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In 2003, AEDAQ (Association des entrepreneurs en drainage agricole du Qubec Inc. - Quebec agricultural drainage contractors association) decided that the certification of drainage contractors would be a way to improve the drainage services offered by its members. AEDAQ asked the BNQ (Bureau de normalisation du Qubec) to lead the process. The BNQ created a balanced committee of contractors, representatives of farmers and specialists from government, universities and private consultant to develop a consensual standard for services offered by drainage contractors. By 2005, the committee produced the BNQ-3624-540 standard describing the general requirements (insurances, permits, responsibilities, etc.) for each enterprise, the qualifications of its personnel, drainage equipment requirements, contracts specifications, litigation process and documents conservation. Based on that standard, a protocol was developed for the certification of drainage contractor enterprises. Ten (10) enterprises have been certified up to this date. This paper will present the process of writing the standard, the content of the standard, the certification protocol and the certification process which has been lived through by contractors and difficulties. The paper will also discuss the impacts of this standard.