Business licences & permits across Ontario

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

70 of 444 municipalities in Ontario have an adopted bylaw on business licences & permits on file. Each row links the municipality's answer page and, where transcribed, the full text of the document.

MunicipalityAdopted documentKey factsVerified
Amherstburg
Town
By-law 2023-091 - Taxicab By-law licence required: True · who must license: Taxicab Drivers, Taxicab Owners, and Taxicab Brokers · renewal: expires annually on December 31st 2026-08-28
Arnprior
Town
Licencing By-Law No. 6769-17
adopted 2017-11-27
licence required: True · who must license: Clothing Donation Bin, Old Gold Dealer, Pawnbroker, Hawker/Peddler, Mobile Canteen/Refreshment, Market Vendor, Special Events, Outdoor Sidewalk Patio Café · fee: As per the Town of Arnprior User Fees and Charges By-law, as amended. 2026-08-28
Barrie
City
Business Licensing (General) By-law (By-law 2006-266)
+4 more
licence required: True · who must license: Adult Entertainment Establishment Class A and B, Adult Entertainment Attendant, Escort Service, Escort Attendant, and Escort Driver. · renewal: one year from the date of issue 2026-08-28
Belleville
City
Sign By-law No. 2006-55
adopted 2006-03-27
2026-08-28
Blind River
Town
Business Licensing and Regulation By-law 17-42
adopted 2017-08-21
licence required: True · who must license: Owners/operators of Restaurants, Cleaning, Retail, Beautician/Wellness, Leisure, Auto/Marine/Sport Supplies, or Transportation businesses in Town. · renewal: yearly; expires December 31; renew by March 1 for discount 2026-08-28
Bradford West Gwillimbury
Town
Business Licensing By-law 2014-70
adopted 2014-10-07
licence required: True · who must license: Taxicab owners/drivers/brokers, refreshment vehicle operators, adult entertainment parlour owners/operators, hawkers, peddlers, kennel owners/operators. · fee: Schedule 'A': Initial/Renewal vary (e.g. Taxicab Owner $300/$200, Driver $100/$90); Late Fees $50-$90 2026-08-28
Brampton
City
Business Licensing By-law 184-2023
+2 more
licence required: True · who must license: Driving school operators/instructors/vehicle owners, limousine owners/drivers, refreshment vehicle owners/drivers, taxicab/accessible taxicab owners/drivers/brokers, personal transportation companies, peddlers · fee: Driving School Operator $187.00; Driving School Instructor 1yr $116.00, 2yr $234.00, 3yr $350.00, 4yr $466.00; Driving School Motor Vehicle Owner $207.00; Limousine Owner $324.00; Limousine Driver 1yr $116.00, 2yr $234.00, 3yr $350.00, 4yr $466.00; Refreshment Class A/D $353.00, Class B/C $285.00; Refreshment Driver (all classes) 1yr $116.00, 2yr $234.00, 3yr $350.00, 4yr $466.00; Special Events $134.00; Taxicab Broker New $744.00, Renewal $583.00; Taxicab/Accessible Taxicab Owner New $4,623.00, Renewal $418.00; Conditional Licence Renewal-No Vehicle $61.00; Transfer $441.00; Taxi Driver 1yr $116.00, 2yr $234.00, 3yr $350.00, 4yr $466.00; Personal Transportation Company New and Yearly Renewal $24,519.00 plus monthly per-trip fee; Peddler 1yr $116.00; Late Renewal $66.00; Closed Application Fee $79.00; Replacement Plate $79.00; Vehicle Inspection Fee $153.00 2026-08-28
Brant
City
Business Licensing By-law No. 50-06
+2 more
adopted 2006-02-07
2026-08-28
Brock
Township
Refreshment Vehicles By-law 2382-2011
+1 more
licence required: True · who must license: Persons operating a mobile canteen, including chip trucks, coffee trucks, hot dog carts and ice cream carts. · fee: in accordance with the "Fees By-law" as amended from time to time; 50% of the annual fee if issued between August 1st and December 31st; exempt for non-profit or volunteer organizations 2026-08-28
Brockville
City
Retail Business (Retail Sales) By-law 124-1992 (Consolidated)
+2 more
licence required: True · who must license: Every busker operating within the City of Brockville · fee: There is no fee to obtain a licence. 2026-08-28
Burlington
City
Consolidated Business Licensing By-law 42-2008
+2 more
adopted 2008-05-20
2026-08-28
Burpee and Mills
Township
By-law 2025-02 to Amend By-law 2022-02 to License Trailers licence required: True · who must license: Any trailer, excluding assessed trailers or those in campgrounds · fee: $ 750.00 per year; $ 375.00 per year; $ 200 per month; $375.00 per Year 2026-08-28
Cambridge
City
Business Licensing By-law 142-16 (as amended)
+2 more
adopted 2016-07-12
2026-08-28
Clarence-Rockland
City
User Fees By-law 2025-105 - Schedule C (Business Licence)
+2 more
2026-08-28
Collingwood
Town
