In Quebec, the electrical work behind your permanent outdoor lighting belongs to a master electrician and to nobody else — the Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec (CMEQ) is unambiguous about it. Around that rule sit three others governing who may work on your home and under which code, including one that changed in September 2026. Here are all four, with what you can verify yourself in a few minutes.
Rule 1 — Electrical work means a master electrician
The CMEQ leaves no room for interpretation. Its public-protection page states, in French, that under the Loi sur les maîtres électriciens and the Loi sur le bâtiment, only master electricians may carry out or have carried out electrical work — and that nobody may perform electrical work of any kind, in their own home or anywhere else for others, without being an electrical contractor. (The CMEQ publishes these pages in French only; the English wording here is a description of what they say, not a quotation.)
The Corporation issues the licence itself. Its own wording is that the CMEQ “délivre la licence d’entrepreneur de sous-catégorie 16 qui permet d’effectuer des travaux d’électricité au Québec” — it issues the subcategory 16 contractor licence that allows electrical work in Quebec — and that Quebec’s master electricians are necessarily members of the Corporation. Membership is not a voluntary quality badge here; the CMEQ states that by law every electrical contractor must be a member.
The Corporation also puts a number on the breach: a person contravening the two Acts is liable to a fine of between $5,000 and $200,888.
Rule 2 — The licence can be checked online, before you sign
On the general-contractor side, the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) sets the base rule. Its English FAQ states: “The Building Act requires that any building contractor offering his/her services for carrying out or having a third party carry out construction work in the province of Quebec holds a licence in good standing. Barring the exceptions set out under the Act and its regulations, a licence is also required from any owner-builder who carries out construction work.”
The practical point is that you do not have to take anyone’s word for it. The RBQ keeps a register of licence holders and tells citizens to use it: “The Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) issues licences to construction contractors and owner-builders. Before hiring a contractor to carry out your renovation or construction work, check if he holds a valid licence.”
A register entry does more than answer yes or no. The RBQ lists what each file includes — among the items, the “association or company providing financial guarantees”, “outstanding claims or claims paid, if applicable”, any “licence restrictions for public works purposes”, and the “list of guarantors on a licence and their field(s) of qualification”.
The RBQ also gives the financial reason to bother: “protect your money by hiring a contractor who holds an RBQ licence. This provides you with a financial guarantee in the event of litigation.” It publishes no amount and no conditions on that page — the argument is access to a remedy, not a sum.
The habit is still rare. In February 2026 the RBQ launched an advertising campaign under the theme « Des rénos tout croche, c’est décourageant », noting that too few consumers still check their contractor’s licence. It publishes no percentage.
Our number, if you want to try the search: Vision Bleu LED, RBQ 5864-7108-01.
Rule 3 — Two versions of the electrical code are valid right now
This is the 2026 change, and it explains why two electricians can describe two different codes without either being wrong.
The RBQ sets out the framework: under the Building Act, the regulation covering electricity in Quebec sits in chapter V, Électricité, of the Construction Code and in chapter II, Électricité, of the Safety Code. That chapter was updated — the RBQ states that the update to chapter V (chapter B-1.1, r. 2) came into force on 26 March 2026, that it consists of the 25th edition of the Canadian Electrical Code plus Quebec-specific amendments, and that it brings several changes to how electrical installations are designed and carried out.
Then the transition was stretched. On 26 August 2026 the RBQ announced regulations, effective 10 September 2026, whose purpose is to extend the transitional period by one year following the entry into force of the most recent versions of those chapters. For electricity specifically, the provisions of chapter V as they read before 26 March 2026 may still be applied to the construction of an electrical installation on condition that the work began before 17 October 2027. The condition is about when the work starts, not when it finishes.
Jean Boulet, Quebec’s labour minister, confirmed the measure in June. The government’s news release gave the reason: the extension is there to allow the planned new standards to be reviewed and a broader stakeholder consultation to be held, in order to better control the construction-industry cost increases flowing from the Construction Code. (The release is published in French; that is a summary of its wording, not a quotation.)
Two details matter. First, the RBQ does not simply leave the choice open: even with the transition extended, it encourages designers to use the 2021 Canadian Electrical Code (Quebec-modified) for a planned electrical installation. That is an encouragement, not an obligation. Second, the two bodies do not call the instrument the same thing — where the RBQ refers to the 25th edition of the Canadian Electrical Code with Quebec amendments, the CMEQ’s site banner refers to « le Code 2026, qui sera le seul Code applicable à partir du 17 octobre 2027 », the 2026 Code that will be the only applicable Code from 17 October 2027. Same deadline, two names.
Rule 4 — A written contract, and more than one bid
The CMEQ recommends three things to anyone having electrical work done: make sure your contractor is a CMEQ member, get bids from more than one electrical contractor, and insist on a written contract, which it calls your best protection. These are the Corporation’s recommendations to consumers, not legal obligations.
It also spells out what a bid should contain: the list of work to be done and of the materials supplied, the cost before taxes, the hourly rate that would apply to any additional work, the approximate duration of the work, and travel fees and allowances.
That is exactly the kind of document an assessment visit should produce. Ours runs about 40 minutes and is free: we walk the property with you, talk through what you want lit every night, show you a demo, present the whole-project quote and walk it through line by line, then measure the rooflines, the levels and the soffits. If you sign the agreement on the spot, a 30% residential deposit applies at signing.
To see the systems this is all about, our exterior lighting and landscape lighting pages cover the two main families of installation, and the service area page says where we travel.
Common questions
Can I install permanent outdoor lighting on my own house myself?
Not the electrical part. The CMEQ states that nobody may carry out electrical work of any kind, in their own home or anywhere else for others, without being an electrical contractor, and that under the Loi sur les maîtres électriciens and the Loi sur le bâtiment only master electricians may carry out or have carried out electrical work.
How do I check that a contractor really holds a licence?
Through the RBQ’s register of licence holders, using the licence number. The RBQ puts it plainly: “Before hiring a contractor to carry out your renovation or construction work, check if he holds a valid licence.” The file also shows the association or company providing the financial guarantees, outstanding or paid claims if any, and the qualification fields of the guarantors named on it.
What is subcategory 16?
It is the contractor licence issued by the CMEQ that, in the Corporation’s own words, allows electrical work to be performed in Quebec. Quebec’s master electricians are necessarily members of the CMEQ.
Which code applies to my installation in 2026?
Both, for now. The updated chapter V, Électricité, of the Construction Code came into force on 26 March 2026, but regulations published on 26 August 2026 and effective 10 September 2026 allow the earlier provisions to be applied where the work began before 17 October 2027. The RBQ still encourages using the 2021 Canadian Electrical Code (Quebec-modified).
Does an RBQ licence protect me if things go wrong?
The RBQ writes that hiring a licensed contractor “provides you with a financial guarantee in the event of litigation”. It gives no amount and no conditions on its citizen-facing page — for how a claim actually works, the Régie is the place to ask.