Farms, fishers & beekeepers
Selling honey from your hives in BC
Every beekeeper in BC must register, with no minimum hive count. Pure honey is a Lower-risk foodFood that keeps safely at room temperature because it is too dry, too sugary or too acidic for bacteria to grow — bread, cookies, most jams, hard candy. It is the only kind a home kitchen may make for sale, and only for a farmers’ market.All terms in the glossary you can sell at markets and online within BC without a health permit, labelled to federal rules. Flavoured honey isn’t on the lower-risk list, and honey sold outside BC must be graded.
Coming up for farms
10 changes with a date and 9 proposals for farms in all. See what’s coming
Only want the steps that apply to you?
What you need, in order
5 steps. Each links to its own page, with the forms and the rule behind it.
- 1
Beekeeper and apiary registration
BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food
Every beekeeper must be registered, and so must every apiary — with no minimum number of hives. Registration lasts two years.
- 2
Premises ID registration
BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food
Bees count as farm animals here too
Anyone responsible for even one farm animal must register the place it is kept with BC’s Premises IDA free provincial number for any place that keeps livestock or poultry, so animals can be traced in a disease outbreak. Farm slaughter licences ask for it.All terms in the glossary program: cattle, bison, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, alpacas and llamas, rabbits, farmed deer, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese and other poultry, and honey bees. There is no minimum flock, herd or hive count. It is how the Province finds the farms at risk in a disease outbreak or a flood, and you need it before you can apply for a Farmgate licence or a chicken small-lot permit.
- Cost:
- Free.
- Time:
- Register within 30 days of becoming responsible for the animals, and report changes within 30 days.
- 3
Federal food labels
CFIA and Health Canada rules
PrepackagedSealed 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 needs a common name, net quantity, ingredients and allergens, your name and a physical address (a website doesn’t count), a Durable life (best-before date)How long an unopened food keeps its quality when stored properly. Packaged food that keeps 90 days or less must show a best-before date.All terms in the glossary if it keeps 90 days or less, a lot code or other identifier that tells batches apart, a Nutrition Facts table, a front-of-pack “High in” symbol if it is high in saturated fat, sugars or sodium, and English and French — English-only is allowed for food sold only in the municipality where it’s made and its neighbours. Selling only at markets yourself removes the Nutrition Facts table and the front-of-pack symbol, unless the label makes a nutrition claim. There is no exemption for online sales, and a product may not be advertised online without a proper label.
- 4
Safe Food for Canadians licence
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Only if you pack honey for other provinces
Needed to make, process, pack or label food that goes to another province, and to import food; a business that only exports needs one just to get a CFIA export certificate. Not needed for food made and sold only in BC, nor by a restaurant or caterer sending food straight to its customers.
- Time:
- Valid two years.
- 5
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.
What it costs, and what to start early
Government and course fees only. Rent, building work, equipment and insurance aren’t here — they depend on your project.
| Set fees | First year |
|---|---|
| Premises ID registration | Free |
| Registering your business name | $40–$350 |
| Set fees, first year | $40–$350 |
No set price
Some are free; others depend on who you use or what you need.
Beekeeper and apiary registration · Federal food labels · Safe Food for Canadians licence
What you can sell
More for farms
When you’re ready to sell
Selling on Local Pass
Honey keeps, which makes it ideal to sell online. On the Island Food Market, customers order jars from your hives all year, not only in season.
Your own storefront
A storefront on the Island Food Market, with every product on its own page, built to be found on Google.
Your units
Each product carries its own unit and price — by the dozen, the loaf, the bunch or the pound.
Wholesale for restaurants
Bulk prices and a shareable wholesale order sheet, drawing on the same stock; buyers send quote requests to your inbox.
Local Pass is a platform that connects Island businesses and customers through its app and website — it is not a regulator. Every seller is responsible for the permits, licences and labels their food needs, and this guide is here to help you work out which ones.