Start a construction company in British Columbia: register with BC Registries, get WorkSafeBC coverage and clearance letters, meet the residential builder licence rules, and work under the BC Building Code.
Applies in: British Columbia
Register the business with BC Registries, register with WorkSafeBC before anyone works, and sort out the BC Housing licence question before you take on new-home work. British Columbia does not use Ontario's WSIB system or its constructor model. Here the three gates are WorkSafeBC coverage, the residential builder licence (or an owner-builder authorization for your own home), and the municipal building permit under the BC Building Code 2024. Get those three in the right order and the rest is sequencing.
Pick one of the three common structures: sole proprietorship, general partnership, or corporation. The Government of British Columbia, Start your business page walks through the choice and notes that each structure has different legal and financial implications, so get advice from a lawyer or accountant before you settle it.
Then get the name approved. Submit a name request to BC Registries and Online Services; once it is approved you receive a Name Request Number, and you must register within 56 days of receiving it. A sole proprietor trading under their own legal name does not need a name request or a provincial registration. The fees on the province's own forms are $30 for the name request and $40 to register a proprietorship, according to the Government of British Columbia, Information on Registration of Proprietorship. Incorporating a BC company costs $350, with a $100 priority fee for a name approved in 1 to 2 business days instead of the usual 7 to 14 days, according to the Government of British Columbia, Incorporated companies.
Once registered you receive a Business Number, which you use for remitting taxes, CPP and EI premiums, and WorkSafeBC payments, according to the Government of British Columbia, Start your business page. Provincial registration is separate from the municipal business licence, which comes later in step 6.
If you hire workers in British Columbia, you are required to register for WorkSafeBC insurance coverage. WorkSafeBC recommends submitting the application 30 days before starting the business or hiring a worker, and it takes approximately 10 business days to review the application, according to WorkSafeBC, Apply for coverage. Applying online takes about 20 minutes, and you need an online services profile. Have ready your Canada Revenue Agency business number, the start date of operations, a summary of the services you provide, and an estimate of payroll, on the same page.
WorkSafeBC then places your firm in a classification unit based on your main business undertaking, and that unit sets your base premium rate. For general contracting or construction, classification unit 721028, the 2026 base rate is 0.64% of assessable payroll, with a 2026 maximum assessable payroll of $127,500 per worker; the 2027 base rate for the same unit is 0.65%, according to WorkSafeBC, Find your classification unit, industry, or rate. The full list is published in the WorkSafeBC, 2026 Classification and Rate List. Rates are set per classification unit and change annually, so confirm the current list rather than budgeting from a rate you saw last year.
If you are a self-employed proprietor or partner with no workers, you are not required to register, but you can buy optional Personal Coverage. Monthly coverage runs from $3,100, and amounts over $5,000 need an Application for Personal Coverage (Form 1801), according to WorkSafeBC, Apply for coverage. Once you hire your first worker, registration is no longer optional. Registering also triggers the payroll side: open a CRA payroll deductions account before the first pay run, as the Government of British Columbia, Start your business page directs.
This is the step with no Ontario equivalent, and it decides what work you can take. If you build new homes for clients, you need a residential builder licence from BC Housing's Licensing and Consumer Services branch under the Homeowner Protection Act. A new general contractor applicant must provide proof of at least 24 months of experience managing or supervising residential construction, gained within the past five years, and demonstrate competency in seven core areas: relevant enactments, construction management and supervision, construction technology, customer service and home warranty insurance, financial planning and budget management, legal issues, and business planning, management and administration, according to BC Housing, Qualification Requirements for New Residential Builders. You prove the training with certificates from pre-approved courses, or through a Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition process, on the same page.
Licensed builders must also arrange third-party home warranty insurance for each new home, and a municipality cannot issue a building permit for a new home without the BC Housing registration form that only a licensed builder can provide. One exemption matters: general contractors working for a licensed developer to construct residential buildings under Part 3 of the BC Building Code are exempt from having to obtain a residential builder licence, according to the BC Housing, Qualification Requirements for New Residential Builders page.
The other route is the owner-builder authorization, for building your own home for personal use. An owner builder is exempt from becoming licensed and arranging third-party home warranty insurance, but must build or directly manage the construction themselves, and is personally liable for any construction defects in the new home for 10 years. After BC Housing confirms eligibility and receives the signed application, the applicant is invited to take the Owner Builder Exam, which tests construction basics and the statutory obligations under the Homeowner Protection Act, and must pass it to get the authorization, according to BC Housing, Become an Owner Builder.
If your work is renovations, commercial, or industrial only, the residential builder licence does not apply — but WorkSafeBC, the building permit, and the trade rules below still do.
On a site where workers of two or more employers work at the same time, British Columbia has a prime contractor. The prime contractor coordinates the health and safety activities of employers and puts in place and maintains a system that ensures all employers comply with their health and safety responsibilities, according to WorkSafeBC, Prime contractor role and responsibilities. In construction the prime contractor must also appoint a qualified coordinator, have each employer name the person responsible for its site health and safety activities, and make sure employers give notice before work that is likely to create a hazard for another employer's workers, on the same page.
Before work begins, the owner or the prime contractor must file a notice of project with WorkSafeBC and post it at the site, at least 24 hours before work starts, as set out in section 20.2 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation and stated in the City of Vancouver, Prime Contractor Agreement.
Clearance letters are the other half of site control. A clearance letter confirms a firm is registered with WorkSafeBC and in good standing, and as a prime contractor a clearance letter must be addressed to you to be honoured, according to WorkSafeBC, Get a clearance letter. Get one for every subcontractor before their work starts. Firms with a good history of reporting payroll and paying premiums whose account has been active for 24 of the last 36 months qualify for GoldStar clearance status, which gives advance clearance, usually to the start of the next quarter, on the same page. If you regularly use the same subcontractors, sign up for clearance alerts so you are emailed when a listed firm's status changes.
