Food Trucks & Mobile Vending · 8 min read · Last updated
Class B is the licence for a food truck that actually moves. Because the vehicle travels rather than sitting on one lot, Hamilton swaps the fixed zoning requirement for a conditional one and adds a set of road-focused requirements instead: vehicle safety certification scaled to weight, third party liability, rear identification signage and a declared storage location for when the vehicle is off duty.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Mobile” category: “FOOD SERVICE VEHICLE, By-law 07-170, Schedule 6. CLASS B: a motorized or non-motorized food service vehicle that is used as a travelling food premises including but not limited to a catering truck, chip truck, ice cream truck, refreshment trailer or hot dog cart.”
Who needs this licence?
Class B covers a motorized or non-motorized food service vehicle used as a travelling food premises. The City lists catering trucks, chip trucks, ice cream trucks, refreshment trailers and hot dog carts as examples.
The defining word is travelling. Class B is the licence for an operator working events, changing pitches and moving through the season, rather than one who parks on a single lot and stays there.
That mobility is why zoning is conditional rather than mandatory here. If you operate consistently at one property address, you must supply a Zoning Verification Certificate and the property owner's written permission. If you genuinely move around, you do not.
Class B is also the class that has to be roadworthy in the City's eyes. Class A can be a trailer that has not moved in three seasons; a Class B vehicle is expected to be on the road, and the safety certification requirement follows from that.
What documents do you need?
The Class B checklist is the longest in the food service vehicle family, and much of what is added relates to the vehicle rather than the food.
- Completed Business Licence Application Form.
- Business registration, corporate profile or master business licence dated within one year.
- If operating consistently at one property address: a Zoning Verification Certificate and the written permission of the property owner.
- Vehicle ownership.
- Valid liability insurance of no less than two million per occurrence, with the City of Hamilton listed as an additional insured, and third party liability of no less than two million per occurrence.
- TSSA inspection certificate or information fact sheet dated within 36 days, if propane is present.
- Vehicle safety certification dated within 36 days, matched to the weight class of the vehicle.
- A list of the food and refreshments you will sell, specifying source and how each item will be refrigerated or heated.
- A spill containment plan, including how and where grey water and grease will be disposed of.
- A description of the vehicle with photographs of all four sides and a clear view of the Ontario licence plate.
- Proof of the required rear signage, in black letters at least 15 centimetres high on a yellow background, affixed to the rear exterior and plainly visible.
- The location where the vehicle will be stored or parked when not in use.
The vehicle safety requirement is tiered by weight and it catches trailer operators out. Motorized under 4500 kilograms needs a passenger or light-duty vehicle inspection safety standards certificate. Motorized at 4500 kilograms or more needs a commercial safety standards certificate. For a non-motorized trailer, you add the weight of the trailer to the weight of the vehicle towing it, and if the combination reaches 4500 kilograms a commercial safety is required.
Three documents run on the same 36 day clock: propane paperwork and vehicle safety at application, and both again at renewal. Book them close together and close to your filing date, or you will pay for them twice.
The rear signage requirement is oddly specific, and that specificity is the point. Black letters at least 15 centimetres high on a yellow background, on the rear exterior, plainly visible. It is how a travelling vehicle is identified by the public and by enforcement staff when nobody is standing at the window.
Zoning and premises requirements
For a genuinely travelling Class B operation, there is no Zoning Verification Certificate in the application. Zoning applies to the places you operate rather than to your licence, and you carry the obligation to be somewhere you are permitted to be.
That changes the moment you settle. If you operate consistently at one property address, the checklist requires both a Zoning Verification Certificate and the written permission of the property owner, exactly as a Class A applicant would file.
Consistency is a question of fact, not of intention. An operator who works a single industrial lot every weekday lunchtime is operating consistently at one address, whatever the licence class says on paper.
Your declared storage location is a separate land use question. Where a food vehicle is parked overnight matters to neighbours and to zoning, so pick somewhere you have a right to use for that purpose.
Inspections and approvals
Two inspections are circulated by the Licensing Team after the application is received.
- Health Inspection: food handling, hot and cold holding, hand washing, potable water and waste water, equipment and surfaces, and the sourcing declared on your menu list.
- Licensing Inspection: the vehicle against your description and photographs, the signage, and compliance with the by-law's requirements for a travelling food premises.
The licensing inspection is more demanding for Class B than for Class A, because there is more to check: plate visibility, rear signage to the specified size and colour, and the general condition of a vehicle that spends its life on the road.
Vehicle safety is verified by certificate rather than by a City inspection, but it is a hard requirement. An expired or missing safety certificate stops the file regardless of how good the truck looks.
Both inspections repeat at renewal, so the standard has to be maintained rather than achieved once.
How much does it cost?
The City sets the figures in its fee schedule and confirms them during the application. The package is:
- A processing fee at application, with HST.
- A licence fee for Class B, no HST.
- A health inspection fee, with HST.
The municipal fee package for Class B matches Class A, which is worth knowing: the difference between the two classes is in the documents and obligations, not in the licence price.
Your real costs sit outside the City's invoice. Vehicle safety certification, propane certification, third party liability cover and the rear signage all cost money and all have to be in place before you file.
Renewal is a licence fee plus a health inspection fee. Miss the expiry date and a reinstatement fee with HST applies before the licence can be restored.
How to apply
Decide honestly between Class A and Class B. If you will trade from one property consistently, Class A and full zoning requirements apply. If you will travel, Class B is right, but be prepared to file zoning if your pattern settles.
Get the vehicle ready first: ownership in order, rear signage fitted to the required size and colour, photographs of all four sides with the plate clearly visible, and the safety certificate obtained within 36 days of filing.
Arrange insurance covering both liability with the City of Hamilton as an additional insured and third party liability, each at no less than two million per occurrence, and prepare your menu list, spill containment plan and storage location details.
File the package with Licensing and By-law Services and pay the fees. The Licensing Team circulates the health and licensing inspections, and the licence is issued once both are cleared.
Renewals and staying compliant
Renewal requires a completed Declaration B and repeats both inspections, licensing and health.
It also repeats a defined document set: vehicle ownership, liability insurance with the City as an additional insured and third party liability, both at no less than two million per occurrence, propane documentation within 36 days if propane is present, and vehicle safety certification within 36 days matched to the weight class.
Plan the 36 day items together. Booking a safety inspection and a propane check in the same week, shortly before you file, is the cheapest way to renew.
Renew before expiry. A reinstatement fee with HST applies to a late licence, and the timing is unforgiving for seasonal operators whose licences expire while the truck is in storage.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. When does a Class B operator have to supply a Zoning Verification Certificate?
Zoning and owner permission are conditional for Class B and are triggered by consistent operation at a single property address.
2. A Class B applicant tows a refreshment trailer. How is the vehicle safety requirement determined?
For non-motorized units the combined weight of trailer plus towing vehicle decides whether a commercial safety standards certificate is needed.
3. What are the specifications for the required rear signage on a Class B vehicle?
The by-law requirement is specific: black lettering at least 15 centimetres high on a yellow background, on the rear exterior and plainly visible.
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.