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

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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