How to present TSSA, ESA, WSIB and other credentials on your trade website

Why credentials belong in your marketing

Homeowners choosing a trade are mostly trying to avoid a bad experience. They can't judge your workmanship from a website, so they look for signals they can check: a real business name, a real phone number, reviews, and evidence that you're set up properly for the work.

In Ontario, several provincial bodies are relevant to that last point, depending on your trade. As of October 2026, here's how their own websites describe their roles, in brief:

• TSSA covers fuels such as natural gas, propane and fuel oil, along with boilers and pressure vessels, elevating devices and more. Its pages explain that fuels-related work is done by TSSA-registered fuels contractors using certified gas technicians, with G1, G2 and G3 certificates among them.
• ESA covers electrical safety. It explains that electrical work for others requires a Licensed Electrical Contractor, and that only licensed contractors may bid on or advertise that work. Its licensing pages carry the detail.
• WSIB is the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, Ontario's workplace insurance body.
• Skilled Trades Ontario handles trade certification.
• HCRA licenses new-home builders and vendors.

A trade website that reflects these accurately does two jobs at once: it reassures the homeowner, and it keeps you on the right side of the Competition Bureau's warnings about misleading representations.

Step 1: List what you actually hold

Before you write anything, make a plain list. For each credential, note:

1. The issuing body's exact name.
2. The exact name of the registration, licence or certificate as it appears on your documents.
3. Any number the body issues and expects you to use.
4. Who holds it: the business, or an individual on your team.
5. The renewal or expiry date.

The fourth point matters more than many owners realise. Some credentials belong to the business and some to individual workers. "Our technicians hold G2 certificates" and "we are a TSSA-registered fuels contractor" are different statements, and your website should only say what's true of each.

If anything on the list is uncertain, stop and check with the body before publishing. A credentials section built on guesses is worse than none at all.

Step 2: Word each item the way the body does

Use the issuing body's own terms rather than inventing your own. If ESA uses "Licensed Electrical Contractor", don't write "ESA certified electricians" or "ESA approved". If TSSA calls you a registered fuels contractor, don't write "TSSA accredited".

Small wording changes can imply things the body never said. "Approved", "endorsed", "certified by" and "partner of" all suggest a relationship that may not exist. A safe pattern is:

[Business name] is a [exact credential name] with [issuing body]. [Credential number, if applicable.]

Then link the body's name to its official website, so a homeowner can check for themselves.

Step 3: Place it where homeowners look

A credentials section only helps if people see it. On most trade sites, that means three places.

• Near the top of the homepage: a single line under the main heading, such as your trade, your service area and your key credential.
• On each regulated service page: if a service falls under a body's oversight, mention the relevant credential on that page.
• On the about page: a fuller credentials block, with each item, its number where applicable and a link.

Keep it as text rather than a logo. Text is easier to keep accurate, works on every device, can be read by search engines and AI tools, and avoids implying an endorsement through borrowed branding.

Step 4: Keep your profile, ads and site consistent

Homeowners often see your Google Business Profile before your website. If your profile describes services you're not set up for, or your ads use different wording from your site, it looks careless at best.

Make a habit of checking all three together:

• Website: credentials block, service pages and footer.
• Google Business Profile: services list, description and any attributes you've selected.
• Ads: headlines, descriptions and any sitelinks that mention credentials.

If you change anything on one, change it on the others the same day. Our local SEO service includes this check, but you can do it yourself in an hour.

Step 5: Review every year, and whenever something changes

Set a calendar reminder for the month your earliest credential renews. When it comes up:

1. Confirm each credential is current with the issuing body.
2. Update numbers, names or dates that have changed.
3. Remove anything that no longer applies, including services you've stopped offering.
4. Check that every link still goes to the right official page, since bodies reorganise their websites.

Also review the section when you hire or lose a certified team member, change your business name or structure, or add a new service.

Common mistakes to avoid

These are the problems we see most often when reviewing Ontario trade websites.

• Listing services you're not set up for. If a trade is regulated and your business isn't registered or licensed for it, leave it off the website, the profile and the ads.
• Borrowed or expired logos. A membership logo from five years ago tells a homeowner your site isn't maintained.
• Vague claims. "Fully licensed and insured" without saying by whom is common and not very convincing. Be specific.
• Credentials buried in a PDF. Homeowners won't download a document to check you're legitimate.
• Implying a regulator recommends you. Regulators generally don't recommend contractors. Never suggest otherwise.

A sample credentials section

Here's a template you can adapt. Fill in only what's true for your business, and confirm each item with the issuing body.

Credentials [Business name] is a [exact credential name] with [issuing body], [number if applicable]. Our team includes [number] [exact certificate name] holders. We serve [Town], [Town] and [Town]. To check a credential, visit [issuing body's official page].

Pair it with photos of your own crew and vans and a clear call, text and email section, and you've answered most of a homeowner's trust questions in one screen.

Where this fits in your wider marketing

A credentials section is one part of a trustworthy website, not a substitute for good work or good reviews. If you'd like help building it, our credential-forward website service covers this along with the rest of the site. For the provincial bodies in one table, see the areas hub, and for more practical reading, return to the guides library.