Licences · 9 min read · Last updated
If you're starting a business in Toronto, there's a good chance the City licenses what you do. Restaurants and cafés, food stores, renovation contractors, salons, taxis, tow trucks, pawn shops, rooming houses — well over a hundred licence and permit categories are administered by the City, most of them through Municipal Licensing & Standards (MLS) under Chapter 545 of the Toronto Municipal Code. This guide explains how the system works end to end, and links to a plain-language guide for every category.
Does your business need a licence?
Toronto licenses businesses by category, and the categories are more specific than most founders expect. Serving food for on-site consumption is one licence; selling food to take away is another. Owning a taxicab, operating one, brokering rides and driving one are four different licences. Even advertising yourself as a renovator — before doing any work — triggers the Building Renovator licence.
The fastest way to find out is to check your category directly: browse the full licence directory or jump to a group below. If your business type genuinely appears in none of them, it may be one of the activities Toronto doesn't licence municipally — retail stores selling only new non-food goods are the classic example.
The licence landscape at a glance
| Business area | Typical licences |
|---|---|
| Food & drink | Eating or drinking establishments, take-out & retail food stores, food trucks and carts |
| Trades & contractors | Building renovators, plumbing and heating contractors, drain trades |
| Personal services | Hair, nails, tattoo & spa settings, holistic centres and practitioners |
| Retail & shops | Pawn shops, second-hand and salvage businesses, smoke and vapour retailers, pet shops |
| Entertainment & venues | Amusement establishments, nightclubs, places of assembly |
| Vehicles for hire | Taxicabs, limousines, rideshare (PTC), tow trucks, pedicabs |
| Property & rentals | Multi-tenant houses, the rental renovation licence |
| Street-facing permits | Sidewalk cafés, vending permits, temporary signs |
Every category in the City's table has its own guide — all of them are listed in the licence directory.
The documents almost every application needs
Categories differ, but the core package barely changes. Expect to provide two pieces of government-issued identification (at least one with a photo); your business registration or incorporation documents, with ID for the signing officer; proof of your premises, usually the signed lease or deed, for premises-based licences; and the category-specific items on the City's supporting-documents checklist — zoning confirmation, qualifications evidence or a police reference check, depending on what you do. Trade licences lean on qualifications; food and personal-service licences lean on premises and health readiness; vehicle licences add insurance and vehicle documentation.
Licence vs permit: most ventures need both
A licence covers operating — who you are, what the business does, where it does it. Permits cover work — construction, renovation, signs, patios on public property. Fitting out a restaurant is the classic double: the build-out needs building permits (and inspections to close them), while the operation needs its eating establishment licence. Renovation contractors live on both sides at once: their licence lets them advertise and contract, and each job still needs its own permits.
Inspections: who checks what
Three inspection regimes cover most licensed businesses. Toronto Public Health inspects food premises under DineSafe and personal service settings under BodySafe — both with public results. Toronto Fire Services reviews venues and premises for fire safety, with extra attention on assembly and entertainment uses. And Municipal Licensing & Standards itself inspects premises, investigates complaints and enforces licence conditions in the field. If your fit-out needed building permits, Toronto Building's inspections run on their own track and must be closed out too.
What licences cost
The City sets an application fee and an annual renewal fee for each category in its licensing fee schedule; amounts vary widely by category and are confirmed during your application. Two budgeting rules save surprises: City fees are paid to the City directly, on top of whatever you spend preparing the application; and renewals recur every year, so the licence is an operating cost, not a one-time hurdle.
How to apply
Since January 2026, Toronto accepts business licence and permit applications through its online Business Licence & Permit portal, with in-person service still available at the licence office. The mechanics are straightforward; the failure mode is arriving incomplete. Applications stall on missing corporate documents, unsigned leases, absent zoning confirmation and late police checks far more often than on anything the City does.
That's the gap Permits2Go closes: pick your licence category, and the workspace loads the matching document checklist, captures your business details, runs a zoning check on the premises address and assembles a signed, submission-ready package — for the licence, and for any building permits the same project needs.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. Which City division issues most of Toronto's business licences?
MLS administers business licensing under Chapter 545 of the Toronto Municipal Code; other divisions handle building permits and right-of-way permits.
2. What changed about Toronto licence applications in January 2026?
Applications can now be filed online through the City's portal, with in-person service still available at the licence office.
3. What is the difference between a business licence and a building permit?
A restaurant build-out is the classic example: the renovation needs building permits and the operation needs an eating establishment licence.
Skip the paperwork
Pick your licence category and Permits2Go loads the document checklist, checks the zoning and assembles a submission-ready application — licences and building permits in one workspace.
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.