Business Licences and Permits

The City of Oshawa has undertaken a modernization review of the City’s Business Licensing By-law. Find out more about the modernization review and public and industry consultation.

View the current Temporary Licence Exemptions for Food Shop Licences, Short Term Food Shop Licences, and Class A/Class B Peddler Licences (General Peddlers and Special Event Organizers) 

The City administers various licences for businesses that address health and safety issues and provide consumer protection. You may need a Business Licence if you operate a business and/or will be selling your products / goods / food at a Special Event.

View the categories below for further information about how to get required licences.
For questions, please contact Licensing Services at 905-436-3311 ext. 2428 or email [email protected].

Licence categories

Temporary Licence Exemptions

During the City of Oshawa's Business Licensing By-Law Modernization Review, City Council has approved a few temporary exemptions to the Food Shop Licence, Short Term Food Shop Licence, and Class A/Class B Peddler Licences. These exemptions are outlined in Report SF-23-07 and will end once the Business Licensing By-Law Modernization Review is complete. If you have any questions about these exemptions, you can email [email protected].

Temporary Food Shop Licence Exemption for Prepackaged Foods

If you are only selling prepackaged foods (e.g. bags of chips, bottles of pop, packaged candy, etc.), you currently do not need a Food Shop Licence or Short Term Food Shop Licence. However if you are preparing, heating, or cooking food (e.g. cooking and serving food in a restaurant, heating food at a hot counter in a supermarket or convenience store, preparing and packaging sandwiches, etc.) you will still require a Food Shop Licence or Short Term Food Shop Licence. 

Temporary Special Event Licence Fees Exemption

If any of the Special Event Licence exemptions below apply to you and you don't have to pay additional licence fees, you will still need to complete a licence application and submit all necessary documents for each event you're participating in to ensure health and safety issues are addressed and to provide consumer protection. 

If you currently have a valid Oshawa Food Shop Licence or Home Occupation Food Shop Licence and want to participate in a special event as a food vendor, you do not need to pay additional fees for a Short Term Food Shop Licence. 

If you require a Short Term Food Shop Licence or a Class A/Class B Peddler Licence (General Peddler or Special Event Organizer), you will only be required to pay the licence fees for your first event. You won't have to pay these fees again if you wish to participate in other special events in Oshawa during the one (1) year term of your licence or until the Business Licensing By-Law Modernization Review is complete. 

Exemption Requests

You can apply for an exemption to the Business Licensing By-law. The fee for an exemption request is $125.

To apply, please complete the Exemption Request to Business Licensing By-law Application form and submit it to the licensing office by email [email protected] or by mail or in person.

Zoning

Is your location zoned correctly for your type of business, and do you have the required number of parking spaces? Call Municipal Licensing and Standards at 905-436-3311, ext. 2299 or email at [email protected] to find out.

View our Zoning By-law for more information.

Licences to Serve and/or Sell Alcohol

To serve and/or sell alcohol in Oshawa, you must apply for a liquor licence/permit from the Alcohol Gaming Commission of Ontario (A.G.C.O.). In addition, specific licences require that you get municipal clearance or approvals from the City of Oshawa. Once you apply to the A.G.C.O., they will tell you what else they need from you. Please visit the A.G.C.O.'s website to apply.

Municipal Clearance for a Liquor Sales Licence

As part of the liquor sales licence approval, the A.G.C.O. may require the Municipal Information Form to be signed by Licensing Services and municipal clearance/approval letters from the building, fire and health departments.

Special Occasion Permits

All Special Occasion Permits (S.O.P.) must be completed on the A.G.C.O.'s online portal. For help to determine which type of S.O.P. you require, please see the A.G.C.O.'s Special Occasion Permit Application Guide or contact the A.G.C.O. at 416-326-8700.

Public Events require the municipality to deem the event an event of municipal significance.

For Public Events, please submit the following to the Licensing Services Office:

• Event of Municipal Significance Application form
• Fee: $50

When your application is submitted to Licensing Services, we will review your application and provide you with a letter of Municipal Significance. you will then submit that letter to the A.G.C.O.

If your S.O.P. event will take place on City property, please review our Municipal Alcohol Policy. This policy lists which City-owned or operated facilities, parks, and lands allow S.O.P. events. It also outlines the procedures, rules, and responsibilities for applicants who host S.O.P. events on City property. 

Manage Your Liquor Sales Licence

Information related to changing, renewing or transferring an existing Liquor Sales Licence, can be found on the A.G.C.O.’s website. You can manage these changes yourself through the A.G.C.O.'s online portal.

Information related to temporarily extending your indoor Liquor Sales Licence to an outdoor patio can be found on A.G.C.O. Temporary Outdoor Physical Extension page. You must get a letter of approval from the City of Oshawa for your temporary patio and notify the A.G.C.O. of your approval, the duration of your approval and any conditions on the approval. To request a letter of approval from the City, please send the details of your proposed temporary extension to the City's Licensing Office by email. 

If you have specific questions concerning your Liquor Sales Licence, contact the A.G.C.O. directly.

Licensing Approvals

As part of the licensing process, we may contact the following agencies to provide approval for business licence applications:

• Licensing & Standards (Zoning) 
• Municipal Law Enforcement Services 
• Durham Regional Health Department
• Durham Regional Police 
• Fire Services 
• Building Services 
• Planning Services 

Provincial Regulations

To register a business name and incorporate a business, please see Service Ontario's Business Registry page.

Small Business Resources

BizPaL is an online source of information on permits and licences to start or grow your business. BizPaL will help identify what you may require, quickly and easily. Find everything from a single source; entrepreneurs spend less time dealing with red tape - saving effort and money in the process - and more time building their business.

If you are considering opening a new business in Oshawa, contact Business and Economic Development Services to discuss your business requirements.

Visit Invest Oshawa for incentives and support to ensure the success of your business. 

Business Licensing By-law modernization review

On February 27, 2023, Council passed SF-23-07 - Review of Business Licensing By-law 120-2005, as amended and Temporary Measures Related to Certain Short-Term Food Shop and Peddler Licences. Council has directed staff to conduct a modernization review of the City's Business Licensing By-law 120-2005, as amended and report back to the Safety and Facilities Services Committee with the results of the review and recommended by-law amendments to update the Business Licensing By-law. This comprehensive modernization review will identify opportunities to enhance the Business Licensing By-law while adapting to new business processes, technology and market trends.

The modernization review of the Business Licensing By-law does not include areas of the By-law or business classes, which have recently or are currently being reviewed under a separate initiative. The business classes not included in this review are Short Term Rental Operators, Residential Rental Units, Lodging Houses, Vehicles for Hire, Payday Loan Establishments and Pet Stores.

Public and industry consultation

As part of the modernization review, Council directed staff to undertake public and industry consultation to hear feedback from the public and those in the business community. The consultation period has now closed - feedback received will be used to inform proposed updates to the Business Licensing By-law which will be presented to the Safety and Facilities Services Committee for consideration.