Food Trucks & Mobile Vending · 7 min read · Last updated
Class A is the food service vehicle that does not travel. It parks on one site and operates from there, which is why Hamilton treats it much more like a building than like a truck. Zoning verification and the property owner's written permission are mandatory parts of the application, not conditional extras, and that is the clearest difference between Class A and the travelling classes.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Mobile” category: “FOOD SERVICE VEHICLE, By-law 07-170, Schedule 6. CLASS A: a motorized or non-motorized food service vehicle used as a non-travelling, site specific food premise including but not limited to a catering truck, chip truck or refreshment trailer.”
Who needs this licence?
Class A covers a motorized or non-motorized food service vehicle used as a non-travelling, site specific food premise. The City names catering trucks, chip trucks and refreshment trailers as examples, but the words that matter are non-travelling and site specific.
In practice, Class A is for the operator who has found a lot, agreed terms with the owner and intends to trade there. The vehicle may be capable of moving; the licence is built on the premise that it does not.
If you want to move between locations, events and streets, you are looking at Class B, which is defined as a travelling food premise. If you sell only pre-packaged frozen product from a non-motorized cart, Class C is lighter and cheaper again.
Choosing Class A when you actually plan to travel is a costly mistake, because the licence ties you to a site through zoning and property owner permission. Choosing Class B when you actually sit on one lot all season is the mirror image of the same problem.
What documents do you need?
The Class A checklist is long, and each item reflects the fact that you are effectively operating a small food premise on someone else's land.
- Completed Business Licence Application Form.
- Business registration, corporate profile or master business licence dated within one year.
- Zoning Verification Certificate for the site.
- Written permission of the property owner.
- Vehicle ownership.
- TSSA inspection certificate or information fact sheet dated within 36 days of the application, if propane is present.
- Valid liability insurance of no less than two million per occurrence, with the City of Hamilton listed as an additional insured.
- A list of the refreshments you will sell, specifying the source and how each item will be refrigerated or heated.
- A spill containment plan.
- A description of the type of food service vehicle, with photographs of all four sides.
Two items have short shelf lives. The propane documentation must be dated within 36 days of the application, and the corporate document within one year. Sequencing matters: obtain the propane paperwork close to filing, not at the start of your planning.
The insurance wording is the item brokers most often get wrong. It is not enough to hold coverage; the City of Hamilton has to be listed as an additional insured, and the limit must be no less than two million per occurrence.
The menu list is doing safety work rather than marketing work. Naming your supplier and stating how each item is held hot or cold tells Public Health what to expect before an inspector ever climbs into the truck.
Zoning and premises requirements
Class A is the food service vehicle class where zoning bites hardest. The Zoning Verification Certificate is a flat requirement, because a non-travelling, site specific vehicle is a food premise operating at a fixed address.
That certificate is for the site, not for the truck. If you move to a different lot, the zoning question starts again at the new address.
Alongside it you need the written permission of the property owner. The two documents work as a pair: zoning says the use is permitted there, and the owner's permission says you are allowed to be there.
Settle zoning before you commit to a site or invest in the build. Plenty of commercial and industrial lots that look ideal for a chip truck do not permit the use, and no amount of goodwill from the property owner changes that.
Inspections and approvals
Two inspections are circulated by the Licensing Team after your application is received.
- Health Inspection: food handling in a confined space, hot and cold holding, hand washing, water supply and waste water, surfaces and equipment, and the sourcing you declared on your menu list.
- Licensing Inspection: the vehicle and the operation against what you described and against the by-law requirements, including the setup on the site.
A food truck kitchen is a small, hot, awkward space, and hand washing facilities and water supply are the items most often written up. Fix them before the inspection rather than after.
The licensing inspection is where the site setup gets looked at as a whole: where you park, how customers queue, what you do with waste and whether the operation matches the description and photographs you filed.
How much does it cost?
The City publishes amounts in its fee schedule and confirms them during the application. The Class A package is:
- A processing fee at application, with HST.
- A licence fee for Class A, no HST.
- A health inspection fee, with HST.
There is no parking inspection fee and no fire inspection fee in the food service vehicle package, which makes it structurally simpler than the food premise classes. The zoning verification is obtained separately and carries its own charge.
Renewal is charged as a licence fee plus a health inspection fee. The processing fee is not repeated.
A licence allowed to lapse carries a reinstatement fee with HST, and for a seasonal operator that is a real risk: it is easy to let a licence expire over the winter and discover the cost in spring.
How to apply
Find the site first and confirm the zoning permits a food service vehicle there. Get the property owner's permission in writing at the same time.
Sort out the vehicle documentation: ownership, photographs of all four sides, and, if you run propane, the TSSA certificate or fact sheet dated within 36 days of when you will file.
Arrange insurance with the City of Hamilton named as an additional insured at no less than two million per occurrence, and write your menu list and spill containment plan.
File the complete package with Licensing and By-law Services and pay the application fees. The Licensing Team circulates the health and licensing inspection requests, and the licence is issued once both are cleared.
Renewals and staying compliant
Renewal requires a completed Declaration B, and it repeats several of the original documents rather than accepting last year's file.
You must supply current propane documentation dated within 36 days if propane is present, and current liability insurance at no less than two million per occurrence with the City listed as an additional insured.
Both inspections repeat at renewal: a licensing inspection and a health inspection. This is not a paper renewal, and a vehicle that has had a hard season shows it.
Renew on time. A lapsed licence attracts a reinstatement fee with HST, and if your site arrangement has changed you should raise that at renewal, because the zoning and property owner permission relate to the site you named.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. What distinguishes a Class A food service vehicle from a Class B?
Both classes cover motorized and non-motorized vehicles; the difference is that Class A operates from one site and Class B travels.
2. Is a Zoning Verification Certificate optional for a Class A licence?
Class A ties the vehicle to a fixed site, so zoning verification for that site is mandatory rather than conditional.
3. How current must the propane documentation be when you apply?
Propane documentation is only accepted if dated within 36 days of the application, and the same rule applies at renewal.
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.