Guide · Gas and HVAC contractors

TSSA registration,
explained for HVAC owners.

Gas work in Ontario is regulated at two levels: the business needs a TSSA contractor registration, and the people doing the work need their own certificates. Customers can check the first in a minute online. This guide covers what the regulations actually require, where the registration number has to appear, and what an HVAC company should put on its website.

Published 2026-09-21 · Formory Group

The short answer.

If your business installs, removes, repairs, alters or services gas appliances, it must be registered with the Technical Standards and Safety Authority. Section 21 of Ontario Regulation 212/01 (Gaseous Fuels) says no person shall act as a contractor unless registered for the purpose.

The regulation defines a contractor broadly: anyone who carries on, in whole or in part, the business of installing, removing, repairing, altering or servicing appliances, including a seller who agrees to install or service appliances it sells or leases. A furnace company, a water heater rental outfit and a one-truck HVAC service business are all in.

TSSA puts it plainly on its own site: registered fuels contractors are the only businesses legally authorized to do fuels-related work in Ontario.

Registration for the business, certificates for the people.

The business registration is only half of it. Under Ontario Regulation 215/01 (Fuel Industry Certificates), no person may perform the functions of a certificate holder without the right certificate. For gas appliances the common ones are G.1, G.2 and G.3.

A G.2 holder may install, service and remove natural gas or propane appliances with an input of 400,000 Btuh or less. A G.1 holder may work on appliances of any input. A G.3 holder can do a narrower list of tasks, such as certain piping work, only under the general supervision of a G.1, G.2 or DA certificate holder and with documented sign-off.

TSSA tells registered contractors they are responsible for making sure the technicians they employ are properly trained and certified, and that each technical field needs a separate contractor registration.

Renewal and display rules.

A contractor registration expires one year after it is issued. If you renew after it has expired, the regulation treats the application as a new one, so a lapsed registration is more than a late fee problem.

Section 21 (7) of O. Reg. 212/01 sets two display duties. The evidence of registration has to be displayed in a conspicuous place at your business premises. And all field vehicles, other than delivery trucks, whether leased or owned, must be clearly marked with the contractor's name and registration number.

The registration is not transferable, and if the name on it changes you must apply for a new registration showing the new name. That matters if you incorporate or buy another company: the trucks, the listing and the registration should all say the same thing.

What customers can check.

TSSA runs a public Authorized Heating Fuel Contractors look-up where anyone can search by company name, authorization number, or city and postal code. TSSA notes that the city shown is where the contractor's main office is, and that a listing is not an endorsement.

A careful customer will search your company before letting a technician into the basement. If your trading name on the website differs from the registered name, the search may come up empty and you lose the job for no good reason. Put the registered legal name somewhere on the site, usually the footer, even if the brand name is different.

What to show on your website.

O. Reg. 212/01 names business premises and field vehicles. It does not mention websites. Showing the number online is still the sensible move: it is the first thing a cautious homeowner looks for, it matches what is on your trucks, and it costs nothing.

A practical layout: "TSSA Registration #" with the number in the footer of every page, the registered business name next to it, and a sentence on the service pages saying your technicians hold the TSSA gas technician certificates the job needs. Do not list certificate numbers of individual employees unless they agree; the business registration is what customers can verify.

If your business also does electrical work beyond the HVAC trade scope, you need an ECRA/ESA licence and that number has its own display rule, covered in ESA licence number requirements. For the rest of an HVAC site, see websites for HVAC contractors.

Air conditioning and refrigerants are a separate track.

TSSA registration covers fuels. Refrigerant work falls under a different regime. Ontario's refrigerant certificate page says only a certified technician may remove, discharge, handle and dispose of ozone-depleting refrigerants and other halocarbons, using an Ozone Depletion Prevention card valid for five years under O. Reg. 463/10.

The same page is clear that an ODP card alone does not let someone work on refrigeration or air conditioning equipment; that requires a Certificate of Qualification in the relevant trade, such as refrigeration and air conditioning systems mechanic.

One consumer rule every HVAC company should know.

Section 43.1 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 bans soliciting or signing agreements at a customer's home for furnaces, air conditioners, water heaters, air cleaners, water treatment devices and duct cleaning unless the customer initiated contact and specifically asked you to come to the home to enter into the agreement. The prescribed list is in O. Reg. 17/05, s. 35.1. An agreement signed in breach of the rule is void.

Section 35.2 of the same regulation also requires you to keep records of that customer contact. In practice this means quote requests should arrive through channels you can document: a phone call, an email, a form on your website. It is another reason a clear contact page is worth having. The wider contract rules are in home renovation contracts in Ontario.

General information, not legal advice. For questions about your registration or certificates, ask TSSA directly.

Sources.

Asked often.

Does an HVAC company need to be registered with TSSA?

If it installs, services, repairs or removes gas appliances, yes. O. Reg. 212/01, s. 21 requires contractor registration, and each technician needs the right certificate under O. Reg. 215/01.

How long is a TSSA contractor registration valid?

One year from the date of issue. A renewal made after it expires is treated as a new application.

Where does the TSSA registration number have to appear?

The regulation requires the evidence of registration at your business premises and your name and registration number on field vehicles other than delivery trucks. Websites are not mentioned, but showing it there helps customers verify you.

How can a homeowner check a gas contractor?

Search TSSA's Authorized Heating Fuel Contractors look-up by company name, authorization number or city.

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TSSA registration,explained for HVAC owners.