Operating engineer certificate (power engineer)

A buyer of a business that runs boilers, compressors or refrigeration plant meets this term when asking who will be qualified to run the equipment after closing. The certificate belongs to a person, not to the business, so a sale does not move it. For the wider picture, see what licences transfer when you buy a business.

What Ontario’s regulation says

O. Reg. 219/01 applies to the operation of registered plants and does not apply to the persons and plants listed in s. 3(2). It says no person shall use or operate a plant, or cause one to be used or operated, unless it is registered (s. 4(1)). While a plant is in operation, an operating engineer or an operator qualified to be in charge of it must be present, subject to the exceptions in s. 21(1). A certificate of registration or certificate of qualification is not transferable (s. 48).

What to check or ask

• Whether the plant’s certificate of registration is current and names the user who will operate it after closing.
• Which class of certificate the plant needs and who on staff holds it.
• Whether those staff members will stay on after the sale.

This entry covers Ontario. British Columbia’s Power Engineers, Boiler, Pressure Vessel and Refrigeration Safety Regulation also sets certificates of qualification and duties for the person in charge of a plant; check the rules where you are. Registered equipment is a separate question, covered in boiler and pressure vessel registration.