Retail Business Holiday Exemption By-law No. 2016-071 2026-08-28
Cornwall
City
Sign By-law No. 057, 1982 (with amendments) 2026-08-28
Cramahe
Township
Sign By-law No. 2010-44 licence required: True · who must license: Persons erecting, placing, displaying, maintaining, altering or repairing signs · fee: one hundred and fifteen dollars ($115.00) 2026-08-28
Dryden
City
Business License By-law No. 2023-25
+1 more
adopted 2023-05-23
2026-08-28
Dubreuilville
Township
By-Law 2024-49 - Transient Trader Business Licence
adopted 2024-10-09
licence required: True · who must license: Transient Trader (person who sells merchandise at a temporary location) · fee: $650.00 2026-08-28
Elliot Lake
City
Mobile Vendors and Peddlers By-Law 23-53
+1 more
2026-08-28
Guelph
City
Business Licence By-law (2009)-18855
adopted 2009-09-28
licence required: True · who must license: Any Person carrying on a Business set out in Schedule "A" of this By-law. · renewal: annual, expires December 31st 2026-08-28
Haldimand
City
Hired Vehicle Licensing By-law No. 2139-20
+6 more
adopted 2020-03-09
2026-08-28
Hamilton
City
By-law No. 07-170 - To Licence and Regulate Various Businesses (Office Consolidation, Nov 2023)
+2 more
2026-08-28
Hastings Highlands
Municipality
Business Licence Policy (Schedule A to By-law 2024-005)
+1 more
licence required: True · who must license: Vendor, Mobile Food Vendor, Public Market, Door-to-Door Sales. Retail/home-based exempt. · renewal: expire annually, except were permitted otherwise in the appendixes 2026-08-28
Hawkesbury
Town
Business Licensing By-law N°30-2004 — Consolidated 2022 licence required: True · who must license: Any person carrying on, conducting, operating, maintaining, keeping or engaging in any business within the Town · renewal: expires on the 31st day of December in the year it was issued 2026-08-28
Huron East
Municipality
Sidewalk Patio and Sidewalk Café By-law No. 35-2015
+1 more
licence required: True · who must license: Any person wishing to erect, install, maintain, or carry on a Sidewalk Patio or Sidewalk Café · fee: $150.00 for Sidewalk Patio Licence; $75.00 for Sidewalk Café Licence 2026-08-28
Ingersoll
Town
Consolidated Sign By-law No. 82-3079
adopted 1982-04-14
licence required: True · who must license: persons erecting, causing to be erected or structurally altering any sign or awning · fee: five dollars ($5.00) per sign or awning 2026-08-28
Kawartha Lakes
City
By-Law to Licence, Regulate and Govern Refreshment Vehicle Businesses 2021-158
+6 more
adopted 2021-11-16
2026-08-28
Kenora
City
Business Licensing By-law No. 80-2006
+1 more
adopted 2006-06-12
2026-08-28
Kingston
City
Business License Bylaw No. 2025-34
+3 more
adopted 2025-11-18
2026-08-28
London
City
Business Licensing By-law No. L.-131-16
adopted 2017-12-12
2026-08-28
Markham
City
Mobile Business Licensing By-law 2022-20
+2 more
2026-08-28
Middlesex Centre
Municipality
Mobile Food Outlet By-law (2022-044)
adopted 2022-05-04
2026-08-28
Mississauga
City
Business Licensing By-law No. 0001-2006
+5 more
adopted 2006-01-18
2026-08-28
Muskoka Lakes
Township
Business Licensing By-law 2017-090 2026-08-28
New Tecumseth
Town
Business Licensing and Regulation By-law - Amendment No. 7 (By-law 2021-046, Pet Stores) licence required: True · who must license: Any person who owns or operates a Pet Store offering or keeping animals for retail sale, adoption, or rental · fee: $150.00 2026-08-28
Niagara Falls
City
Licensing By-law No. 2001-31 (consolidated)
+3 more
adopted 2001-01-29
2026-08-28
Norfolk
City
Business Licensing By-law No. 2020-17
+1 more
2026-08-28
Orillia
City
Municipal Code Chapter 700 — Business Licensing
+2 more
2026-08-29
Oshawa
City
Business Licensing By-law 122-2024 (amended by By-law 102-2025)
+6 more
adopted 2024-10-28
2026-08-29
Ottawa
City
Licensing (By-law No. 2002-189) 2026-08-29
Owen Sound
City
Business Licensing By-law No. 2023-128
+6 more
adopted 2023-12-04
2026-08-29
Pelee
Township
Transient Traders, Peddlers and Mobile Vendors By-law No. 2010-15 licence required: True · who must license: Transient traders, peddlers, and mobile vendors (motorized or non-motorized) operating within the Township of Pelee · fee: Peddler: $250.00 per calendar year; Mobile Vendor motorized: $250.00 per calendar year; Mobile Vendor non-motorized: $330.00 per calendar year 2026-08-29
Petawawa
Town
Sign By-law 1573/23 2026-08-29
Peterborough
City
By-law No. 17-067 (Lodging Houses and Rental Dwelling Units Licence)
+1 more
adopted 2017-06-26
2026-08-29
Pickering
City
Business By-law 1887/84
+3 more
adopted 1984-07-30
2026-08-29
