Is Your Staffing Agency Licensed? How to Check, and Why It Matters to You
Why check your agency's licence now, two years in?
If you checked your agency's licence when the rules started, it's fair to wonder why this matters again. The answer is renewal. Every licence issued under the original rules, from any application filed before January 1, 2026, was a one-year licence. That means almost every agency licensed under the old system has to renew at some point during 2026, and it's the first renewal under the new rules: a $1,500 application fee and, once approved, a licence that generally lasts two years.
Renewal dates depend on when each licence was issued, so they're spread across the year. Agencies whose anniversary falls between October and December are renewing right now, in the middle of peak season for GTA warehouses and distribution centres. An agency that files its renewal before the expiry date keeps its current licence while the province decides. One that misses the date, or whose renewal is refused, doesn't stay licensed for long. In short, a check you did in 2024 or 2025 tells you about the licence that existed then, not necessarily the one in force today.
Peak season adds a second reason. When volume climbs, sites often bring in a second or third agency to fill gaps fast, and a new vendor booked in a hurry is the one most likely to skip the paperwork.
Do staffing agencies need a licence in Ontario?
Yes. Under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), every temporary help agency that places workers on Ontario worksites must hold a licence. That's true whether the agency is based in Etobicoke, Calgary or outside Canada. If an agency also finds permanent hires for a fee, it needs a second, separate recruiter licence.
One detail matters more than most employers realize: a licence belongs to one legal entity and can't be transferred. A sister company, a new numbered company or a "partner agency" isn't covered by someone else's licence.
- July 1, 2024: temp agencies must hold a licence to operate, and clients may not knowingly engage or use an unlicensed agency.
- $15,000 / $25,000 / $50,000: penalties on a notice of contravention for a first, second and third contravention within three years. These apply to agencies operating without a licence and to clients that knowingly use them.
- $25,000: the security (letter of credit or surety bond) a licensed agency must keep with the Director of Employment Standards. It can be drawn on to pay certain orders, including orders to pay wages.
- $1,500 and two years: the application fee and usual licence term for applications filed on or after January 1, 2026.
Why is the agency's licence my problem?
The agency is the legal employer of its assignment workers, so it's tempting to treat licensing as the agency's paperwork. The law doesn't see it that way. Here's where an unlicensed agency can land on your desk.
You can be penalized directly
The prohibition on using an unlicensed agency applies to the client, not just the agency. The rule targets clients who use one knowingly, and the ministry doesn't spell out what checks count as enough. A registry search, saved with a date, is a simple habit that shows you looked. Ask your employment counsel how it fits your own vendor process.
Unpaid wages can follow the work back to your site
The ESA guide for temporary help agencies explains that when an agency fails to pay its workers, the client can be held jointly and severally liable for unpaid regular wages, overtime pay, public holiday pay and public holiday premium pay for work done at the client's site. That's true for licensed agencies too. The difference is that a licensed agency has $25,000 of security sitting with the province that can be used toward wage orders, and it had to show it had complied with past ESA orders to get its licence.
A licence is also a WSIB signal
The province must refuse a licence to an agency that isn't registered with the WSIB or hasn't paid its WSIB premiums. Licensing isn't a substitute for a current WSIB clearance certificate, but an agency that can't get licensed is often one that can't pass that bar either.
Your crew can disappear on short notice
If an agency's licence is revoked or suspended, it can generally keep operating for only 30 days after the ministry serves notice, unless a review at the Ontario Labour Relations Board extends that. It must notify its clients and workers in writing within 30 days. For a Vaughan or Mississauga distribution centre heading into November peak, losing a full shift's worth of staff on a month's notice is an operations problem as much as a legal one.
Across the GTA, our recruiters at Alliance Employment Services are noticing:
- Licence questions are coming earlier: more procurement and HR teams in Peel and York Region now ask for licence details during vendor onboarding, rather than after a problem comes up.
- Quotes that don't add up get a second look: when a quoted rate sits close to the new $17.95 minimum wage, employers are increasingly asking how the agency covers statutory costs, WSIB and vacation pay on top of wages.
How do I check if a temp agency is licensed in Ontario?
The province publishes a free public list of every licensee and applicant, with the status of each. Here's a routine that takes a few minutes per agency.
- Get the exact legal name. Ask for it in writing and compare it to the name on the contract and invoices. A trade name like "GTA Staffing Solutions" may belong to a numbered company, and the licence is listed under the legal entity.
- Search the provincial licensing status page. It's linked as "Check licensing status" on the ontario.ca licensing page. Search by the legal name.
- Read the status, not just the name. The list includes applicants as well as licensees. Being listed is not the same as being licensed (see the status guide below).
- Check for a second licence if you need one. If the agency will also find you permanent hires for a fee, look for a recruiter licence under the same legal name.
- Save a dated record. Take a screenshot or PDF of the result with the date visible and file it with the contract.
