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How to Hire a Plumber in Ontario: The Compulsory Trade, the Skilled Trades Ontario Register, WSIB and Insurance, Hourly vs Fixed Price, Deposits and Holdback
Plumbing & Water
Hiring a Plumber: Look Them Up Before You Let Them Cut a Pipe
Plumber is a compulsory trade in Ontario, which means the person working on your pipes has to be certified, provisionally certified, or a registered apprentice. You can check that from your kitchen table in two minutes, and most people never do. This page covers the register, the difference between a plumber and a plumbing company, the other paper to ask for, what plumbers charge in 2026, how to pay them, and the two jobs that need a different licence altogether.
Who You May Hire
| Who | May do plumbing for pay? | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Plumber (306A) with a Certificate of Qualification | Yes | Certified in the trade; the certificate must be renewed to stay valid |
| Holder of a Provisional Certificate of Qualification | Yes | Also allowed to work in the trade; check the date on the register |
| Registered apprentice | Yes, as an apprentice | Learning the trade under a certified plumber |
| Handyman or general contractor with no certificate | No | A general contractor may hire a plumber; the hammer does not come with a licence |
| You, in a house you own and live in | Your own work only | Permit and inspections still apply; see below |
The apprenticeship is about 9,000 hours, roughly five years: 8,280 on the job and 720 in school. That is why the fellow who “does a bit of plumbing” on weekends is not the same thing, however tidy his solder joints look.
In most Ontario municipalities you can do the plumbing in a house you own and live in, but you still need the permit and the inspections, and you cannot hire an unlicensed person to do it for you. Check with your building department first. The permit side is on the plumbing permit page.
Check the Register, Then the Paper
Skilled Trades Ontario keeps a public register. Search it by the plumber’s name or Skilled Trades Ontario ID, and check that the certificate is current. Ask for the name of the plumber who will actually be in your basement, not just the owner of the company; the owner’s certificate does not follow him around on the van.
A plumber is a person. A plumbing contractor is a business, and many municipalities license plumbing contractors separately. Toronto, for one, requires a City business licence before its basement flooding subsidy will pay out. Ask whether your municipality licenses plumbing businesses and whether this one has it.
- A WSIB clearance certificate, current, which you can check yourself on WSIB’s clearance page. A worker hurt on your job with no coverage is a problem you do not want to own.
- A certificate of liability insurance dated past the end of your job. Plumbers work with water and torches in finished houses; this is the one you hope you never read.
- The certificate number on the contract, next to the name of the person doing the work.
On our own builds and renovations in Simcoe, Muskoka and Georgian Bay, the plumbing is done by licensed plumbers we hire, and wells are drilled by licensed well contractors. I am a builder, not a plumber.
What Plumbers Charge in 2026
| Item | Range, before HST | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly rate, Ontario outside Toronto | $85 to $150 | a national marketplace |
| Hourly rate, Toronto | $95 to $150 | independents $85 to $100; some companies $110 to $200 |
| Emergency hourly rate | $150 to $300 | after-hours runs 1.5x to 2x |
| Call-out or service charge | $150 to $400 | to $500 on holidays |
| Burst pipe repair | $400 to $1,500 | plus drywall and flooring |
| Frozen pipe repair | $250 to $600 | an Ottawa plumber said $960 to $1,500 |
| Rough-in per fixture, new house | $800 to $1,200 | $1,000 default, trim $300 more |
October 2026 prices. An Ontario plumbing quote site says Toronto and GTA rates run 10 to 20 percent above smaller Ontario cities and 20 to 40 percent above rural areas. HST is 13 percent on top.
Why Ontario prices are all over the map: the plumbers and price guides we checked for this page could not agree on an hour. A national marketplace put Toronto at $95 to $150. A Toronto plumber’s own page said $110 to $200. An Ontario quote site said rural rates run 20 to 40 percent below the GTA. Some quote an hourly rate with the trip in it; others add a $150 to $400 call-out before anybody picks up a wrench. Who is quoting, the city or the township, and the time of night make the gap. Budget about $120 an hour plus a call-out (our estimate, inside the published range), and get two or three quotes on the same written scope.
Here is what the clock does. A three-hour daytime repair at $120 an hour with a $200 call-out is 3 x $120 + $200 = $560. The same job at 10 p.m. at 1.5 times the rate is 3 x $180 + $200 = $740. The leak was the same size both times.
