Director's Hearings (ESA Licensing Notices)

NOTE: These Hearings do not apply to Administrative Penalty Orders. The Appeal of Administrative Penalty Orders are heard before ESAs Review Panel. Visit Review Panel Appeals for more information.

This section is for Master Electricians or Electrical Contractors or persons who do not agree with an ESA Notice of Proposal (or Provisional Notice in some urgent cases) to refuse, suspend, revoke or impose conditions on their authorization. You can apply to the Director of Reviews and Appeals for a Director’s Hearing, which will give you an opportunity to dispute the Notice. This section will give you detailed information about the process.

TIP: If you are asking for a Director’s Hearing of the Notice, it can be helpful to first contact the Director of Licencing and/or ESA Licensing department. You might be able to resolve the dispute with a more informal discussion or exchange of information. But you must be sure to deliver your Application for Director’s Hearing before the 15-day deadline – see below.

There are four steps to the Director’s Hearing:

  1. Notice Issued to the party
  2. Application for Director's Hearing submitted to Reviews and Appeals Office.
  3. Director conducts hearing
  4. Director's decision served to the Applicant.

Click here for a detailed flowchart outlining the process for hearings before the Director – Licensing

Timing of the Application

You must deliver an Application for Director’s Hearing (click here for form) to the Reviews and Appeals Office no later than 15 days after receiving the ESA Notice being disputed. (see Rules 6.2 and 6.3).

You may make a written request to the Director for more time.  Please contact the Reviews and Appeals Office for more information on how to request more time. The Director of Reviews and Appeals may grant your request if there are (a) reasonable grounds for it and (b) grounds supporting you.   You will need to provide enough details in your request to explain why you need more time and why you would have a good Case.

Content of the Application 

The following items must be included in the application package that you deliver to the ESA Reviews and Appeals Office (see Rule 6.4):

  • An Application for Director’s Hearing form, with all sections complete and signed;
  • A copy of the Notice of Proposal or Notice of Provisional Suspension/Refusal to Renew being disputed;
  • All supporting documentation; and
  • Your reasons for disagreeing with the ESA. Include the arguments to support the decision you want.

Director’s Hearing and Decision

After receiving the Application for Director’s Hearing, the ESA Reviews and Appeals Office will deliver a Notice of Director’s Hearing. This goes to the two “Parties”, which are you and the ESA’s Director of Licensing who is proposing to take action against you. The Notice will set out the written hearing process. This includes the timing for receiving more information, evidence and arguments from the Parties.

The Director of Reviews and Appeals may ask for more details, information or documents to better understand the issues. This is called “disclosure – see Rule 4.1. The Director will review all the information and arguments from you and the ESA’s Director of Licensing and then make a decision.

If a you do not agree with the Director’s decision in the Director’s Hearing, you may appeal it to the Review Panel. The ESA’s Director of Licensing may also appeal if they do not agree with the Director’s decision. Please see the Step-by-Step Guide for Appeals to the Review Panel.

For more information: