Retail & Second-Hand · 5 min read · Last updated
An auctioneer in Hamilton is a person who sells or offers for sale goods, wares, merchandise or effects by public auction. The licence is personal to the individual who does the selling, not to the venue where the auction happens, which is why it sits in the mobile section of the by-law rather than with the establishment licences.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Mobile” category: “Auctioneer means a person who sells or offers for sale goods, wares, merchandise or effect by public auction. Applicant MUST APPLY IN PERSON with government issued photo ID.”
Who needs this licence?
The definition is about the act of selling: an auctioneer sells or offers for sale goods, wares, merchandise or effects by public auction. If you call the sale, you need the licence.
Because the licence attaches to you rather than to a hall or a yard, you carry it with you between venues. That is what makes it a mobile licence in the structure of the by-law.
Unusually for a personal licence, this one asks for business registration as well as personal documents. You provide a valid business registration, corporate profile or master business licence dated within one year of your application, alongside your own police check and photo identification.
You must apply in person with government-issued photo identification, and an Ontario Health Card is not accepted for that purpose. You also need a Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check from the police service board in the city where you live, dated within 36 days of the application, and third party clearances are refused.
What documents do you need?
The checklist has four items and mixes personal and business documents.
The completed application form comes first, followed by a valid business registration, corporate profile or master business licence dated within one year of your application. This is what distinguishes the auctioneer file from the other personal licences in this section, which do not ask for business registration at all.
Third is the Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check, from the police service board where you live and dated within 36 days. Order it near the end of your preparation so it does not go stale before you attend.
Fourth, you must provide government-issued photo identification. An Ontario Health Card will not be accepted, so bring a driver's licence, a passport or another government-issued photo ID.
Zoning and premises requirements
There is no zoning requirement on this licence and no zoning verification charge in its fee structure. The licence is attached to you as a person, so there is no single address for the City to verify.
Zoning applies to the places where auctions are held, not to you as the licence holder. If you conduct sales at a hall, a yard or a business premises, the zoning and licensing position of that property is a separate question from your personal licence.
If you are planning to auction regularly from one location you control, raise that with Licensing and By-law Services, because a fixed business premises can bring its own requirements that your personal licence does not cover.
Inspections and approvals
No inspection is required for this licence. There is no fire, health, parking or building inspection, and no inspection fee, because nothing about the licence is tied to premises.
The screening step for an auctioneer is the Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check. It must come from the police service board in your city of residence, be dated within 36 days of your application, and not be a third party clearance.
The business registration requirement plays a similar role from the commercial side, confirming that the business you auction under is properly registered.
How much does it cost?
A new application carries a processing fee, the licence fee and a photo fee for the municipal photo ID card. HST applies to the processing fee and the photo fee; the licence fee itself is not subject to HST.
There is no zoning charge and no inspection fee, so the fee schedule for this licence shows a single application total.
At renewal the licence fee is charged, with the photo fee applying on the three-year cycle when a new picture is required.
A licence allowed to lapse carries a reinstatement fee with HST. The City sets the amounts in its fee schedule and confirms them when you apply.
How to apply
Get your business registration, corporate profile or master business licence in order first, dated within the past year.
Order the Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check from the police service board in the city where you live, timed so it is within 36 days when you attend.
Complete the application form in your own name.
Attend in person with government-issued photo identification, remembering that an Ontario Health Card is not accepted. Your photograph is taken during the visit for the municipal photo ID card that serves as your licence.
Renewals and staying compliant
The municipally issued photo ID card is printed annually with an updated expiry date, and a new picture is required every three years. Declarations A and B both have to be completed at renewal.
The renewal charges are the licence fee each year and the photo fee when the three-year photo cycle comes round.
Keep your business registration current alongside the licence. It was part of the original file, and letting it lapse is the kind of gap that surfaces at an awkward moment.
Renew before the expiry date, because a late licence has to be reinstated and reinstatement carries its own fee with HST.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. What does the by-law's definition of an auctioneer turn on?
An auctioneer is defined as a person who sells or offers for sale goods, wares, merchandise or effects by public auction.
2. Which document does the auctioneer checklist require that the other personal licences in this section do not?
The auctioneer file asks for business registration alongside the personal documents, unlike the attendant and operator/manager licences.
3. Does an auctioneer licence require a zoning certificate?
This is a personal licence with no zoning requirement and no zoning charge; zoning applies to the properties where auctions take place.
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.