Hourly, Fixed Price, Deposits and Holdback
Repairs and drain calls are hourly, because nobody knows what is behind the wall until it is open. A defined job, a new house, a basement bathroom, a repipe, should be a fixed price on a written scope with a fixture count. Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act gives you rights on home renovation and repair contracts, and the province’s page on them is worth ten minutes before you sign anything.
A deposit that covers material ordered for your job is normal. A big deposit before anything is ordered is not. Tie the rest to inspections, because the inspector is the one independent check you get. On a 12-fixture new house at the defaults, our estimate: rough-in 12 x $1,000 = $12,000, paid when the rough-in passes; trim 12 x $300 = $3,600, paid at the final. $12,000 + $3,600 = $15,600.
On contracts the Construction Act covers, the owner also keeps a 10 percent holdback until the lien period runs out. On that $15,600 job that is $1,560 held back, $1,200 from the rough-in payment and $360 from the trim. A good plumber expects it; ask your lawyer about the timing.
One warning from the same province: Ontario bans door-to-door contracts for water heaters, water softeners, filters and treatment devices unless you asked the company to come. If a salesman turns up at the door with a free water test and a rental contract, that is not a plumber.
Wells and Gas Are Different Licences
Two jobs that sit right next to the plumbing are not plumbing at all, legally speaking.
- The well pump. Wells fall under Reg. 903. Pump installation for pay is a Class 4 well technician licence, and the technician works under a licensed well contractor. A plumbing certificate does not cover it. A landowner may work on a well on their own property without a licence, so you can legally change your own pump; whether you should is another question, since a dropped pump down a drilled well is an expensive fishing trip. The well pump page has the costs and the well regulations page has the licence classes.
- Gas. Gas piping and gas water heaters are TSSA-regulated work by a registered gas contractor with a certified gas technician. If the same company does both your plumbing and your gas, it needs both, and you should see both. It is never a homeowner job.
And never climb into a dug well or a well pit to look at anything. Gases and low oxygen kill people in them every year.
Red Flags
- No name you can find on the register. Ask once. If the name does not appear, neither should the plumber.
- “You don’t need a permit for that.” Moving or adding a fixture does. A cash price without the permit is a price without an inspection.
- Full payment up front. Stage it to the inspections, and keep the holdback.
- A fixture count that changes every time you ask. Get it in writing; the quote comparison grid lists the lines.
An honest note about us: we do not run a network of plumbers and we take no referral fees. Outside our own area we tell people straight whether we know anyone.
Questions people ask
How do I check if a plumber is licensed in Ontario?
Search the Skilled Trades Ontario public register by the plumber’s name or Skilled Trades Ontario ID and check the certificate is current. Plumber is a compulsory trade, so anyone doing the work must be certified, provisionally certified or a registered apprentice.
Can a handyman do plumbing in Ontario?
Not for pay unless they hold a Certificate of Qualification or a provisional certificate, or are a registered apprentice. You can do the plumbing in your own house in most municipalities, with the permit and inspections, but you cannot hire an unlicensed person to do it.
How much does a plumber cost per hour in Ontario?
About $85 to $150 an hour outside Toronto in 2026 and $95 to $150 in Toronto, before HST, with some Toronto companies at $110 to $200. Emergency rates run $150 to $300, and a call-out is often $150 to $400.
Can my plumber replace my well pump?
Only if they hold a Class 4 well technician licence and work under a licensed well contractor. A plumbing certificate alone does not cover paid pump installation.
How much should I hold back from a plumber?
On contracts the Construction Act covers, 10 percent until the lien period runs out. Ask your lawyer about the timing, and tie the other payments to passed inspections.
Know the number before the first visit
The plumbing cost estimator gives you the price range for your house by fixture before anyone walks through it, which makes the first conversation shorter. If the quotes are already in, the $99 review reads up to three of them, checks the names on the register, and tells you which lines are missing.
Sources and further reading
- Skilled Trades Ontario: Plumber: the compulsory plumber trade, the 9,000-hour apprenticeship and the Certificate of Qualification that must be renewed to be valid.
- Skilled Trades Ontario public register: where you check that the plumber on your quote can legally work in the trade, by name or ID number.
- Construction Act, R.S.O. 1990: the 10 percent holdback, the lien period and the prompt-payment timelines that apply to a plumbing contract.
