Business licences & permits — Oak Bay, British Columbia

Do I need a business licence or permit? What does it cost?

District Municipality of Oak Bay has 2 adopted bylaws on file, verified against the original documents on 2026-06-08.

Business Licence Bylaw 3603 adopted bylaw

licence required	True	s.2
who must license	every person owning or operating any business within the Municipality including commercial, home-based, non-resident, direct sellers, and short-term rentals	s.2, s.4(9)
fee	Home Based Business $50.00; Short-Term Rental $100.00; Commercial 0–1,000 sq ft minimum $100.00; maximum $2,000.00	Table 4A, Table 4C, Table 1A, Table 1B
renewal	annual; commences January 1, terminates December 31; half fee if business commences after June 30	s.4(2)
fine range	not less than $200.00 and not more than $10,000.00	s.11

scout note

Requires and regulates business licences for commercial operations within the District of Oak Bay.

Sign Bylaw 3946 adopted bylaw

licence required	True	s.2(1)
who must license	persons attaching, suspending, erecting, altering, rebuilding, enlarging or relocating a sign, except home identification, address, real estate, and political signs	s.2(1), s.2(3)
fee	prescribed in the Building, Planning and Development Fees and Charges Bylaw (as amended by Bylaw 4845)	s.2(2)
fine range	not more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00)	s.15(6)

scout note

Regulates the size, placement, and type of signs on properties and businesses in the District of Oak Bay.