To undertake any kind archaeological field work in Ontario, the Ontario Heritage Act requires that a person hold a valid archaeological licence [under Part VI of the Ontario Heritage Act, section 48(1)], issued by the Province of Ontario. These licences are not transferable [section 48 (5)], valid for only the year they are issued, and are given for specific geographical areas [section 48 (4)], specific sites or types of activity. Archaeological licenses are issued free of charge and are provided to avocational, research or academic and consultant archaeologists. The Ministry also provides licences to divers who wish to dive a shipwreck for conservation purposes (as opposed to a sports or recreational dive).

Having a licence puts some obligations on the licence holder. He or she must report on research findings to the Province [section 65 (1)] in accordance with reporting requirements stipulated in the Act and ministry guidelines. Licence holders are also required to report all new sites found during the field work. New sites that are found are added to the Archaeological Sites Database.

For information on the licence process, or to receive a list of current archaeological consultant licence holders, please contact the Archaeological Licence Officer.