RBQ Licence: How to Get One in 2026

Who needs an RBQ licence?

According to the RBQ, anyone who carries out or has construction work carried out must hold a licence, unless an exemption applies. The contractor licence covers running the business; it is not the same as a worker’s competency certificate (the CCQ card).

• Electrical work (sub-category 16): the licence goes through the Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec (CMEQ).
• Plumbing, heating and burners (sub-categories 15.1 to 15.5): the licence goes through the Corporation des maîtres mécaniciens en tuyauterie du Québec (CMMTQ).
• Exemptions: the RBQ lists exemptions for some public bodies, some owner-builders, some contractor partnerships, some farm operations, some petroleum equipment, and for bankruptcy trustees and liquidators. Each has conditions: read the RBQ page or call before you start work.

The RBQ also has an online tool to work out which licence your work needs.

General or specialized contractor

The RBQ issues four licence categories: general contractor, specialized contractor, general owner-builder and specialized owner-builder. A contractor working for clients chooses between the first two.

One licence can combine general and specialized sub-categories; the fees are then those of the general licence.

RBQ licence sub-categories

A licence only covers the work in its sub-categories. The RBQ groups them in three annexes:

• Annex I: general contractor sub-categories.
• Annex II: specialized sub-categories that need a construction-work exam (or an equivalence).
• Annex III: specialized sub-categories with no construction-work assessment; owner-builders cannot hold them.

The official names are in French; the plain-English description is ours.

General contractor (Annex I)

Common specialized sub-categories

The full list, with the work each one allows, is in the RBQ’s sub-category document. If in doubt, choose from the work you actually do, not your trade name.

Requirements: répondant, qualification, surety bond

The répondant

The RBQ does not qualify the business itself: it assesses people in the business, called répondants (sometimes translated “guarantors”). A sole proprietor is their own répondant and takes every assessment. In a partnership or corporation it is an officer (RBQ, exams: who, how, how many, French). One person can be répondant for several fields, and for several businesses.

Qualification fields

The répondant must qualify in administration, construction site safety management, project and site management and construction work for each sub-category requested (except Annex III ones). Three routes are accepted:

• RBQ exams.
• A training program recognized by the RBQ (the “RBQ courses” run by associations and others): you attach the certificate to your application.
• A professional file, for equivalences based on your experience and education.

You are exempt from an exam if you acted as répondant for that field or sub-category in the past 5 years. Agreements with Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador may also apply.

The licence surety bond

The bond compensates a client who suffers a loss: deposits paid, unfinished work, defects found within a year after the work ends. It is $40,000 for a general contractor and $20,000 for a specialized contractor. The RBQ requires it but does not issue it: it comes from an association, an insurer or a financial institution.

Sub-categories 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 (new homes) need membership in the new residential buildings guarantee plan instead; combined with other sub-categories, you need both the plan and the bond.

Records and insurance

The RBQ checks the criminal records of officers and lenders: some tax-law offences or criminal acts in the 5 years before the application can lead to a refusal. The RBQ’s steps page does not list liability insurance as a licence condition; your clients, or general contractors you work for, may still ask for it.

How to get an RBQ licence: the 8 steps

These are the steps in the order the RBQ gives them.

1. Check whether you need a licence for your work (RBQ tool, list of exemptions).
2. Choose the legal form: individual (sole proprietor), corporation or partnership. Check with the CCQ too: the construction industry act (R-20) may add obligations.
3. Register the business with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec to get your Quebec enterprise number (NEQ). If you work under your own name, registration is not required.
4. Choose your sub-categories.
5. Check the criminal records of officers and lenders.
6. Get the surety bond (or the guarantee plan for new homes).
7. Have the répondant qualify: exams, recognized training or professional file.
8. Fill in the application form that fits your situation and send it with the documents and fees.

The répondant should be ready to take the exams when the application goes in: the RBQ schedules them.

The RBQ exam: how it works and how to prepare

Which exams?

For a general or specialized contractor licence, the répondant takes the administration, construction site safety management and project and site management exams, plus one construction-work exam for each Annex I and II sub-category. You must pass all of a sub-category’s exams to get it.

How it works

• Notice: once the application is complete, the RBQ tells you in writing the date, time and address of the RBQ regional office where you sit the exam (source).
• On a computer: exams can be taken on a computer, with a time-remaining indicator, a calculator and a panel for reference documents. The RBQ has an online practice test.
• Documents allowed: the RBQ publishes, for each exam, the acts and regulations provided or allowed (for example, for administration, the Building Act and the regulation on the professional qualification of contractors).
• Results: they come by mail, not by phone, once every répondant on the application has finished.
• Accommodations: a person with a disability can ask for, say, extra time or a private room, with a form filled in by a professional (source).

