We encourage all businesses operating in Calgary to register their business with The City of Calgary.
All businesses operating from a location in Calgary are required to obtain location approval for their business, even if a licence is not required. Location approval helps ensure that the space you are operating has been approved for your business and is safe for all occupants.
If your business requires a business licence, registration will occur at the same time as applying for your licence. If you wish to register your business with the City of Calgary, please apply online.
Retail businesses that do require a licence:
Retail businesses that do not require a licence (if no additional retail goods are offered for sale):
If you don’t know if your business requires a business licence, contact the Planning Services Centre for assistance.
Your business activities will determine what's required to open your business:
Examples of different licence types you may need:
| Example | Licence types |
|---|---|
| Example: If you will be selling retail goods | Licence types: |
You will need a Retail Dealer - Premises licence
You will need a Food Services – Premises licence
You may need a Manufacturing licence
You may need a Contractor licence
These licence types will be generated as part of your application when you apply. You do not need to apply for them separately.
If your business fits into more than one licence type, you do not need to get multiple approvals. For example, you only need one Fire inspection even if it is required by all of your different licence types.
If you have a myID business account, you can get a digital copy of your business licence through email.
To learn more and to sign-up, visit myID business account.
When setting up a new licence, applicable fees apply. Fees are based on the type of licence you need and whether your business is home-based or commercial-based. Business licence fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. Fees are subject to change the next calendar year.
| Business licence | Fee schedule | New licence | Fire | Planning* | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business licence : Retail Dealer – Premises | Fee schedule : |
| Business licence | Fee schedule | New licence | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business licence : Retail Dealer -Premises | Fee schedule : |
You need to pay for your licence when you submit your application. If you are applying online, you can pay using apply.calgary.ca.
Understanding what approvals will be required will help ensure you will be able to open your business with ease and on time. Your business may require Planning Approval or Building Safety Approval, or both in order to be approved to operate from your selected location.
These approvals are based on:
To learn more about what permits you may need, see the location approval section.
To avoid delays, ensure your application includes all the required documents, plans and information.
TIP
Do not sign your lease agreements until you have checked your location approval. We recommend applying for your location approval and building safety approvals before applying for your licence.
Dependent on several factors including:
Tips to help you open your business smoothly:
Submit a complete application and follow-up on requests for additional information (check your junk folder for correspondence from the City)
60 days to decision, plus 21 days advertisement/appeal period
To find out more about when a Home occupation class 2 permit is required, review the Home Based Location Approval section.
Varies depending on scope of Building Permit. See our Timelines page for up-to-date timelines.
To find out more about when a Building Permit is required, review the Home Based Location Approval section.
A business name, or trade name, is used to represent your business to the public. You may wish to register your trade name with the province. Read more in Opening a business in Calgary: Register your Trade Name.
All businesses need to provide a location that is approved for their specific business activities. Review the location approval section to make sure your business activities are allowed at your chosen location.
If you’re running your business from more than one location, you need a separate business licence for each location. Each location may require a different combination of permits to satisfy your location approval requirement.
Your business will be run from a commercial or industrial location in Calgary.
Part of your location approval confirms that your business is allowed to operate from your chosen location. The Land Use Bylaw specifies a list of allowable uses for each land use district based on what the intent is for that location, which will be listed as either permitted or discretionary. If the use is not listed in a land use district, the business will not be allowed to operate from that location.
In the Land Use Bylaw, Uses are defined as either being Permitted or Discretionary in a Land Use District.
Permitted means that, if a use meets all the rules of the bylaw, it must be approved. The uses listed as permitted were intended for this location and have little to no impact on the surrounding community.
Permitted with Relaxation means a use that is permitted but requires a relaxation of one of more bylaw rules. Evaluations are done on a case-by-case basis to determine if the relaxation is appropriate and how it impacts the surrounding community.
Discretionary use means that the use needs to be reviewed and is evaluated against several factors including applicable policies, appropriateness of the location, the compatibility of the use with others in the surrounding area, access, parking, servicing, and sound planning principles. Each submission is reviewed on its own merit at the time of application as discretionary uses have a higher impact on the surrounding community.
How your business operates will determine what use or uses best fit your business. Types of planning approval include Tenancy Change, Permitted Change of Use, Permitted with Relaxation Change of Use, and Discretionary Change of Use.
Your business will also be reviewed for safe operations. Based on how the commercial building is constructed and the types of tenants it is designed for, a building will have a classification and occupancy based on the National Building Code – Alberta Edition.
Even if you are not planning any construction or changes to the space, the change in business activities may require a building permit application to review the safety of the space and bring it into compliance with the National Building Code – Alberta Edition. If required, you will need to apply for a Building Permit.
Before you lease a space, it’s important to determine if the use or uses are listed at a proposed business location, if a use isn’t listed in a land use district, it’s not allowed in that district.
If a use is not listed, you could apply for a Land Use Redesignation, or look for another location for your business.