British Columbia has seven compulsory trades under Skilled Trades Certification. Workers in these trades must be registered with SkilledTradesBC as an apprentice or trade qualifier, or certified as a journeyperson: construction electrician, industrial electrician, powerline technician, steamfitter/pipefitter, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanic, gasfitter Class A and Class B, and sheet metal worker, according to SkilledTradesBC, Skilled Trades Certification (Compulsory Trades). Mobile crane operator and tower crane operator join the list on July 5, 2027, on the same page.
Check the trade before you assign the work. A carpenter, plumber, or welder is not on the compulsory list, so certification is voluntary for those trades in BC — but an electrician or gasfitter on your site without registration or certification is a compliance problem, not a staffing shortcut. Keep a copy of each worker's registration or certificate with the site records.
Apply to your municipality or regional district for a building permit before constructing, renovating, or changing the use of a building. The BC Building Code 2024 applies to projects with building permits applied for after March 8, 2024, and its seismic and adaptable dwelling unit provisions apply to permits applied for on or after March 10, 2025, according to the Government of British Columbia, Application of the 2024 BC Building Code (Bulletin B24-10-R2). The Building and Safety Standards Branch does not enforce the Code — local authorities enforce it, on the same page. In-stream projects designed to the 2018 Code keep the older seismic and adaptable provisions if the building permit is applied for before March 8, 2027.
Separately, get a municipal business licence from the municipality where you operate. Provincial registration, WorkSafeBC coverage, and the building permit do not substitute for it. Use BizPaL to find which permits and licences your business needs, as the Government of British Columbia, Start your business page recommends. Arrange commercial general liability insurance before you bid on work, and register for PST and GST accounts if your sales require it, on the same page.
The opened official pages do not state the BC Housing residential builder licence application fee, municipal building-permit fees, or municipal business licence fees, so this guide gives none of them — all three vary by authority and by project, so check the current fee schedule of the authority that issues each one before you budget. WorkSafeBC premium rates are given only for classification unit 721028 (general contracting); other construction classifications have their own rates on the current rate list. The 2027 maximum assessable payroll is not stated on the opened WorkSafeBC pages, so this guide gives no 2027 maximum figure — confirm it on the current WorkSafeBC rate notice before you budget.
If you hire workers in British Columbia, you are required to register for WorkSafeBC insurance coverage, and that includes an incorporated company that employs only its shareholders, according to [WorkSafeBC, Employer's Registration Application (Form 1800)](https://www.worksafebc.com/en/resources/insurance/forms/employers-registration-application-form-1800). A self-employed proprietor or partner with no workers is not required to register, but can buy optional Personal Coverage, with monthly coverage from $3,100, according to [WorkSafeBC, Apply for coverage](https://www.worksafebc.com/en/insurance/apply-for-coverage).
A clearance letter shows whether a firm is registered with WorkSafeBC and in good standing. As a prime contractor, a clearance letter must be addressed to you to be honoured, according to [WorkSafeBC, Get a clearance letter](https://www.worksafebc.com/en/insurance/why-clearance-letter/get-clearance-letter). Get one for every subcontractor before their work starts and again after it finishes, because if a registered subcontractor is not paying its premiums, you can be liable for the premiums on their work.
For classification unit 721028, general contracting or construction, the 2026 base rate is 0.64% of assessable payroll, and the 2026 maximum assessable payroll is $127,500 per worker, according to [WorkSafeBC, Find your classification unit, industry, or rate](https://www.worksafebc.com/en/insurance/know-coverage-costs/find-classification-industry-rate?cuNumber=721028). The 2027 base rate for the same unit is already published at 0.65%, on the same page. The 2027 maximum assessable payroll was not stated on the opened pages, so this guide gives no 2027 maximum figure. Your rate depends on your classification unit, so confirm yours on the current rate list before you budget.
Yes, if you build new homes. Under the Homeowner Protection Act, a person must not carry on the business of a residential builder unless licensed, and a new general contractor applicant must show at least 24 months of experience managing or supervising residential construction within the past five years and demonstrate competency in seven core areas, according to [BC Housing, Qualification Requirements for New Residential Builders](https://www.bchousing.org/licensing-consumer-services/education-training/qualification-requirements-new-residential-builders). Licensed builders must also arrange home warranty insurance for each new home. General contractors working for a licensed developer on Part 3 buildings are exempt from the licence, on the same page.
An owner builder is an individual authorized by BC Housing to build a new home for personal use. Owner builders are exempt from becoming licensed and arranging third-party home warranty insurance, but they must build or directly manage the construction themselves, pass the Owner Builder Exam, and they are personally liable for construction defects in the new home for 10 years, according to [BC Housing, Become an Owner Builder](https://www.bchousing.org/licensing-consumer-services/owner-builder/how-to-become-owner-builder). It is a route for building your own home, not a way to run a building business.
The BC Building Code 2024 applies to projects with building permits applied for after March 8, 2024, and its seismic and adaptable dwelling unit provisions apply to permits applied for on or after March 10, 2025, according to the [Government of British Columbia, Application of the 2024 BC Building Code (Bulletin B24-10-R2)](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/construction-industry/building-codes-and-standards/bulletins/2024-code/b24-10-r2_application_of_the_2024_bc_building_code_final.pdf). The Building and Safety Standards Branch does not enforce the Code; local authorities enforce it through the Local Government Act and the Community Charter, on the same page.