To complete a business licence application, you will need the following information:
- business name, address, contact information, business start date, and a brief description of your business
- $15.00 non-refundable application fee
- All other licence fees will be invoiced once your application has been reviewed and fees will be due upon receipt of your invoice.
Licence fees vary by business category and are listed in the Business Licence and Regulation Bylaw No. 9-60.
You will be asked if your business is Home Based and whether you are applying for an Inter-Community Business Licence.
Additional restrictions exist for Home-based businesses. Please refer to the Home-based business regulations for more information about home-based businesses and their restrictions.
The processing time for a new business licence is approximately two to four business days for a home-based or non-resident business and approximately twelve to sixteen business days for a commercial business but may take longer due to the complexity of certain licence categories and their inspection requirements.
If you have questions about your application, please contact Business Licensing at business@kamloops.ca or call 250-828-3481.
Once you've successfully completed your application, you will receive a follow up email from the Business Licence Section which will outline more specific next steps for your application process.
Apply Online
All new licence applications are done online.
The various business licence categories, as defined in the City’s Business Licence and Regulation Bylaw No. 9-60, have been separated into 20 groupings of like licence categories below. Each grouping has its own unique requirements, which will be described further as you work through your application.
To apply for a business licence, please start by selecting the appropriate grouping from the list below, click on the apply button for that grouping, then follow the instructions.
If you do not have the ability to apply online, an application kiosk is also available at 105 Seymour Street.
If you have questions about your application, need further assistance with the application process, or for all other licence changes or updates, please contact Business Licensing at business@kamloops.ca or call 250-828-3481.
Business Licence Groupings:
Please find the grouping appropriate to your primary line of business from the options listed below and click on the Apply Now button for that category to begin your application.
Accommodation Services includes renting or leasing suites or rooms in a hotel, motel, rooming house, bed and breakfast house*, apartment building, mobile home park, campground, or on a lot containing a single-family dwelling and a residential suite**.
Accommodation Services does not include property maintenance or management businesses or land developers. If you are a property maintenance or management business or a land developer, please apply for a licence under the General and Personal Services grouping.
*Under zoning regulations, bed and breakfast houses are permitted as “boarders and lodgers” and consist of a sleeping room rented out within a dwelling unit to 2 people maximum, and occupied by a resident household, not in a separate residential suite. Renting the room out for less than 30 days is only permitted within single detached dwelling and requires a business licence.
**No dwelling unit or residential suite may be rented out for less than 30 days. For long term rentals (30 days or more), a business licence is required for a lot containing a single-family dwelling and a legal residential suite where the registered owner does NOT occupy any dwelling units located on the lot as their principal residence.Note: accommodation services may be subject to provincial short-term rental legislation and require registration with the province. Please see the provincial website regarding short-term rental accommodation for more information.
Apply for a business licence in the Accommodation Services category
Adult Services includes body rub studios and businesses that offer escort/dating services, or exotic dancing services.
It does not include businesses that provide medical, therapeutic, or cosmetic massage treatment. If you are a business that provides medical, therapeutic, or cosmetic massage treatment, please apply for a licence under the Health & Medical Services or General & Personal Services licence grouping.
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation includes businesses for artists, writers, home handicrafts, dance and music studios, and theatres.
It also includes other indoor and outdoor entertainment and recreational facilities that are operated from a permanent location, such as movie theatres, playhouses, casinos, bingo halls, teletheatres, concert venues, farmers' markets, flea markets, art markets, health spas, aerobic fitness studios, bodybuilding gymnasiums, bowling alleys, billiards halls, arcades and other similar places.
It does not include licences for Special and One-time Events that take place temporarily from a temporary location. If you are organizing or attending a Special or One-time Event, please apply for a licence under the corresponding grouping.Apply for a business licence in the Arts, Entertainment & Recreation category
Cannabis Retail Sales includes retail stores that sell cannabis to the public for consumption off site.
It does not include businesses who manufacture cannabis products (see Manufacturing, Fabrication & Energy Production).Note: For business licences issued under this grouping, the City of Kamloops Business Licence and Regulation Bylaw (No. 9-60) prescribes that a Good Neighbour Agreement (GNA) is signed annually. You will be provided with a copy to sign before your application can be approved and will be provided with a copy to sign annually, along with your renewal notice.
Apply for a business licence in the Cannabis Retail Sales category
Childcare Services includes all childcare and day care services. It does not include Education Services.
Apply for a business licence in the Childcare & Daycare Services category
Education Services includes all educational services like schools, community colleges, tutoring, and business, computer, language, and all other vocational training or educational services.
It does not include Childcare & Daycare Services or Art, Entertainment & Recreation businesses.Apply for a business licence in the Education Services category
Fabrication includes businesses where pre-finished materials are used to make a product or thing, including, but not limited to:
- tire retread plants
- woodworking shops
- sign shops, garment factories
- wire cable works
- sheet metal shops, steel fabricating shops
- fibreglass fabricating shops
This grouping does not include any Manufacturing & Energy Production businesses.