Port Colborne
City
Business Licence By-law No. 4324/160/02 (Hawkers and Peddlers)
+4 more
2026-08-29
Prince Edward
City
By-Law 48-2023 to Licence, Regulate and Govern Mobile Restaurants in the County of Prince Edward
+2 more
adopted 2023-03-14
2026-08-29
Quinte West
City
Front Street Farmers Market By-law 12-136
+1 more
licence required: True · who must license: Vendors selling or displaying items for sale at the Front Street Farmers' Market must pay a prescribed fee · fee: as set out in the Consolidated Fees and Charges By-law, as amended from time to time 2026-08-29
Ramara
Township
Business Licensing By-law 2013.20 licence required: True · who must license: Hawkers/peddlers, salvage/wrecking yards, refreshment vehicles, and kennels (boarding/breeding/hunting/competition/predator control, over 3 dogs) · fee: As prescribed by Council as amended from time to time; consult Fee Schedule (Schedule "A" references "Licensing Fees and Charges Bylaw") 2026-08-29
Regional Municipality of Niagara
Regional municipality
Business Licensing By-law No. 2018-76 licence required: True · who must license: Owners, operators, and entertainers at adult entertainment parlours · renewal: Owner's licence expires December 31 of year of issuance; Operator's and Entertainer's licences expire one year from date of issue 2026-08-29
Sables-Spanish Rivers
Township
Hawkers and Peddlers Licensing Bylaw 2002-23
adopted 2002-08-14
licence required: True · who must license: Persons going place to place selling goods, wares, merchandise, or carrying samples for later delivery in the Township. · fee: Ratepayer: $50.00/month or $250.00/year; Non-Ratepayer: $100.00/month or $500.00/year 2026-08-29
Sarnia
City
Business Licencing By-Law No. 128 of 2017 (Consolidated, incl. amendment 28 of 2024)
+4 more
2026-08-29
Sault Ste. Marie
City
Amusement Arcades Licensing By-law No. 2003-50
+6 more
2026-08-29
Smooth Rock Falls
Town
Food Vending Vehicles By-Law 2026-08-29
St. Catharines
City
Business Licensing By-law No. 2005-318
+1 more
2026-08-29
St. Thomas
City
By-law 10-2003 - Sale of Perishable Goods (Letter)
+3 more
adopted 2003-01-20
2026-08-29
Stratford
City
Business Licence By-law 187-2004
+2 more
2026-08-29
Temagami
Municipality
By-law 21-1577 - Licensing of Mobile Vendor Units and Refreshment Carts
adopted 2021-08-19
licence required: True · who must license: Persons selling goods, refreshments, foodstuffs, or flowers from a Mobile Portable Vendor Unit or Refreshment Cart · fee: Refreshment Cart Operator $100.00; Refreshment Cart Owner $150.00; Mobile Portable Display Unit Operator $100.00; Portable Display Unit Owner $150.00 2026-08-29
Temiskaming Shores
City
Vehicles for Hire By-law No. 2024-097 (Office Consolidation)
adopted 2024-08-13
2026-08-29
Thorold
City
By-law to License, Regulate and Govern Refreshment Vehicles/Carts/Cycles No. 16-2017
+2 more
adopted 2017-02-07
2026-08-29
Thunder Bay
City
Adult Entertainment By-law
+18 more
adopted 2005-12-06
2026-08-29
Timmins
City
Business Licensing By-Law No. 2016-7798
+2 more
2026-08-29
Vaughan
City
Business Licensing By-law 122-2022 (Consolidated)
+2 more
2026-08-29
Waterloo
City
Business Licensing Bylaw No. 2023-105
+1 more
adopted 2023-12-11
2026-08-29
Welland
City
Business Licensing By-law No. 2011-173 (office consolidation Nov. 19, 2013)
+1 more
adopted 2011-12-06
2026-08-29
West Grey
Municipality
Trailer Licence Bylaw No. 73-2016 2026-08-29
West Nipissing
Municipality
By-law 2016-40 Hawkers-Pedlars Transient Traders and Mobile Food Equipment licence required: True · who must license: Hawkers and pedlars, transient traders (Class 1 and 2), and mobile food service equipment operators · fee: Hawkers & Pedlars: $250 (3 days), $500 (season/3 mths), $1,000 (year); Transient Traders Class 1: $250 (3 days), $500 (season), $1,000 (year); Transient Traders Class 2 (Youth/Student): $50; Mobile Food Service Equipment: $250 (3 days), $500 (season), $1,000 (year) 2026-08-29
Windsor
City
Business Licensing By-law #395-2004
+6 more
adopted 2004-12-13
licence required: True · who must license: Broad range: adult entertainment, food/hospitality, lodging, heating/plumbing trades, hawkers, escorts, retail/resale/pawnbrokers, pet shops, salvage yards, and others · fee: Varies by category; initial: $191–$616 (e.g., Bill Distributor $191, Entertainment Lounge $590, Bed & Breakfast/Lodging House/Public Hall $616); renewal: $191–$575; late renewal adds 50% surcharge over base fee; Class 2 Donation Bin Business 50% reduction 2026-08-29
Woodstock
City
Chapter 0564 - Business Licensing
+4 more
2026-08-29

