Business licence

How BC law treats it

BC has no province-wide general business licence and no Business Licence Act. Each municipality decides by bylaw whether and how to licence businesses. Most municipalities rely on the business regulation powers in the Community Charter, SBC 2003, c 26, s. 8(6). Vancouver licenses businesses under the Vancouver Charter, SBC 1953, c 55 and its License By-law No. 4450. A business generally needs a licence from each municipality where it has premises, and often from each municipality where it carries on work, such as a contractor working at client sites. Some regions offer inter-municipal licences for mobile businesses so that one licence covers several participating municipalities. Licences are usually renewed annually, and the municipality can refuse, suspend or cancel a licence for bylaw breaches, subject to the procedure set by its bylaw and the Community Charter. Getting a licence usually depends on zoning: the use must be permitted at the address, and building, fire and health inspections may be required first. Certain activities need provincial licences in addition to any municipal licence, for example liquor sales under the Liquor Control and Licensing Act, SBC 2015, c 19 and cannabis retail under the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act, SBC 2018, c 29. Other regulated trades and services are licensed by provincial bodies such as Consumer Protection BC. A business licence is separate from business name registration with BC Registries, incorporation, and tax registration for GST or PST.

What it means for your business

Operating without a required licence can lead to fines, closure orders and problems with insurers and landlords, and some commercial leases make holding all licences a tenant covenant. Before signing a lease, confirm that zoning permits the intended use and that the municipality will issue a licence at that address. Buyers of a business should check during due diligence that licences are current and can be transferred or reissued, since many municipal licences are not transferable to a new owner. Example: A founder signs a lease for a fitness studio in Burnaby, then learns the zoning does not allow that use and the city will not issue a business licence. A conditional clause in the offer to lease would have let the tenant walk away.

Risks and common mistakes

Assuming the province issues one business licence that covers all of BC. Signing a commercial lease before confirming that zoning allows the use and a licence will issue. Forgetting that a mobile business may need licences in several municipalities. Treating business name registration or incorporation as if it were a business licence. Missing a separate provincial licence for a regulated activity such as liquor or cannabis sales.