Employer Registration - How to Register
Important Notice
Effective 1 November 2025, employers with multiple locations that wish to apply for an Employer Registration Certificate will no longer need to obtain an ERC for each of their business locations.
Employers with multiple business names will still need to obtain an ERC for each of the businesses that want to employ foreign workers.
Examples:
Multiple locations
- Company Inc. has 10 locations in Nova Scotia. The employer will need to obtain only one ERC, which will record the registered address of the company, not the individual locations of the company.
Multiple business names
- Company Inc operating as ABC Services and as XYZ Consulting wants to employ foreign workers at both businesses. The employer will need to obtain an ERC for each of the businesses (i.e. an ERC for Company Inc carrying on business as ABC Services, and an ERC for Company Inc carrying on business as XYZ Consulting).
Employers must apply to Labour Standards for an Employer Registration Certificate to recruit foreign workers for employment in Nova Scotia. There is no fee to apply.
Applying for an Employer Registration Certificate (ERC)
- The foreign worker will be employed in Nova Scotia by a business.
Submit the online application form for businesses - The foreign worker will be employed in Nova Scotia in a private home.
Submit the online application form for private homes
Please do not submit multiple applications for the same business/location. Duplicate applications may delay processing.
When you submit an online application, your application is recorded in our system and will be processed. Processing times for Employer Registration Certificate (ERC) applications may vary from a few days to a few weeks depending on the volume of applications submitted to Labour Standards at any given time.
If you would like to check the status of your application, or are not sure if you have an open application, please contact Labour Standards at ERC@novascotia.ca or call 902-424-4311, toll free within NS 1-888-315-0110.
About the Online Application
You need to complete the online form in one session, as the form cannot be saved. If you leave or close the webpage before you submit the form, you will lose any data already entered in the form. Also, the page will timeout after 1 hour of inactivity, and you will lose any data entered.
To complete the online form, some fields, such as your name and contact information, are required. Fields that are mandatory will be marked with a red asterisk (*).
Nova Scotia's online service
- If you are a business that uses Nova Scotia's online service.
Submit your application for an ERCs using Nova Scotia's online service.
If you have questions about the online forms, or general inquiries regarding ERCs, contact us at ERC@novascotia.ca or call 902-424-4311.