Retail & Second-Hand · 6 min read · Last updated
Hamilton's payday loan business licence is a closed class. The by-law states that no further licences are to be issued unless within restrictions, and even an existing licence holder needs Council approval to move to a new location. If you are looking at this licence, the first question is not what documents to gather but whether a licence is available to you at all.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Establishments” category: “A person or entity licensed as a lender or a loan broker under the Payday Loans Act, 2008. NO FURTHER LICENCES TO BE ISSUED unless within restrictions. Council approval required to move location (if requirements are met).”
Who needs this licence?
The class is defined by reference to provincial law: a payday loan business is a person or entity licensed as a lender or a loan broker under the Payday Loans Act, 2008. If you do not hold that provincial licence, the municipal licence is not available to you.
The by-law then restricts the class. No further licences are to be issued unless within restrictions. That is a cap, and it is the reason this page starts with availability rather than paperwork. Ask Licensing and By-law Services where things stand before you plan anything else.
Relocation is also controlled. Council approval is required to move location, if the requirements are met. An existing licensee cannot simply take the licence to a better storefront the way most businesses could.
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 your application, and third party clearances are not accepted.
What documents do you need?
The checklist has five items. The first is the completed business licence application form, and the second is a valid business registration, corporate profile or master business licence dated within one year of the application.
The third is the Zoning Verification Certificate for the address, and the fourth is the Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check, dated within 36 days and obtained from the police service board where you live rather than from a private screening service.
The fifth item is the one that defines this class: proof of a valid licence as a lender or loan broker under the Payday Loans Act, 2008. The municipal licence does not replace the provincial one, and it does not survive without it, so keep the provincial licence current for as long as you operate.
Two further items come to you rather than from you. After the application is received, the City supplies a poster with rates and a poster with credit counselling information at the time the licence is issued. You do not have to produce these yourself; you do have to display what the City gives you.
Zoning and premises requirements
A Zoning Verification Certificate is required, confirming that the zoning at your address permits the use. It is issued against the property.
Where the same category of business was previously licensed at the address within one year, a Zoning Addendum may be completed instead of the full certificate.
Zoning matters more than usual for this licence because of the relocation rule. Council approval is required to move location, if the requirements are met, so a new address raises both a zoning question and an approval question at the same time. Do not commit to a lease on a second site before you have resolved both.
There is no premise plan or site plan on this checklist. The zoning work is about the address and the use, not the interior layout.
Inspections and approvals
No inspection appears on this licence's checklist. There is no fire, health, parking or building inspection to arrange, and no inspection fee in the fee structure.
What the checklist has instead is a pair of items supplied by the City after the application is received: a poster showing rates, and a poster with credit counselling information. Both are provided at the time the licence is issued.
Those posters are a consumer-information requirement rather than a physical inspection of your premises, but treat them with the same seriousness. They are provided to be displayed, and they are the visible sign that the business is licensed and operating under the rules that apply to it.
How much does it cost?
This is one of the simpler fee structures in the by-law: a processing fee for opening and reviewing the application, plus the licence fee. HST applies to the processing fee; the licence fee is not subject to HST.
Zoning verification, or the addendum where you qualify, is charged separately and carries no HST. That is why the fee schedule presents a total with zoning and a total without it.
There are no inspection fees on this licence, because no inspection is required, and no photo fee, because no municipal photo ID card is issued.
Renewal is charged as the licence fee. A lapsed licence has to be reinstated and reinstatement carries its own fee with HST. The City sets the amounts in its fee schedule and confirms them when you apply.
How to apply
Start by confirming that a licence is available. The by-law says no further licences are to be issued unless within restrictions, so this is a conversation with Licensing and By-law Services before it is an application.
Make sure your provincial position is in order. You need to be licensed as a lender or a loan broker under the Payday Loans Act, 2008, and you will be asked to prove it.
Assemble the rest of the file: the application form, a business registration or corporate profile dated within a year, the Zoning Verification Certificate for the address, and a Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check dated within 36 days from the police service board where you live.
After the application is received, the City provides the rates poster and the credit counselling poster at the time the licence is issued. If you are contemplating a move to a different address, remember that Council approval is required for that.
Renewals and staying compliant
Renewal requires Declaration B to be completed. There is no in-person attendance requirement and no photo card attached to this licence.
Keep your provincial licence under the Payday Loans Act, 2008 valid throughout. The municipal licence is built on the provincial one, so a lapse there is a problem here.
The renewal charge listed is the licence fee, with no recurring inspection charges.
Renew before the licence expires. Reinstating a late licence carries a reinstatement fee with HST, and given how restricted this class is, letting a licence lapse is not a risk worth taking.
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 say about issuing new payday loan business licences in Hamilton?
Schedule 11 states that no further licences are to be issued unless within restrictions, which makes this a closed class.
2. What does a payday loan business need before the municipal licence is available?
The class is defined as a person or entity licensed as a lender or loan broker under the Payday Loans Act, 2008, and proof of that licence is on the checklist.
3. Who supplies the rates poster and the credit counselling poster?
The checklist lists both posters as items provided by the City at the time of licence issuance, after the application has been received.
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.