From Idea to Licensed Agency.

What Will It Cost You?

Pick how you'll register your business. Amounts were checked on the official pages on 29 October 2026.

Your Launch Checklist, Stage by Stage.

Open a stage to see what to do and where the official page is, then set its status. Your progress is saved in this browser only and never sent to us.

1. Phase ASet up the business
2. 1
   Phase A

   Choose your structure and register it

   Register a business name or a corporation.

   • Decide between a registered business name (sole proprietor or partnership) and a corporation (Ontario or federal). An accountant or lawyer can help you choose.
   • Search that your name is free, then register online.
   • Keep your registration documents: you need them for the bank, CRA and the licence.

   Cost: $60 business name, $300 Ontario corporation or $200 federal corporation (online).

   Ontario registry feesCorporations Canada fees

3. 2
   Phase A

   Open your CRA tax accounts

   Business number, payroll account and a GST/HST question for your accountant.

   • Get a business number. A corporation needs one; other businesses need one when they open a CRA program account.
   • Open a payroll account before you pay your first worker.
   • Ask your accountant whether your services are taxable for GST/HST, and when you must register.

   CRA: do you need a business number?

4. 3
   Phase A

   Register with WSIB

   Within 10 calendar days of hiring your first employee.

   • Most businesses must register within 10 calendar days of hiring their first employee.
   • Clients will ask for your WSIB clearance certificate. A clearance lasts up to 90 days, so plan to renew it.
   • Put up the WSIB "In case of injury" poster (Form 82).

   WSIB registration questionsWSIB clearances

5. 4
   Phase A

   Check Employer Health Tax

   Only if you're not exempt, or your payroll passes $1 million.

   • Eligible employers have an exemption, currently $1 million of Ontario payroll a year.
   • Register only if you are not eligible for the exemption, or your payroll goes above it.
   • Most new agencies can mark this stage "Not needed" for now, then check again as payroll grows.

   Ontario: Employer Health Tax

6. Phase BGet licensed
7. 5
   Phase B

   Arrange the $25,000 licence security

   A letter of credit or a surety bond. Start early.

   • A temporary help agency applying for its first licence must provide $25,000 security.
   • Accepted forms: an electronic irrevocable letter of credit, or a surety bond from an insurer licensed to write surety and fidelity insurance.
   • Talk to your bank or insurer early: approval can take time, and they charge their own fees.
   • Read the ministry's exact security requirements before you sign.

   Ontario: licensing and security rules

8. 6
   Phase B

   Apply for the temporary help agency licence

   $1,500, online through the ministry's portal.

   • Since 1 July 2024, temporary help agencies must hold a licence to operate.
   • Apply online through the ministry's licensing portal. The application fee is $1,500.
   • A licence generally lasts two years. To renew, you submit a new application; the ministry emails reminders 90 and 30 days before expiry.
   • Clients can check your status on the ministry's public licence page.

   Ask a lawyer: whether your service model counts as a temporary help agency. For example, a private-pay home care agency that places its own employees with families may be treated differently.

   Cost: $1,500 application fee, plus the $25,000 security from stage 5.

   Ontario: licensing pagePublic licence status

9. Phase CReady for staff and clients
10. 7
    Phase C

    Set up your employment standards paperwork

    Information sheet, assignment details and 3-year records.

    • Give each new assignment employee the ministry's official information sheet, as soon as possible after they join. Use the official version; don't rewrite it.
    • Give them, in writing, your agency's legal name, operating name and contact details.
    • With every assignment offer, give the client's name and contact details, the wage, hours, a description of the work, the estimated term, and the pay period and pay day. You can say it first, but it must follow in writing.
    • Give each employee the Employment Standards poster within 30 days of hiring.
    • Keep these records for three years.

    Employment Standards guide: temporary help agenciesRequired posters

11. 8
    Phase C

    Write your health, safety and privacy policies

    Posters, written policies and a privacy breach log.

    • Post the "Health and Safety at Work: Prevention Starts Here" poster, in English and your workplace's majority language.
    • With more than 5 regularly employed workers, prepare and post written health and safety, workplace violence and workplace harassment policies, and review them at least once a year.
    • Train workers on your violence and harassment policies and programs.
    • Write a privacy policy and keep a log of any privacy breaches.

    Ask a lawyer: which privacy law applies to your services, especially private home care.

    Required posters and policiesWorkplace violence and harassment law

12. 9
    Phase C

    Check and record staff credentials

    Nurses and PSWs on the public registers, plus each client's checks.

    • For RNs and RPNs, confirm registration on the College of Nurses of Ontario's public register, Find a Nurse.
    • For PSWs, check the Health and Supportive Care Providers Oversight Authority (HSCPOA) public register. Registration there is voluntary, but some employers ask for it.
    • Ask each client which checks they need (for example police checks, CPR or immunizations) and keep a credential file with expiry dates for every worker.

    Ask a lawyer: whether long-term care rules on PSW registration apply to your agency staff.

    CNO: confirm a nurse's statusHSCPOA public register

13. 10
    Phase C

    Prepare your client pack

    Agreement, rates, proof of licence and insurance, orientation.

    • A client service agreement, reviewed by your lawyer.
    • A rate sheet and cancellation policy.
    • Proof of your licence, WSIB clearance and insurance.
    • An orientation outline for staff starting at a new client.

    Licensed? Our free Client Engine shows how to win your first clients.

14. Licensed and ready for your first placement

Starting an Agency, Answered.