If you fail or miss an exam

After a first failure or absence you have 30 days to ask for a retake, with payment. If you fail the retake, or don’t ask in time, you must wait 4 months before you can be admitted again. Passing a recognized training program can spare you that wait.

How to prepare

• Read the information sheet and competency profile for each exam (on the RBQ site): they set out what is assessed.
• Do the sample questions and the online practice test.
• Practise finding things in the allowed documents: that is where the time goes.
• The RBQ also has interactive training capsules for répondants (source).
• A recognized RBQ course can replace a field’s exam; check it is on the RBQ’s list of recognized programs.

RBQ licence fees in 2026

Amounts verified on October 30, 2026 on the RBQ site (2026 rates). They are indexed every January 1 and are not taxable. Check the RBQ site for current fees.

Example: a specialized contractor applying with regular processing who takes 4 exams (administration, safety, project management, one Annex II sub-category) pays $849.41 + 4 × $105.27 = $1,270.49 to the RBQ, plus the cost of the bond. The RBQ’s cost simulator works this out for your case.

According to the RBQ’s steps page (French), priority processing is offered when you already hold the required qualifications (for example as a répondant in the past 5 years) and your application is complete. It is not offered when exams or a professional file are needed, or under an interprovincial agreement.

Processing times

• Target: the RBQ processes applications in 60 days, not counting time waiting for your information or the time between the exam notice and the exam.
• Incomplete application: the RBQ writes to you and gives you 21 days to send the missing documents or information. If the application is refused, the RBQ refunds the duties but keeps the processing fees.
• Right now: in October 2026 the RBQ said processing was slower than usual, with processing dates updated on its “Délai et traitement d’une demande de licence” page.

If you need to take exams, allow extra time for the exam notice and the results. Start early, especially before the busy season.

Renewal: the annual maintenance fee

• Every year you pay to maintain your licence ($989.81 general, $547.53 specialized in 2026). The notice comes by mail 60 days before the due date.
• Payment: online (the RBQ site or some financial institutions), by mail or in person. Not by phone.
• If you don’t pay: the licence stops having effect on the due date, and you must apply for a new licence.
• Bond: it must be in force on the due date; if not, the RBQ recommends suspension.
• Continuing education: some sub-categories require mandatory continuing education, declared to the RBQ. The last reference period ended March 31, 2026.

Working without an RBQ licence: fines

The Building Act (section 197.1) sets these fines, indexed each year. 2026 amounts verified on October 30, 2026 on the RBQ site:

For a repeat offence the minimum and maximum double, then triple for further repeat offences. Work outside your sub-categories counts too: a 1.2 licence does not cover everything.

Check a contractor’s licence

Before you sign a quote, look the contractor up in the RBQ’s Registre des détenteurs de licence (licence holder registry), by name or licence number. It shows:

• the business name, contact details and NEQ;
• the licence number, categories and sub-categories (check they cover your work);
• who provides the bond, and any pending claims or compensation paid;
• any restriction on public contracts;
• the répondants and their fields.

A contractor who is not in the registry is a warning sign. The RBQ also answers at 1-800-361-0761.

Once you have your licence

Put your RBQ licence number on your quotes, invoices and website: clients will look it up in the registry. For the taxes on your invoices, use the GST QST calculator.

• BrickByClick Free ($0 a month): invoices by email with a card payment link.
• Starter ($99 a month): estimates, invoices, job tracking, card payments and the crew app.
• Your website on your own domain, kept up by our team: from the Front Office plan up.

This guide sums up information published by the RBQ; it is not legal advice. The RBQ is the authority: check your situation with it before you apply or start work.

Sources

Pages read on October 30, 2026. Most are in French.

• RBQ, Toutes les étapes à suivre pour obtenir une licence (who needs a licence, steps, bond, répondant, qualification, CMEQ and CMMTQ).
• RBQ, Tarification pour l’entrepreneur de construction (2026 fees).
• RBQ, Amendes (section 197.1, 2026 amounts).
• RBQ, Entrepreneur général and the sub-category list (PDF).
• RBQ, Exemptions de licence.
• RBQ, Examinations: who, how, how many and Échec ou absence à un examen.
• RBQ, Preparation for examinations and Computerized exams.
• RBQ, FAQ: examinations.
• RBQ, FAQ Cautionnement.
• RBQ, Délai et traitement d’une demande de licence.
• RBQ, Payer le maintien de sa licence.
• RBQ, Vérifier la licence d’un entrepreneur.

Questions people ask