Provincial
Food primary liquor licence
Lets a restaurant or café serve alcohol when food is the main business, with a varied menu cooked in its own kitchen. Take-out-only restaurants, food trucks and food courts are not eligible. You need a CRA business number and a Business BCeID; the floor plan needs your municipality’s occupant-load stamp, and the municipality signs off only for service past midnight, dancing or karaoke, or a temporary use area. The licence also allows sealed alcohol for takeout or delivery with a meal — sold before 11 p.m., delivered by 11:30 p.m., by drivers 19 or older with Serving It Right. A catering endorsement adds off-site events.
A change is coming
- The trial letting licensees buy from liquor stores ends — takes effect 1 June 2029. What changes
- Who issues it
- Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch
- Cost
- $950 for the application and first year ($475 + $475); renewal from $325 a year, by liquor purchases. Adding a catering endorsement: $330, then $130 a year.
- Forms and pages
Who needs it
The rules behind this page
- Liquor Control and Licensing Regulation, B.C. Reg. 241/2016(ss. 16–21 and Schedule 1)Province of British Columbia (BC Laws) · Current to September 22, 2026 (last amended May 29, 2026)
- Apply for a food primary licenceLiquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch · Page modified 2026-05-14
- Food Primary Terms and Conditions(p. 21 · pp. 21–23, off-site sales and delivery)Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch · May 2026