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate & Brokerage Companies and includes banks, trust companies, credit unions, finance and loan companies, brokerage companies, cheque cashing services, payday loans services, independent stock brokers, independent mortgage brokers, collection agencies, real estate appraisers, and insurance adjusters.
It also includes real estate and insurance agents, brokerages and salespersons.
It does not include property maintenance or management businesses, land developers, or commercial landlords. If you are a property maintenance or management business, land developer, or commercial landlord, please apply for a licence under the General and Personal Services grouping.Apply for a business license in the Finance, Insurance, Real Estate & Brokerage Companies category
General & Personal Services General and Personal Services includes businesses who offer:
- general services such as laundromat and dry-cleaning services, pet care (excluding veterinary services), funeral or crematorium services, auctioneers, janitorial and cleaning services, liquor delivery services, security or enforcement services, steam cleaning services, travel agencies, upholsterers, driver training services, automobile towing services, and general handyperson services (non-trades)
- personal services such as hair stylists, cosmetologists, aestheticians, barbers, tattoo/body piercing services, therapeutic massage, and premises that offer more than one personal service like health spas
It also includes land developers, property management companies and commercial landlords.
It does not include businesses which sell products or provide Professional Services as their primary business or any businesses which provide Adult Services.Apply for a business licence in the General & Personal Services category
Health & Medical Services includes all professional practitioners such as veterinarians, medical professionals, dental professionals, psychologists, physiotherapists, naturopathic physicians, and chiropractors.
It also includes:
- residential care homes, nursing homes, private hospitals, or home for the aged or handicapped
- counselling services
- massage therapists
- practitioners of Chinese medicine, acupuncture, reiki, reflexology, and other similar or related fields
- pharmaceutical sales, like drug stores
It does not include licences for does not include any businesses which provide Personal Services as their primary business or any businesses which provide Child/Day Care.
Apply for a business licence in the Health & Medical Services category
Liquor Retail Sales includes retail stores that sell beer, wine, and liquor products to the public for consumption off site.
It does not include businesses who manufacture liquor products (see Manufacturing, Fabrication & Energy Production) or establishments where liquor products are sold for consumption on the premises and where a dance floor or entertainment may be provided (see Restaurants, Pubs & Nightclubs).Apply for a business licence in the Liquor Retail Sales category
Manufacturing & Energy Production includes businesses who manufacture a product or thing from unfinished or raw materials, like:
- distilleries, breweries, U-brew locations, wineries
- pulp mills, saw mills, refineries, cement plants
- oil tank farms
- mining companies
- private energy production companies
This grouping does not include any businesses who do Fabrication.
Apply for a business licence in the Manufacturing & Energy Production category
Mobile Food Vendors includes businesses that operate mobile food trucks or trailers and mobile food concessions.
To be considered a mobile food truck or trailer you must have a truck or trailer from which food and/or drink is prepared internally and dispensed externally.
To be considered a mobile food concession you must have a non-motorized mobile push cart, mobile coffee wagon, or mobile trailer with a maximum area of 2.78 m² (30 sq. ft.) from which food and/or drink is dispensed externally and where the goods for sale are carried and contained in the cart and which is not permanently affixed to a building or structure. A mobile push cart means a non-motorized cart which acts as a mobile food concession and that can be pushed by one person.
This grouping does not include restaurants who want to attend an event or operate temporarily from another premise for any other reason. Please apply for a Special Event licence instead.Apply for a business licence in the Mobile Food Vendors caterogy
Restaurants, Pubs & Nightclubs includes businesses which are restaurants, establishments that offer full service and limited service eat-in or take-out from a fixed premise, delis, bakeries, caterers, tea rooms, and any food primary establishments as well as liquor primary licensed establishments like cabarets, pubs, nightclubs, and private clubs.
This grouping does not include Mobile Food Vendors or any Special and One-time Events.If you plan to serve any liquor at your establishment, before applying for a Restaurants, Pubs & Nightclubs business licence with the City, ensure that you've applied for a Liquor Retail Store licence through the Liquor Cannabis Regulation Board (LCRB). For more information about Liquor Licences through the LCRB, please visit the LCRB's website.
Note: For business with a liquor primary liquor licence, the City of Kamloops Business Licence and Regulation Bylaw (No. 9-60) prescribes that a Good Neighbour Agreement (GNA) is signed annually. You will be provided with a copy to sign before your application can be approved and will be provided with with a copy to sign annually, along with your renewal notice.
Apply for a business licence in the Restaurants, Pubs & Nightclubs category
Retail, Wholesale & Online Sales includes retail sales to the general public like sales of grocery, hardware, clothing, appliances, electronics, and sporting goods.
It also includes:- selling or taking orders for the sale of products that are sold either by direct sales, telephone solicitation, door-to-door solicitations, mail order solicitation, online sales, or by home party solicitation
- sales from a mobile vehicle
- owning, leasing, or operating a vending machine from various locations
- retail sales of second-hand goods or pawnbroker
- selling goods in quantity for resale by retail stores, for re-use in the manufacturing, recycling or construction process
- fuel sales, like gas/service stations and cardlocks
It does not include Cannabis Retail Sales, Liquor Retail Sales, or any Special and One-time Events.
