Where can I check whether a gas fitter may pull permits in British Columbia?

Technical Safety BC's online licence search is the place to start. Go to the Technical Safety BC website and use the public licence lookup to confirm that the gas contractor holds a valid gas contractor licence and that the gas fitter doing the work is listed under that contractor's licence.

What the search tells you

A gas contractor licence is issued to the company, not the individual. The gas fitter who shows up on site must be employed by a licensed gas contractor and hold their own gas fitter certification. The lookup will show the licence class, the licence number and whether it is currently active. A Class B licence covers most residential work; a Class A covers larger commercial and industrial jobs. If either the company licence or the individual certification is expired or missing, that is a reason to pause before signing anything.

Permit authority matters too. Who issues the gas permit depends on where the property sits. In Metro Vancouver, six municipalities issue their own gas permits for most residential work: the City of Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, Maple Ridge, the City of North Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver. Everywhere else in the region, including Surrey, West Vancouver, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, New Westminster, Delta, both Langleys, White Rock, Pitt Meadows and the smaller communities, the gas permit comes from Technical Safety BC. A qualified contractor will know which authority to apply to for your address, and will normally pull the permit as part of the job.

For electrical work on the same job, the permit authority is a separate list and differs from the gas list, so confirm both paths with the contractor if a heat pump or new circuit is involved.

Beyond the licence lookup, it is worth confirming two more things before work begins: that the contractor carries WorkSafeBC coverage (you can verify that on the WorkSafeBC website) and that they hold adequate liability insurance. Annual servicing of gas appliances is recommended by Technical Safety BC to keep equipment running safely, though it is not a legal requirement.

Ask the contractor to put the Technical Safety BC gas contractor licence number, their WorkSafeBC account number and the permit number (once pulled) in writing before work starts. If you need a local gas contractor to compare quotes against, Vancouver HVAC Pro can match you with Metro Vancouver contractors at no cost.