Entertainment & Amusement · 7 min read · Last updated
Running amusement rides in Hamilton means satisfying two regulators at once. The Technical Standards and Safety Authority signs off on the machinery under the Amusement Devices Act, and the City licences you to put that machinery in front of the public at a particular place. Neither one substitutes for the other.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Establishments” category: “AMUSEMENT RIDES. By-law 07-170, Schedule 17. Please see By-law for DEFINITION, REQUIREMENTS and RESTRICTIONS. Separate licence may be required if food is sold.”
Who needs this licence?
This licence is for anyone operating amusement rides for the public in Hamilton, whether the rides sit on a fairground for a weekend or in a building year-round. It falls under Schedule 17 of By-law 07-170.
The licence is about the operation and the location. It does not certify the equipment. That is the Province's job, and the City's checklist reflects it by asking to see your provincial permits rather than inspecting the rides itself.
If you also sell food at the ride site, expect a second file. The guide notes that a separate licence may be required if food is sold, which catches most operators running their own concession.
What documents do you need?
The provincial permits are the heart of this checklist and the part that trips people up. There are two distinct things: a current permit issued under the Amusement Devices Act for the business operation, and a current permit for each amusement device issued by the Technical Standards and Safety Authority. One covers you as an operator. The others cover the individual machines. Filing one and calling it done is the classic mistake.
The site documents come next. Permission of the property owner, or proof that you own the land, tells the City you have the right to be there. The dates of the event tell it when. The location plan of the rides tells it where each device will stand, which is what makes a parking inspection possible at all.
Then the standard licensing items: the completed business licence application form, a business registration, corporate profile or master business licence dated within one year, a Zoning Verification Certificate, and proof of liability insurance meeting the checklist's minimum in accordance with the Amusement Devices Act.
Finally, a completed Certificate of Compliance application form. For this class the compliance requirement is tied to enclosure: it applies where the amusement rides are within a building.
Zoning and premises requirements
Zoning attaches to the ground the rides stand on. A Zoning Verification Certificate confirms that an amusement use is permitted at that address, and it is the item most likely to decide whether a site works at all.
Many ride set-ups happen on City land, and the checklist accounts for that: the zoning verification is internal for City-owned properties. Ask before you order.
If the same category of business held a licence at the address in the past year, a zoning addendum can replace the full certificate. The two options appear on the same line in the City's fee schedule.
Your location plan does real zoning work as well. Setbacks, access and how much of the lot the rides consume are all read off it, so a plan drawn to a sensible scale saves a round of questions.
Inspections and approvals
Two inspections attach to amusement rides, and the Licensing team circulates the requests once your application is in.
The parking inspection looks at whether the site can handle the vehicles your rides will attract, and whether access lanes stay clear once the equipment is in place. Your location plan is the reference document.
The Certificate of Compliance inspection applies where the rides are inside a building, and it repeats on a cycle rather than being a one-time event. The guide describes it as bi-annual where the location is permanent, so an indoor ride attraction should plan for it to come around again.
Note what is not on this list: there is no fire or health inspection in the amusement rides checklist. Both appear in other Places of Amusement sub-classes, which is a good reminder that these classes are not interchangeable.
How much does it cost?
The new application carries a processing fee, the annual licence fee, and the parking inspection fee. Zoning verification or the addendum is billed on its own line when it applies.
HST applies to the processing and inspection lines. The licence fee itself is not taxed.
The Certificate of Compliance is quoted from the City's separate fee structure rather than as part of the licence total, so an indoor ride operator should budget for it as an extra item.
All amounts are set by the City in its fee schedule and confirmed when you apply. Ask for the total for your specific configuration, since whether you need zoning and whether you need compliance both move it.
How to apply
Line up the provincial side first. Without a current Amusement Devices Act permit for the operation and a current TSSA permit for every device, the City file cannot be completed, and those permits are not something you can arrange in a day.
Confirm the site next: owner permission, zoning, and a location plan showing each ride in place. Fix your operating dates before you submit, because they go on the application.
Submit the completed business licence application with the full checklist, including the Certificate of Compliance application form, and pay the fees that apply. Licensing then circulates the parking inspection request and, where the rides are indoors, the compliance inspection.
Build in slack. The inspection step depends on someone else's calendar, and an opening date set too close to your submission date is the most common self-inflicted delay.
Renewals and staying compliant
Renewal is annual and turns on Declaration B, which has to be completed each time. The renewal itself is charged as the licence fee.
The Certificate of Compliance inspection does not repeat every year. Where it applies, the guide puts it on a two-year cycle, priced from the City's separate compliance fee structure. In years when no compliance inspection is due, the renewal is the licence fee alone.
Your provincial permits sit on their own expiry dates, independent of the City's renewal calendar. A licence renewed on time next to a lapsed device permit still leaves the ride shut.
A late renewal triggers a reinstatement fee, charged with HST on top of what you would have paid by renewing on time.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. How many provincial permits does the amusement rides checklist ask for?
The checklist lists the operation-level Amusement Devices Act permit and a separate current TSSA permit for every individual amusement device.
2. When is a Certificate of Compliance required for an amusement rides licence?
The guide ties the Certificate of Compliance requirement for this class specifically to rides located within a building.
3. Which inspection does the amusement rides checklist require?
Amusement rides list a parking inspection and the compliance inspection; fire and health inspections belong to other Places of Amusement sub-classes.
Skip the paperwork
Tell Permits2Go about your business and it assembles the licence application for you — document checklists, e-signatures and a guided workspace for Hamilton, with more cities on the way.
This guide is general information, not legal or professional advice. Licensing requirements, by-laws and fees change and vary by municipality — always confirm the current rules with the City before you apply.