Apply for a business licence in the Retail, Wholesale, and & Online Sales category
A Special and One-time Events - Organizer business licence may be required for organizers of special and one-time events like neighbourhood events, block parties, festivals, outdoor concerts, cultural performances, trade shows, carnivals, dog shows, awareness walks, sports events, and other one-time public events. Where the organizer plans to provide any product or service for or at the event for profit or gain at their event (including ticket sales) and/or plans to invite vendors who provide any product or service for or at the event for profit or gain, a Special and One-time Events – Organizer licence is required . The organizer licence fee is $112.20.
Special and One-time Events licences do not include licences for organizers or recurring events that take place at a permanent, fixed location. If you are organizing a recurring event at a fixed location, please apply for a licence under the Arts, Entertainment & Recreation grouping.
A Special and One-time Events - Organizer licence will cover all vendor types. This includes artisan, small businesses and food vendors (with the exception of food trucks). The event organizer must provide a list of any food or personal service (for example a barber shop, beauty parlour) vendors to the Business Licensing department at least 3 weeks prior to the event. The event organizer must submit the Temporary Operating permit issued by Interior Health for each vendor (if applicable) at least 1 week prior to the event for that business to participate. All vendors must be listed on the event organizer’s liability insurance.Please note:
- It is the organizer’s responsibility to ensure that all attending vendors apply for and obtain any additional permits or approvals prior to the event
- Any Mobile Food Vendor who is already on the Approved Mobile Food Vendor list in Kamloops for the current calendar year is exempt, however must be invited to the event and adhere to the mobile food vending regulations. If the Mobile Food Vendor in question is not on the Approved Mobile Food Vendor list in Kamloops for the current calendar year, please have them contact the business licence section at the City via business@kamloops.ca or 250-828-3481 to ensure that their licensing requirements can be met prior to the event.
Before submitting an application, if you have any questions about whether you, as an organizer, or any invited vendors require a business licence for your event, please contact the business licence section at the City via business@kamloops.ca or 250-828-3481.Apply for a business licence in the Special and One-time Events - Event Organizer category
Technology, Communications & Professional Services includes, but is not limited to, service businesses and professional services. It specifically includes (but is not limited to) businesses, such as:
- general business office use of a space like an administration office
- assistant and answering services, commercial printing services, business machine maintenance services
- tax preparation services, bookkeeper services, collection agencies
- consulting services (vocational, educational, research and planning, and financial)
- call centres
- research and development laboratories
- drafting and design services
- professional services, such as: engineering professionals, accounting professionals, barristers and solicitors, notaries public, surveyors, and architects
It also includes media-oriented services, such as: advertising, promotion and design services, newspaper publishers, broadcasting stations, and desktop publishers.
It does not include businesses which sell products as their primary business (see Retail, Wholesale, & Online Sales), health professionals (see Health & Medical Services), real estate professionals or insurance professionals (see Finance, Insurance, Real Estate & Brokerage Companies).Apply for a business licence in the Technology, Communications & Professional Services category
Trades includes businesses in the construction, repair, or demolition of a building, structure, or thing, like general contractors, or offering the service of an associated building, construction, or engineering subtrade.
This also includes, but is not limited to, any person who acts as a tradesperson in the following trades:- brick, concrete, stone, and masonry
- building, carpentry, cabinet-making, framing, siding, and forming
- demolition
- drywall, gyproc, plaster, and stucco
- excavating, earthmoving
- electrical
- flooring and carpeting
- glazing, installation of windows and doors
- plumbing, heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, and sheet metal
- insulating, roofing; installation of mechanical equipment
- ornamental metal work
- painting and decorating
- paving
- equipment or machine operator
- structural metal fabricating and installation
- welding
It does not include welding/fabrication shops (see Manufacturing, Fabricating & Energy Production).
Transportation and Warehousing includes businesses who provide public or charter transportation services or moving, delivery, or courier services like:
- charter services
- taxi and limousine services
- pedicabs
- moving and delivery services
- courier services
- truckers
- airport operators, airlines
- warehousing
Apply for a business licence in the Transportation Services & Warehousing category
Vehicle and Equipment Sales, Service & Rentals includes sales, service, and rentals of new or used automobiles, snowmobiles, motorcycles, boats, trucks, recreation vehicles, industrial, trucking, farm equipment, construction equipment, light commercial equipment, or retail rental equipment.
It also includes dealers for new and used mobile home sales from commercial premises or a listing agency for used mobile homes located on private premises, which may include installations.
It does not include Transportation Services & Warehousing, fuels sales or gas/service stations. For fuels sales or gas/service stations see Retail, Wholesale, & Online Sales.
Apply for a business licence in the Vehicle and Equipment Sales, Service & Rentals category