Certificate of authorization (professional firms)

In some professions the firm needs its own permit as well as licensed individuals. You meet this when buying an engineering or similar practice, because the licence of the person in charge may not carry over on its own.

How it works in Ontario

Under Ontario’s Professional Engineers Act, no person may offer to the public, or engage in the business of providing, services within the practice of professional engineering except under and in accordance with a certificate of authorization, subject to the exceptions in subsections 12(3) and (4). The Registrar issues one to a natural person, a partnership or a corporation that applies and meets the requirements in the regulations. A holder stops being entitled to offer those services as soon as no holder of a licence, temporary licence or limited licence assumes responsibility for and supervises the practice, and must give the Registrar notice. Ontario’s Business Corporations Act also refers to a certificate of authorization or other authorizing document for professional corporations. Other provinces differ.

What to ask

• Who holds the licence that stands behind the firm’s certificate, and will that person stay.
• Whether the certificate stays with the firm after a sale or must be reissued.
• Which regulator and statute apply in each province where the firm works.

Ownership limits are covered in whether a non-professional can own a regulated practice, and the corporate wrapper is a professional corporation.