takes two minutes, and you answer for it.
What the law says
Section 46 of the Building Act bars anyone from acting as a building contractor without a valid licence. Its second paragraph is aimed squarely at the general contractor: no contractor may use, for construction work, the services of another contractor who doesn’t hold a licence for that purpose.
The licence must cover the work you give. Each licence has subcategories: a subcontractor licensed for plumbing may not do your electrical work.
How to check
Ask the subcontractor for their licence number. It looks like 1234-5678-01.
Look up that number, the company’s name or its NEQ in the RBQ’s registry of licence holders. Check that the licence is valid, that the name matches the company you’re signing with and that its subcategories cover the work you’re giving them.
See whether the licence carries a restriction. A restricted licence can’t obtain public contracts.
Keep a dated record of the check in the contract file: a printout or a screenshot of the registry.
While the work goes on
A licence can be suspended, cancelled or not renewed partway through a job. The ban applies as long as you use the subcontractor’s services, not just on the day you sign: check again during long jobs and before you pay.
What you risk
Using the services of a contractor whose licence lacks the right category or subcategory: a fine of $7,051 to $35,244 for an individual, and $21,148 to $105,734 for a legal person (section 197.1 of the Building Act).
Using the services of a contractor with no licence at all: $14,098 to $105,734 for an individual, and $42,292 to $211,465 for a legal person. The amounts double for a first repeat offence and triple after that. These are the indexed amounts published on LégisQuébec on the date of this guide.
Wages count too. A client who deals with a contractor without the required licence becomes solidarily liable for the wages that contractor and its subcontractors owe their construction employees (section 54 of the R-20 Act). The guide on solidary liability explains it.
What the licence doesn’t tell you
An active licence says nothing about taxes or the CNESST. Depending on your contracts, you also need the Revenu Québec attestation when work starts and the CNESST attestation of compliance when it ends.
Look up a licence
Official sources
- Building Act, sections 46 and 197.1 (LégisQuébec)
- The RBQ’s registry of licence holders
- Act respecting labour relations, vocational training and workforce management in the construction industry (R-20), section 54 (LégisQuébec)
This guide sums up the rules in force on the date shown, from the laws and official pages above. It isn’t legal advice: for a specific case, check with the agency concerned or a professional.
The other guides
Let Feu vert keep track of all this
Feu vert checks your subcontractors’ RBQ licences every morning, counts the days for the Revenu Québec attestation, reminds you to ask the CNESST for its attestation at the end of each contract and keeps dated proof of every check.
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