Municipal

Municipal business licence

Business licences are issued by each municipality, and every one of the twelve checked requires one — home-based food businesses included. Fees differ: most charge about $100 a year for a home-based licence, Nanaimo $165, and Oak Bay $100 to $200 by type under new rules reported adopted in September 2026; Courtenay’s rises from $75 to $150 in 2027. Langford and Colwood charge once, and the licence then carries on. Mobile businesses can share one licence across municipalities — the Greater Victoria Inter-Municipal licence or the Vancouver Island Inter-Community licence ($170 on top of the local licence under the newest bylaws) — but the updated Inter-Community bylaw several municipalities have adopted excludes food trucks, carts and trailers — it starts once all participating municipalities have adopted it — and North Cowichan’s mobile food licence cannot be used intermunicipally.

Changes are coming

  • Courtenay’s new business licence bylaw — takes effect 1 January 2027. What changes
  • Oak Bay’s business licence fee doubles — takes effect 1 January 2027. What changes
  • The updated Vancouver Island Inter-Community licence — proposed, no date set; it may not happen. What changes
Who issues it
Your municipality

Who needs it

Restaurants & cafésLast: approved once the other sign-offs are inBakeriesA commercial bakery, with or without a counter.Caterers & personal chefsCooking for events, offices or private clients.Food trucks & cartsSelling from a truck, trailer or cart.Delivery-only & ghost kitchensCooking for delivery and pickup only, with no dining room.Home-based food makersCheck your municipality; some markets hold one for all vendorsPackaged food makersMaking sauces, preserves, snacks, frozen meals or other packaged food to sell.Kombucha, juice & coffee makersMaking non-alcoholic drinks, or roasting coffee.Breweries, wineries, cideries & distilleriesMaking beer, wine, cider, mead or spirits.Grocers & specialty food shopsRunning a grocery, market store, deli counter or specialty food shop.Butchers, delis & fishmongersCutting and selling meat, fish or deli foods.Farmers’ market vendorsSome markets hold one licence for all vendors

The rules behind this page

Last checked 26 September 2026. We check this guide regularly against Island Health, provincial and municipal sources, but regulations and laws change often and we can’t guarantee it is complete or current. Confirm with Island Health and your municipality before you apply, build or sell.

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