WSIB First Aid Requirements (Regulation 1101)

Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 (WSIA) requires every business it covers to provide and maintain first aid at the workplace. The detailed rules sit in Regulation 1101, and the WSIB administers them — the same Board an employer pays premiums to and reports injuries to. This page explains those duties in plain language and links them to the official source.

These are durable, ongoing obligations, not a once-a-year filing. The requirement that catches employers out is not the initial setup — the kit is stocked once and the certificate is earned once — but the upkeep: two clocks, the quarterly kit inspection and the certificate renewal date, have to be watched continuously. Meeting Regulation 1101 sets the workplace’s first aid floor; it does not displace the broader workplace health-and-safety duties that sit alongside it.

Who must provide first aid under the WSIA and Regulation 1101?

A business covered by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act must provide and maintain first aid at the workplace. The same Board that collects WSIA premiums and receives workplace-injury reports — the WSIB — administers these first aid requirements under Regulation 1101.

In other words, first aid is not a separate, standalone regime: it is one of the employer obligations that flow from being within WSIA coverage, alongside paying premiums and reporting injuries. An employer that is covered for one is generally subject to the others.

Source: First Aid Requirements (R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 1101, administered by the WSIB under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997), Reg. 1101. Program details are published by the WSIB on its First Aid Program page.

What does Regulation 1101 require an Ontario employer to do for first aid?

An employer whose business is covered by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act must provide and maintain first aid at the workplace: at least one person holding a valid first aid certificate on site at all times while work is going on, first aid kits or stations appropriate to the size of the workplace, a quarterly inspection of those kits, the WSIB “In Case of Injury” poster (Form 82) displayed where workers will see it, and records of the inspections and of who holds current certificates.

The core duties are durable and ongoing, not a once-a-year filing:

• A certified first-aider on site at all times. At least one person holding a valid first aid certificate has to be present on site at all times while work is going on.
• First aid kits, kept stocked and inspected quarterly. The employer provides first aid boxes or stations appropriate to the size of the workplace, and inspects them at least once every three months to confirm the contents are present and usable.
• Certificates kept valid. First aid certificates expire — a Standard First Aid certificate runs for roughly three years before it has to be renewed. Tracking renewal dates is what keeps a workplace from sliding out of compliance the moment a certificate lapses.
• The WSIB “In Case of Injury” poster (Form 82), posted. This is the poster that tells workers what to do if they are hurt. It has to be displayed where workers will see it.
• A first aid room at 200 or more workers on a shift. This is a size threshold, not a dollar figure: once there are 200 or more workers on a single shift, a dedicated first aid room is required. Most employers in the 20-to-200 band will never reach it, but it attaches the moment a shift crosses 200.
• An inspection log and records. The employer keeps a record of the quarterly kit inspections and of who holds current certificates, so it can show the requirements are being met.

Source: First Aid Requirements (R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 1101), Reg. 1101.

How often must first aid kits be inspected, and how long do certificates last?

First aid kits or stations must be inspected at least once every three months to confirm the contents are present and usable. First aid certificates expire — a Standard First Aid certificate runs for roughly three years before it has to be renewed. These two clocks — the quarterly inspection and the certificate renewal date — are the recurring obligations that keep a workplace in compliance.

The common failure is treating first aid as a one-time setup: the kit gets stocked once, the certificate gets earned once, and then nobody watches the calendar — until an inspection finds an expired certificate or a depleted box. The safe practice is to put both clocks on a schedule and assign an owner. The poster and the inspection log are the straightforward paper trail that demonstrates the rest is being done.

Source: First Aid Requirements (R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 1101), Reg. 1101.

When does a workplace need a dedicated first aid room?

A dedicated first aid room is required once a workplace has 200 or more workers on a single shift. This is a headcount threshold, not a dollar figure: most employers in the 20-to-200 band will never reach it, but the requirement attaches the moment a shift crosses 200 workers.

Because the trigger is a fixed structural count rather than a volatile annual figure, it is worth anchoring to the regulation: confirm the current threshold and the room’s specifications at the official source before relying on the number, as the figure is set in Regulation 1101.

Source: First Aid Requirements (R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 1101), Reg. 1101.

What is the WSIB "In Case of Injury" poster (Form 82), and where must it go?

The WSIB “In Case of Injury” poster — Form 82 — is the notice that tells workers what to do if they are hurt at work, and it must be displayed where workers will see it. Posting it is one of the explicit duties under Regulation 1101.

Together with the inspection log, the poster is the visible, easy-to-keep evidence that the rest of the first aid program is in place: it both informs workers and demonstrates compliance to an inspector.

Source: First Aid Requirements (R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 1101), Reg. 1101.

What changes with the WSIB First Aid Program on June 22, 2026?

The WSIB is launching a modernized First Aid Program on June 22, 2026. This is a one-time transition, not a recurring deadline: existing certificate equivalencies are set to carry over, so a valid certificate held before the change is not expected to be voided by it. The recurring obligations underneath it — quarterly inspections and roughly three-year certificate renewal — do not change.

This is a transition to watch rather than a cadence repeated each year. The prudent step is to confirm how the new program treats a given workplace’s training providers and certificates on the WSIB First Aid Program page both before and after that date. Because program details are administered by the WSIB and may be updated, the June 22, 2026 change and the current requirements should be verified at wsib.ca and on the regulation at ontario.ca.

Source: First Aid Requirements (R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 1101), Reg. 1101; WSIB First Aid Program.

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This page is general information about Ontario workplace law, not legal advice; obtain advice on your own situation. Regulation 1101 and the program details are administered by the WSIB, and the first aid requirements and the June 22, 2026 program change can be confirmed at wsib.ca and on the regulation at ontario.ca.