RBQ licence

In Quebec, an RBQ licence is the contractor licence issued by the Régie du bâtiment du Québec under chapter IV of the Building Act (Loi sur le bâtiment). The Act requires any construction contractor who offers services to carry out or have construction work carried out in Quebec to hold a valid licence — and, with limited statutory exceptions, owner-builders doing their own work need one too. For public procurement the point is blunt: a contractor must hold the appropriate licence before bidding on a call for tenders, and public buyers are told to verify the licence category in the RBQ's licence-holder register before award.

Who must hold one

Under article 7 of the Building Act, a person who carries out or has construction work carried out for another, for profit, is a contractor and must be licensed. The RBQ reads "for profit" broadly — for the person's benefit, direct or indirect — so the licence reaches anyone who executes work, submits bids, solicits clients or even advertises construction services; promoters who contract to sell buildings they built; and owners of buildings or public-use facilities subject to the Act who do their own work (the constructeur-propriétaire owner-builder licence). Municipalities doing their own building work also need an owner-builder licence, though narrow exemptions exist for certain civil-engineering works done with their own employees.

Licence categories

The RBQ issues four licence categories — general contractor, specialized contractor, owner-builder and (for certain job-site activities) the transitional/categories applicable to particular sectors — each subdivided into classes and subclasses that describe the work the licence actually authorizes. Plumbing and electrical contractors additionally must be members of their respective corporations and hold the required licences. Qualification of the workforce itself is not the RBQ's: trade competency cards are the Commission de la construction du Québec's (CCQ) jurisdiction — a licence does not substitute for CCQ cards on unionized sites.

Why public buyers check it

Licence status is a condition of doing the work, not a formality: the Building Act lets the RBQ refuse, restrict, suspend or cancel licences, and under article 71 a licence ceases to have effect immediately if its holder fails to pay renewal fees on time — any lapse, however short, is a compliance problem mid-contract. That is why Quebec public tenders (issued through the SEAO) require bidders to be licensed at submission, and why owners verify both the licence's existence and its category in the RBQ register: bidding for work outside your licensed subclass is a compliance breach. The LCOP ties into the same regime by limiting its construction-contract coverage to Building Act contracts for which the contractor must hold the required licence.

Common questions

Is the RBQ licence the same as a CCQ competency card?

No. The RBQ licenses the company (and owner-builders); the CCQ certifies the workers — journeyman and apprentice competency cards under the construction-industry labour relations regime. A bidder needs both layers in place: a valid RBQ licence for the entity and CCQ cards for the crew.

Do renovation or maintenance contractors need a licence?

Yes. The Building Act deems foundation, erection, renovation, repair, maintenance, modification and demolition work to be construction work (art. 9), so exclusive renovators are licensed too. See our certificate of completion comparison for how closing documents work in the Ontario regime.

Related definitions

SEAO · LCOP · MERX · Substantial performance