- Add a WSIB clearance certificate. Under WSIB's clearance certificate policy, a business that contracts work out may be liable for a contractor's unpaid WSIB premiums, up to the labour portion of the contract. A valid clearance waives that for its validity period.
- Set a reminder to recheck. Check again at each renewal date, and any time the agency's name, ownership or invoicing entity changes.
What does each licence status mean for you?
Licence issued and current
The legal entity you're contracting with holds an active licence. File your dated record and note the expiry date. If the agency applies to renew before expiry, its current licence stays valid until the ministry decides on the renewal.
Application only, or a different entity is listed
An agency that first applied on or after July 1, 2024 cannot operate until its licence is issued. Only applicants that filed before that date can keep operating while they wait. If the licensed name doesn't match your contract, ask which entity employs the workers and invoices you.
Not listed, refused, revoked or suspended
Don't book new shifts until you've confirmed the facts in writing and spoken with counsel. A refused or revoked agency generally can't reapply for two years unless the province is satisfied there's new evidence.
What does a licence actually prove?
A licence is a floor, not a seal of approval. To get one, an agency must post the $25,000 security, be registered with the WSIB and current on premiums, be up to date on tax filings, have complied with past orders under the ESA, and clear a set of criminal and immigration-related checks on the company and its directors. When the province announced the system in 2023, it said inspections had found agencies paying below minimum wage to undercut law-abiding competitors on price. The licence was designed to screen those operators out.
What a licence doesn't tell you is how the agency runs from week to week: whether workers get their written assignment details, whether site-specific safety orientation actually happens, how quickly payroll errors get fixed, or whether the agency quietly subcontracts your order to another firm. Those are fair questions for any agency, including ours.
Red flags worth a second look
Only a trade name on the contract or invoices, or hesitation when you ask which company employs the workers.
Workers paid in cash or treated as independent contractors for general labour roles. Misclassification is one of the problems licensing was built to catch.
Minimum wage rose to $17.95 an hour on October 1, 2026. A bill rate needs to cover that plus vacation pay, CPP, EI, WSIB and overhead.
Licensed agencies must give each worker written details including the agency's name, the client's name, pay rate and hours. Confusion on site is a warning sign.
What if my current agency isn't licensed?
Don't panic, and don't punish the workers. Start by asking the agency for its licence status in writing, since a renewal may be pending or the licence may sit under a different legal name. If the answer doesn't hold up, talk to employment counsel before your next shift and line up a licensed alternative so production doesn't stall.
Two rules can help you keep good people. An agency cannot stop you from hiring its workers directly, and it cannot charge a temp-to-perm fee if you hire a worker after its licence was refused, revoked, suspended or cancelled. (We covered how temp-to-perm fees normally work in our guide to agency fees and candidates who already applied.) Also note that clients are prohibited from penalizing a worker for asking whether an agency is licensed, so treat those questions as useful, not as trouble.
For what it's worth on our side: Alliance Employment Services is a licensed temporary help agency. Before a first shift in Brampton, Markham, Scarborough or anywhere else in the GTA, we can send our legal entity name, licence details and a current WSIB clearance certificate so your vendor file is complete from day one. Then look us up yourself. That's the point.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do staffing agencies need a licence in Ontario?
Yes. Since July 1, 2024, every temporary help agency that assigns workers to Ontario worksites must hold a licence under the Employment Standards Act, 2000. This includes agencies based outside Ontario. An agency that also finds permanent hires for a fee needs a separate recruiter licence.
How do I check if a temp agency is licensed in Ontario?
Ask the agency for its exact legal name, then search for that name on the provincial licensing status page linked from ontario.ca. Make sure the result shows an active licence, not only an application, and save a dated copy of the result for your vendor file.
What happens if I use an unlicensed staffing agency?
A client that knowingly engages or uses an unlicensed temporary help agency can receive a notice of contravention: $15,000 for a first contravention, $25,000 for a second and $50,000 for a third within three years. Separately, clients can share liability for certain unpaid wages if an agency fails to pay its workers. Speak with employment counsel about your specific situation.
Does a licence mean the agency is fully compliant?
No. A licence means the agency met the ministry's requirements when it applied, such as WSIB registration, tax filings, compliance with past ESA orders and a $25,000 security. It does not prove how the agency handles pay, safety training or scheduling day to day, so keep asking questions after you sign.
Can I hire a temp directly if their agency loses its licence?
Yes. An agency cannot stop a client from hiring its assignment employees directly. Agencies can generally charge a temp-to-perm fee only during the first six months of a worker's assignment with you, and no fee is allowed if you hire the worker after the agency's licence was refused, revoked, suspended or cancelled.
This article is general information, not legal advice. For decisions about your own vendor contracts or ESA obligations, speak with employment counsel.
Work with an agency you can verify
We'll send our licence details and WSIB clearance before your first shift, so your due diligence is done before the work starts.
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