Nothing on file for business licences & permits

Absence here is explicit, not a gap: each municipality below was checked, and its status says why there is no document.

Other bylaws on file, none on this topic (363) — Addington Highlands, Adelaide Metcalfe, Adjala-Tosorontio, Admaston/Bromley, Ajax, Alberton, Alfred and Plantagenet, Algonquin Highlands, Alnwick/Haldimand, Amaranth, Armour, Armstrong, Arran–Elderslie, Ashfield–Colborne–Wawanosh, Asphodel–Norwood, Assiginack, Athens, Atikokan, Augusta, Aurora, Aylmer, Baldwin, Bancroft, Bayham, Beckwith, Billings, Black River-Matheson, Blandford-Blenheim, Bluewater, Bonfield, Bonnechere Valley, Bracebridge, Brantford, Brighton, Brockton, Brooke-Alvinston, Bruce County, Bruce Mines, Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan, Burk's Falls, Caledon, Callander, Calvin, Carleton Place, Carling, Carlow/Mayo, Casey, Casselman, Cavan Monaghan, Central Elgin, Central Frontenac, Central Huron, Central Manitoulin, Centre Hastings, Centre Wellington, Champlain, Chapleau, Chapple, Charlton and Dack, Chatham-Kent, Chatsworth, Chisholm, Clarington, Clearview, Cobalt, Cobourg, Cochrane, Cockburn Island, Conmee, Dawn-Euphemia, Dawson, Deep River, Deseronto, District Municipality of Muskoka, Dorion, Douro-Dummer, Drummond/North Elmsley, Dufferin County, Dutton/Dunwich, Dysart et al, Ear Falls, East Ferris, East Garafraxa, East Gwillimbury, East Hawkesbury, East Zorra-Tavistock, Edwardsburgh/Cardinal, Elgin County, Elizabethtown-Kitley, Emo, Englehart, Enniskillen, Erin, Espanola, Essa, Essex, Essex County, Evanturel, Faraday, Fort Erie, Fort Frances, French River, Front of Yonge, Frontenac County, Frontenac Islands, Gananoque, Georgian Bay, Georgian Bluffs, Georgina, Gillies, Goderich, Gordon/Barrie Island, Gore Bay, Grand Valley, Gravenhurst, Greater Madawaska, Greater Napanee, Greater Sudbury, Greenstone, Grey County, Grey Highlands, Grimsby, Guelph/Eramosa, Haliburton County, Halton Hills, Hamilton, Hanover, Harley, Harris, Hastings County, Havelock-Belmont-Methuen, Head, Clara and Maria, Hearst, Highlands East, Hilliard, Hilton, Hilton Beach, Hornepayne, Horton, Howick, Hudson, Huntsville, Huron County, Huron Shores, Huron-Kinloss, Ignace, Innisfil, Iroquois Falls, James, Jocelyn, Johnson, Joly, Kapuskasing, Kearney, Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards, Killarney, Kincardine, King, Kingsville, Kirkland Lake, Kitchener, La Vallee, LaSalle, Laird, Lake of Bays, Lake of the Woods, Lakeshore, Lambton County, Lambton Shores, Lanark County, Lanark Highlands, Larder Lake, Latchford, Laurentian Hills, Laurentian Valley, Leamington, Leeds and the Thousand Islands, Lennox and Addington County, Limerick, Lincoln, Loyalist, Lucan Biddulph, Macdonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional, Machar, Machin, Madawaska Valley, Madoc, Magnetawan, Malahide, Manitouwadge, Mapleton, Marathon, Markstay-Warren, Marmora