Catering Licence in Ontario: Every Permit an Ottawa Caterer Needs, and What Each Costs

A caterer in Ottawa needs a City of Ottawa food premises licence for the place where the food is made: approximately $298 a year, expiring every March 31, with $2 million of commercial general liability insurance as a condition. Before that comes a health review by Ottawa Public Health, requested at least 14 days before opening, with proof of food handler certification in the application. Around those sit two registrations, a business name if you trade under anything other than your own name and GST/HST once taxable sales pass $30,000, plus two permissions that apply to some caterers only: an AGCO caterer's endorsement for alcohol and a CFIA licence for certain trade across provincial borders.

The City's rule is written in Licensing By-law 2002-189, Schedule 7, Relating to Food Premises, as amended by By-law 2026-160. Section 1 requires a separate licence of the appropriate class for each premises operating as a food premises, and section 2 says no person shall own or operate a food premises without first obtaining a food premises licence. The City's licence page names who that reaches: bakeshops, butcher shops, catering establishments, cafés, lunch counters, cafeterias, restaurants and shared commercial kitchens. In April 2026, City Council approved changes that created a specific definition for shared commercial kitchens and excluded home-based low-risk food businesses from the need for a licence, and the licence page states that the City's new Licensing By-law, in effect from January 1, 2027, makes no change to the licensing requirements for food premises.

Section 6 of Schedule 7 lists what has to be in place before the City issues the licence, and five of its conditions shape a caterer's timeline. The applicant is 18 or older. The Fire Chief has reported in writing that the premises comply with fire regulations. The Medical Officer of Health has reported in writing that the premises are suitable for a food premises. The premises comply with the City's zoning, building and property standards requirements. And the applicant has obtained insurance under section 8 of the schedule. The applicant also states the type of food premises and pays the fee, and under section 7 the Chief License Inspector may waive the fire report, the health report or the zoning, building and property standards condition where it does not apply. In practice the work runs in this order: find an address whose zoning allows the use, get the health review and the fire sign-off, buy the insurance, then apply.

The licence page gives the numbers: an approximate cost of $298 annually, an approximate timeline of three weeks, and an expiry date of March 31 every year for every licence; the licence is transferable. Section 8 sets the insurance at commercial general liability coverage of at least $2 million per occurrence, endorsed to include Liquor Licence Act or host liquor liability where that applies to the business the licence covers, and the proof has to be a valid certificate; the City refuses a quotation, a binder or a renewal slip. The permit requirements also ask for proof of ownership or lease and an opening date within four to six weeks of the application date. Because every licence ends on March 31, plan the application date with that renewal in mind. The licence is one line of a start-up budget, and the full list of opening costs is in our catering startup cost guide.

Two cases sit outside the licence. Schedule 7 does not apply, under section 5, to a home-based food business that operates exclusively from a residential unit and prepares and sells only low-risk food items, such as most breads, cookies and brownies. Catering menus are rarely low-risk, and the premises named on a food premises licence have to comply with the City's zoning, building and property standards requirements under section 6; how Ottawa's zoning treats a home kitchen is set out in our guide to starting a catering business from home. The second case is a caterer that rents hours in a shared commercial kitchen. The kitchen needs a food premises licence of its own, and Schedule 7 puts duties on its licensee: section 13 requires it to ensure that each person using the premises for food preparation or storage obtains and maintains commercial general liability coverage of at least $2 million per occurrence, and section 14 requires a log of each client's name, contact details, dates and times of use and type of food, kept for at least 12 months. Expect the operator to ask for your insurance certificate before the first shift, and ask the City's licensing office in writing if your business also needs a licence at that address.

Ottawa Public Health is the second gate, and it comes first in time. When you plan to establish, build, change or significantly renovate a food premises, OPH approval is required, and owners or operators must notify OPH at least 14 days before opening through the Business Information Officer, at bio1stop@ottawa.ca or 613-580-2745. The application includes a floor and equipment plan, a brief description of the proposed operation, proof of food handler certification and a sample menu. OPH says the menu decides the dishwashing setup, the type and number of refrigeration and freezer units, the hot holding equipment and the flow of food through the premises, so write the menu before the floor plan. OPH also states that approval of plans by a public health inspector does not mean zoning, building or other requirements have been met.

