Licence security

Licence security is a financial guarantee that a contractor obtains from an association, an insurance company or a financial institution in order to guarantee the performance of his contractual obligations toward his clients. It is intended to compensate a client who has suffered harm, as the result of faulty performance or non-performance of construction work, related to deposits made, non-completion of work, faulty work and construction defects discovered in the year following the end of the work.

The amount of security required is $20,000 for specialized contractors and $40,000 for general contractors.

Failing to receive the licence security by the due date of the payment for maintenance of the licence could lead to the suspension of the licence, as recommended by the RBQ. 

Contractors must send the original certificate of their licence security by mail to the RBQ, at the address provided on the page Contact Us. To make sure that a licence security is acceptable, visit the page Acceptable types of security.

Holders of subclasses 1.1.1 or 1.1.2 (New residential buildings covered by a guaranty plan, Class I and II) don’t have to provide a licence security. Indeed, it’s the Guarantee Plan that will compensate the clients who suffered a prejudice.

Every contractor must provide a licence security if he holds any other subclass as well as the subclasses 1.1.1 or 1.1.2. For instance, if a contractor holds the subclass 1.2 in the general contractor’s class besides subclass 1.1.1, he must provide a licence security and be accredited with the Guarantee Plan.

Consult the pages related to licence security for the contractor to get more information.