How to start a food truck on Vancouver Island

1. 1

   Mobile food unit approval or permit

   Island Health

   A food truck or cart needs Island Health to approve its plans before it is built, and an approval or permit before it opens. Type AMobile food unit types (A, B, C)How BC sorts food trucks and carts. Type A sells prepackaged food, simple snacks or food only handed out; Type B prepares higher-risk food but cooks no raw meat; Type C can cook raw meat. The type decides the permit, the fee and the equipment.All terms in the glossary units — prepackagedPrepackagedSealed in its package before it reaches the customer, the way it will be sold. Prepackaged food must carry the federal food label.All terms in the glossary food, simple snacks, or ready food only handed out — get an approval. Type B units prepare higher-risk foodHigher-risk foodFood that bacteria can grow in, or produce toxins in, unless it is kept cold or hot — meat, fish, dairy, eggs, cut fruit, most cooked meals. The law calls it “potentially hazardous food”. It must come from an approved kitchen, never a home one.All terms in the glossary but cook no raw meat; Type C units can cook raw meat. Both get an operating permitOperating permitIsland Health’s permit to run a restaurant, café, food truck or other food service business. You get it after the pre-opening inspection, pay its fee each year, and post it where customers can see it.All terms in the glossary and need FOODSAFEFOODSAFEBC’s food handler course. The operator of a restaurant, café, food truck or other food service business must hold a FOODSAFE Level 1 certificate or an equivalent.All terms in the glossary and written plans. Unless the unit is self-contained, it also needs an approved base of operations.

   Cost:

   Type B or C: $150 a year, prorated by month, or a flat $75 that isn’t — your choice. A Type A unit selling only food that isn’t potentially hazardous pays nothing.

2. 2

   Your own approval in a shared or rented kitchen

   Island Health

   For your base of operations

   Renting time in someone else’s approved kitchenApproved kitchenA kitchen Island Health has approved to make food for sale: its plans were approved before it was built, and it holds an operating permit or approval. A home kitchen is not one, unless it is a separate kitchen that went through the same approval.All terms in the glossary doesn’t put you under their permit — a permit can’t be transferred. Island Health tells kitchen owners who rent to others that every renter must contact it “for necessary approval”. It publishes no separate process for renters, so call your local office before you start.

3. 3

   Gas approval for a food truck

   Technical Safety BC

   For propane or natural gas on board

   A food truck or enclosed unit that cooks with propane needs its gas system approved. If it doesn’t already carry an accredited certification mark or inspection-body label, a licensed gas contractor takes out an installation permit and a Technical Safety BC officer inspects it and fixes a decal. Enclosed units also need exhaust interlocked with the gas supply and a professional engineer’s report on NFPA 96 at the final inspection. Carts are certified by an accredited body instead. Any later change to the gas system needs a new permit and decal.

4. 4

   Fire inspection for a food truck

   Your municipality’s fire department

   Whether a food truck needs a fire inspection depends on where it sells. Victoria, Saanich, Oak Bay and Sidney inspect every year; Nanaimo, Colwood and Campbell River inspect as part of the licence; Esquimalt, North Cowichan and Courtenay publish none. Where there are rules, grease-vapour cooking needs an NFPA 96 hood and suppression system, and frying needs a Class K extinguisher.

   Cost:

   Free to $133 depending on the municipality — see the table on this page.

5. 5

   Food safety plan and sanitation plan

   You write them; Island Health approves them

   Two short written documents: a food safety planFood safety planYour written account of where food could become unsafe in your kitchen and how you prevent it — cooking and cooling temperatures, for example, and what you do when one is missed. BC requires one from every food premises, alongside a sanitation plan.All terms in the glossary, saying how you keep each food safe and what you do when something goes wrong, and a sanitation planSanitation planYour written routine for cleaning and sanitizing, pest control and garbage: what is cleaned, how, how often and with what. BC requires one from every food premises, alongside a food safety plan.All terms in the glossary, saying how you clean and sanitise. Every restaurant, caterer, food processor and kitchen needs both, and Island Health approves them before it issues your permit or approval.

6. 6

   FOODSAFE Level 1

   BC FOODSAFE Secretariat

   Type B and C units

   Required by law of every operator of a food service establishment, and of at least one person on shift when the operator is away. Island Health asks for the certificate with a permit application.

   Cost:

   Online $69–$88 (FOODSAFE’s own pages differ), distance $105–$115, classroom fees vary by provider. Valid 5 years.

7. 7

   Where a food truck may park and sell

   Your municipality

   No Island municipality lets a food truck sell from any public street. Private land is allowed almost everywhere if it is zoned for restaurant or commercial use and the owner agrees in writing. Public land means designated sites: Saanich’s seven parks, Nanaimo’s parks and three streets (street sites are first come, first served), parks in Courtenay and Comox, Campbell River’s seven City sites, Langford Station and Parksville’s park pad. Victoria, Esquimalt and Colwood allow public land only at permitted events, and CRD regional parks need a park use permit.

   Cost:

   Examples: Saanich parks $27.75 a day or $1,030 a year; Nanaimo’s licence for public sites $365.

8. 8

   Municipal business licence

   Your municipality

   Every municipality on the Island requires a business licenceBusiness licenceYour municipality’s permission to do business there, renewed each year in most towns. It is separate from Island Health’s permits and from zoning: you usually need all three.All terms in the glossary — for a restaurant, café, shop or kitchen, for a business run from home, and for a food truck. For a storefront it is usually $100 to $200 a year, set by floor area; Nanaimo charges $165, Campbell River $150, and Courtenay’s fees rise in 2027. It is normally the last approval you get: most municipalities issue it only once zoningZoningThe municipal rules that say what each property may be used for. A café, a bakery or a food processor needs a property zoned for that use before any permit is worth applying for — check it before you sign a lease.All terms in the glossary, building, fire and Island Health have signed off, and you can’t open before it’s issued.

9. 9

   Registering your business name

   BC Registries

   Trading under your own name needs no registration. Any other name means reserving it and registering within 3 months of first using it; a partnership registers within 3 months of forming. Incorporating is the alternative, and only a corporation, co-op or society gets exclusive use of its name.

   Cost:

   Name request $30 (reserved 56 days); sole proprietorship or partnership registration $40; incorporation $350, then a $43.39 annual report.

10. 10

    GST registration

    Canada Revenue Agency

    Most groceries are zero-rated, but candy, snacks, carbonated drinks, hot food, catering and sweet baked goods sold in packs of fewer than six are taxable at 5%. You must register once your sales pass $30,000 in a quarter or over four quarters — and zero-rated grocery sales count toward it.

What you can sell

Rules where you are

Business licences, zoning and home-business rules differ by municipality.

• City of Victoria
• District of Saanich
• City of Langford
• Township of Esquimalt
• District of Oak Bay
• City of Colwood
• Town of Sidney
• City of Nanaimo
• City of Duncan
• Municipality of North Cowichan
• City of Courtenay
• City of Campbell River