Food handler training is the one item that attaches to a person. Because OPH asks for proof of certification in the application, the course comes before the health review. The provincial rule on how many trained people must be on site and when, the exam format and Ottawa course fees are set out in our food handler certificate guide.

A business name is registered with the province. The Business Names Act, s. 2(2), says no individual shall carry on business or identify the business to the public under a name other than their own unless the name is registered, and s. 2(3) requires partners to register the firm name. A person who contravenes section 2 without reasonable cause can be fined up to $2,000 on conviction, or up to $25,000 if the person is a corporation (s. 10(1)). Registration through the Ontario Business Registry costs $60 for a sole proprietorship or a general partnership, lasts five years, and can be renewed from six months before to 60 days after the expiry date.

GST/HST registration waits until sales require it. The Canada Revenue Agency treats you as a small supplier while your taxable sales do not exceed $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters, and registration is voluntary until then. Go over $30,000 in a single calendar quarter and you charge GST/HST on the sale that took you over; go over across four quarters and you stop being a small supplier at the end of the month after that quarter.

Alcohol is a separate permission from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. A caterer's endorsement is an add-on to a liquor sales licence that lets the holder sell and serve liquor at places where the liquor sales licence does not apply. The AGCO charges no fee for the endorsement itself, the event cannot run longer than 10 days, and the event cannot be held in a residence. The event has to be sponsored by someone other than the licence holder, such as a wedding party or a company holiday event, and the endorsement can only be added by someone who holds or applies for a liquor sales licence.

Federal licensing under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations is about where food goes. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's guidance says no licence is required to make, process, package or label food that will be sold and consumed within your own province, and a restaurant or similar enterprise sending food directly to consumers in another province needs no licence either. Ottawa sits across the river from Gatineau, so the case comes up. If your catering business counts as a restaurant or similar enterprise under that guidance, delivering a party order to a client's home in Quebec is food conveyed directly to a consumer; supplying packaged food to a shop in another province falls under the activities the CFIA lists as needing a licence for interprovincial trade. The CFIA points businesses to its Licensing interactive tool to settle where they stand.

Insurance is a condition of the City licence and of every shift in a shared commercial kitchen. Beyond the $2 million commercial general liability coverage the by-law requires, halls and event venues can set their own terms for suppliers who bring food in. Ask each venue for its requirement in writing before you quote: the limit, whether the venue must be named as additional insured, and the deadline for the paperwork. Premiums are set by insurers, so get quotes from a broker with your menu, your guest counts and the venues you expect to work in.

OH! is a family business: Anastasiia Stepanenko started it in the summer of 2026 and runs it with her mother, Nataliia. OH! is preparing a partner programme; interest can be registered on our catering franchise page.

Licences, permits and registrations for a caterer in Ottawa

What the City checks before it issues a food premises licence (By-law 2002-189, Schedule 7, s. 6)

Catering Licence in Ontario — the short version

• City of Ottawa food premises licence: required for catering establishments, approximately $298 a year, expires March 31, about three weeks to issue.
• Licence conditions (Schedule 7, s. 6): age 18+, Fire Chief and Medical Officer of Health reports, zoning compliance, insurance.
• Insurance: $2 million commercial general liability per occurrence, proven with a valid certificate; shared kitchens must require it of every renter (s. 13).
• Ottawa Public Health: notice at least 14 days before opening, with floor plan, description, proof of food handler certification and menu.
• Business name: $60, valid five years, required for any name other than your own (Business Names Act, s. 2(2)).
• GST/HST: mandatory once taxable sales pass $30,000 in four consecutive calendar quarters.
• AGCO only for alcohol; CFIA only for certain interprovincial or export trade.

Sources: City of Ottawa — Food premises licence; City of Ottawa — Licensing By-law 2002-189, Schedule 7 Food Premises (By-law 2026-160), ss. 1, 2, 5–8, 13–14; Ottawa Public Health — Starting a Food Premises; Government of Ontario, e-Laws — Business Names Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. B.17, ss. 2, 10; Government of Ontario — Ontario Business Registry: all services; Canada Revenue Agency — When to register for and start charging the GST/HST; Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario — Apply for a caterer's endorsement; Canadian Food Inspection Agency — Food business activities that require a licence, ss. 3.2 and 5.2.

OH! Catering is preparing a franchise for styled share tables and Ukrainian dishes. Read about The OH! Catering franchise.