Food Trucks & Mobile Vending · 6 min read · Last updated
A pedlar licence is about a person rather than a premise. Hamilton defines a pedlar as someone who goes from place to place, or to a particular place, with goods, wares or merchandise for sale. Because the licence follows the individual, the application centres on a police clearance rather than a building inspection, and if you sell on foot you also carry a municipally issued photo ID card.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Mobile” category: “PEDLAR, By-law 07-170, Schedule 12. Pedlar means a person who goes from place to place or to a particular place with goods, wares or merchandise for sale.”
Who needs this licence?
A pedlar is a person who goes from place to place, or to a particular place, with goods, wares or merchandise for sale. That definition is broad, and note that it covers both the wandering seller and the one who always sets up in the same spot.
The licence attaches to the individual. That is why the application asks for a police clearance and, for foot pedlars, a photograph, rather than the health and fire inspections that a food premise would face.
Compare it to the Transient Trader licence, which is aimed at businesses not located in Hamilton and runs for three months at a time, and to the food service vehicle classes, which licence a vehicle used as a food premises. A pedlar is a person carrying goods.
Schedule 12 of By-law 07-170 holds the binding definition, requirements and restrictions, and it is worth reading if your selling model sits near the boundary with another schedule.
What documents do you need?
The checklist is short but two items have hard rules attached.
- Zoning verification, required for a permanent location.
- Police clearance from the police service board located in your city of residence, dated within 36 days of the application. Third party reference clearances are not permitted.
- Permission of the owner of the property if you are setting up at a specific location, together with a premise plan.
- Photo identification, if you are a foot pedlar.
The police clearance is the item to start first. It must come from the police service board where you live, not from a commercial screening company, and it has to be dated within 36 days of your application. Those two conditions together mean you cannot reuse an old check and you cannot take the fast commercial route.
The property owner permission and premise plan travel together and are triggered by the same fact: setting up at a specific location. An itinerant seller with no fixed pitch is in a different position from someone who stands outside the same building every Saturday.
For foot pedlars, the photo identification supports the municipal photo ID card the City issues, which is the credential you carry while selling.
Zoning and premises requirements
Zoning verification is required for a permanent location. If you sell from a fixed spot, the City wants confirmation that the use is permitted where you stand.
Because the licence attaches to a person rather than to premises, zoning applies to where you operate rather than to you or to the licence itself. Holding a pedlar licence does not create a right to occupy any particular piece of ground.
Where you set up at a specific location, the property owner's permission and a premise plan are also required. The plan shows the City what your setup looks like in place: where the stand or display sits, how customers approach it, and what surrounds it.
At renewal the City is more specific about the permission: written permission from the property owner on business letterhead. Ask for it in that form the first time and you will not have to go back for it.
Inspections and approvals
The pedlar checklist does not include health, fire or parking inspections of the kind attached to a food premise licence. There is no building to inspect, which is the whole logic of this class.
The verification work is done differently. The police clearance is the character check, the zoning verification is the location check, and the premise plan plus owner permission tell the City where a fixed pedlar actually stands.
That does not mean you are unsupervised. By-law officers can and do check pedlars in the field, and for a foot pedlar the municipal photo ID card is the credential you are expected to be carrying.
If what you sell would put you in another licensed class, such as food prepared or served from a vehicle, that class brings its own inspections. The pedlar class itself does not.
How much does it cost?
The City sets amounts in its fee schedule and confirms them during the application. The lines are:
- A processing fee at application, with HST.
- A licence fee, no HST.
- A photo fee, with HST, required if you are a foot pedlar.
The photo fee is the only conditional line, and it exists because foot pedlars are issued a municipal photo ID card. If you are not a foot pedlar, it does not apply.
At renewal the processing fee is not repeated. You pay the licence fee, plus the photo fee every three years if you are a foot pedlar, since that is when a new picture is required.
A licence allowed to lapse carries a reinstatement fee with HST before it can be brought back into good standing.
How to apply
Apply for the police clearance first, from the police service board in the city where you live. It has the longest lead time and the 36 day rule means you want it landing close to your filing date, not months before.
Work out whether you are itinerant or fixed. If you will set up at a specific location, obtain the property owner's permission and prepare a premise plan, and get zoning verification for a permanent location.
If you are a foot pedlar, plan to attend in person with photo identification, because a municipal photo ID card has to be produced with your picture on it.
File the application with Licensing and By-law Services with the clearance, any zoning and location documents, and the fees, including the photo fee if it applies to you.
Renewals and staying compliant
Renewal is annual and requires both Declaration A and Declaration B to be completed. That is a heavier declaration package than the food premise classes, which use Declaration B alone.
Written permission from the property owner on business letterhead is also required at renewal, so keep that relationship current and get the letter reissued rather than resubmitting an old one.
For foot pedlars there is a two-part photo rule that is easy to misread. A new municipally issued photo ID card is printed every year with an updated expiry date, but a new picture is only required every three years. The photo fee follows the picture, not the card.
Renew before expiry. A late licence carries a reinstatement fee with HST, and for a licence that is your working credential on the street, a gap in validity is not something to carry for long.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. Where must a pedlar's police clearance come from?
The clearance must come from the police service board in your city of residence and be dated within 36 days; third party reference clearances are not permitted.
2. How often does a foot pedlar need a new photograph for the municipal photo ID card?
The card is reissued annually with a new expiry date, but a new picture is required every three years, which is when the photo fee recurs.
3. Which declarations must be completed when renewing a pedlar licence?
The pedlar renewal requires both Declaration A and Declaration B, unlike the food premise classes which require Declaration B alone.
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.