and Lake, Matachewan, Mattawa, Mattawan, Mattice-Val Côté, McDougall, McGarry, McKellar, McMurrich/Monteith, McNab/Braeside, Meaford, Melancthon, Merrickville–Wolford, Middlesex County, Midland, Milton, Minden Hills, Minto, Mississippi Mills, Mono, Montague, Moosonee, Morris-Turnberry, Mulmur, Nairn and Hyman, Neebing, Newbury, Newmarket, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Nipigon, Nipissing, North Algona Wilberforce, North Bay, North Dumfries, North Dundas, North Frontenac, North Glengarry, North Grenville, North Huron, North Kawartha, North Middlesex, North Perth, North Stormont, Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands, Northern Bruce Peninsula, Northumberland County, Norwich, Oakville, Oil Springs, Oliver Paipoonge, Orangeville, Oro-Medonte, Otonabee–South Monaghan, Oxford County, Papineau-Cameron, Parry Sound, Pelham, Pembroke, Penetanguishene, Perry, Perth, Perth County, Perth East, Perth South, Peterborough County, Petrolia, Pickle Lake, Plummer Additional, Plympton–Wyoming, Point Edward, Port Hope, Powassan, Prescott, Prescott and Russell, Prince, Puslinch, Rainy River, Red Lake, Red Rock, Regional Municipality of Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Regional Municipality of Peel, Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Regional Municipality of York, Renfrew, Renfrew County, Richmond Hill, Rideau Lakes, Russell, Ryerson, Saugeen Shores, Schreiber, Scugog, Seguin, Selwyn, Severn, Shelburne, Shuniah, Simcoe County, Sioux Lookout, Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls, Smiths Falls, South Algonquin, South Bruce, South Bruce Peninsula, South Dundas, South Frontenac, South Glengarry, South Huron, South River, South Stormont, South-West Oxford, Southgate, Southwest Middlesex, Southwold, Spanish, Springwater, St. Clair, St. Joseph, St. Marys, St.-Charles, Stirling-Rawdon, Stone Mills, Strathroy-Caradoc, Strong, Sundridge, Tarbutt, Tay, Tay Valley, Tecumseh, Tehkummah, Terrace Bay, Thames Centre, The Archipelago, The Blue Mountains, The Nation, The North Shore, Thessalon, Tillsonburg, Tiny, Toronto, Trent Hills, Trent Lakes, Tudor and Cashel, Tweed, Tyendinaga, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Uxbridge, Val Rita-Harty, Wainfleet, Warwick, Wasaga Beach, Wawa, Wellesley, Wellington County, Wellington North, West Elgin, West Lincoln, West Perth, Westport, Whitby, Whitchurch-Stouffville, White River, Whitestone, Whitewater, Wilmot, Wollaston, Woolwich, Zorra.

No bylaws published online (8, verified negatives) — Brethour, Chamberlain, Fauquier-Strickland, Gauthier, Kerns, Moonbeam, O'Connor, Thornloe.

Unconfirmed (3, leads but nothing verified) — Coleman, Morley, Opasatika.

Machine-readable: business-licensing.json · Business licences & permits across every jurisdiction · All Ontario municipalities