How to Start a Bakery in Halifax

The short answer

Get the occupancy permit, confirm the development permit, then get the provincial Food Establishment Permit and certify the staff. A Halifax bakery needs three things from two levels of government: Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) for the occupancy permit and the development permit, and Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change for the Food Establishment Permit. There is no general HRM business licence for a bakery — the occupancy permit is the municipal document that says the shop may operate from that address. This guide walks the Halifax application only. It does not repeat the national bakery guide's general steps for picking a format or registering a business — those are in our How to Start a Bakery Business in Canada guide.

Step 1: Get the occupancy permit

An occupancy permit is a permit issued under the Nova Scotia Building Code Act that specifies the authorized use and classification for a building, such as office or retail. That is the definition on HRM's Application to occupy page. The legislation requires the owner and occupiers of all buildings, except for single dwellings, sheds, or pools, to obtain occupancy permits before building spaces can be occupied and used. An occupancy permit shall not be issued unless a valid building permit is in effect.

An occupancy permit is required after a change of use or tenant, including any change in the number of either commercial or residential units. It does not expire: the permit remains valid for as long as there is no change of operator and the activities practiced on the premises stay the same as those cited in the permit application. A new permit is required if there is a change of operator, if the floor area of the premises is altered, if the uses are changed, or if new uses are added. Occupancy permits do not transfer from business to business or between locations — even moving into a space where the same type of business operated before still requires a new permit, so staff can confirm the use is still permitted and the space is still up to code.

A stand-alone occupancy permit is for a change in operator, ownership, or activity with no renovations. If you are renovating the new space, you need a building permit instead, and the occupancy permissions are part of that permit. There is a mandatory final inspection for Application to Occupy permits. Commercial applications require a floor plan with the dimensions of the leasehold space with all rooms and adjacent uses identified, the location of exits and signage including door swing direction, the location of emergency lighting and fire extinguishers, the location and size of washrooms including barrier-free accessibility design where required, and a key plan showing the commercial suite within the building. A site plan and a landscape plan are required upon request.

The fee is $50 for a home or business occupancy permit, occupancy only, and $100 for an expired occupancy renewal. Full payment must be made at the time of application submission, online by credit card during the application process, or in person at the Planning and Development counter at 5251 Duke Street, 3rd Floor, Suite 300, Duke Tower, Halifax, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday excluding holidays. Apply online through the customer portal; you need to register for a customer portal account first.

Step 2: Confirm the development permit

The use of the premises has to be allowed where the shop sits. Under HRM's Administrative Order 15, the commercial development permit fee is $600, non-refundable, covering multi-use, industrial, commercial, or institutional uses and buildings of 3 units or greater. The basic development permit fee is $60, non-refundable, covering home occupation, occupancy only, and accessory structures such as decks, pools, sheds, and fences. A bakery taking a commercial unit needs the commercial development permit; the $60 basic permit covers occupancy-only and home-based cases, not a shop.

For commercial occupancy, sign permits are frequently required if a new exterior sign is being installed, so check the sign permit alongside the occupancy application rather than after the shop opens.

Step 3: Get the Nova Scotia Food Establishment Permit

Anyone in Nova Scotia who wants to operate a foodservice facility — a restaurant, food take-out, mobile canteen, temporary food establishment, grocery store, push cart, or any facility from which foods are sold, whether permanently or only occasionally — needs a Food Establishment Permit from Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change. That is the rule in the Nova Scotia Permits Directory entry for the Food Establishment Permit. A bakery is a foodservice facility under that rule.

The prices, with HST included, are $220.66 for an eating establishment and $88.24 for a food shop. A seasonal eating establishment of 6 months or less is $88.24, and a seasonal food shop is $44.51. The class follows what the shop does: a bakery with seating for customers is an eating establishment, while a counter-only shop selling food to take away is a food shop. Confirm the class with the local Environment and Climate Change office before paying, because the class decides the fee. Pay by cheque or money order made out to the Minister of Finance — debit cards, credit cards, and cash are not accepted as payment.

The permit is valid for one year from the issue date and may be renewed; you will receive notification when it is expiring. The waiting period for an initial application is 15 to 20 business days, and renewals take up to 15 business days, provided all the items that must accompany the application have been received. Eating establishment, food shop, and seasonal applications can be completed online; the form can also be picked up at any Environment and Climate Change office or downloaded from the department. There is an on-site inspection required before the permit can be issued, carried out by a department inspector. The standard procedure is an on-site inspection of all facilities holding the permit every year, and more frequent inspections for facilities considered high-risk.

Step 4: Certify the food handlers

Nova Scotia's Food Safety Regulations require that at least 1 person per shift must have successfully completed a food hygiene, or handling, course. That is the rule on the Government of Nova Scotia's Food hygiene (handling) courses page. It is recommended that everyone working with food take the course, and the training must be renewed every 5 years. Foodservice operators are responsible for making sure employees have successfully completed a food hygiene course recognized by the Department of Agriculture, and public health officers will ask operators to show proof that they and their employees hold current certification from a recognized course. The same page lists the recognized courses, including online and classroom-based options. Some food establishments may be exempt — check the exemptions document on that page before assuming the bakery is one of them. Arrange the training before opening day, so there is a certified person on every shift from the first day of trading.

Step 5: Packaged goods and the label routine

A bakery that sells packaged goods — loaves in bags, boxed pastries, jars, and anything sold pre-packaged for consumption off site — also has to label them to federal rules, with a common name, net quantity, ingredient list, allergen declaration, and dealer name and address, in both official languages, plus a Nutrition Facts table unless an exemption applies. The full labelling routine is in our How to Start a Bakery Business in Canada guide. This guide does not repeat it. Build the label routine before the first packaged product goes on the shelf, because the label is part of the product, not an afterthought.

What the opened pages do not state

The opened HRM pages do not state a processing time for an occupancy permit application, so this guide gives none. They do not state the fee for a building permit, which is calculated from the work, so this guide states no figure for it. The Nova Scotia permits directory does not state which permit class a given bakery will be assigned — the class follows what the shop does — so this guide states both the eating establishment and food shop fees and says to confirm the class with the local office. The food hygiene page does not state a course fee, because fees vary by provider, so this guide states none. Confirm the current fees on the HRM and provincial pages before paying, because both update them each year.

Related guides:

• How to Start a Bakery Business in Canada — the national bakery guide, with the format decision and the packaged-goods labelling routine in full.
• How to Start a Bakery in Toronto — the Toronto bakery path, which runs under Toronto's licence classes instead of Halifax's occupancy permit.
• How to Start a Restaurant in Halifax — the Halifax restaurant path, which shares the occupancy permit and the provincial Food Establishment Permit.
• How to Register a Business in Nova Scotia — the Nova Scotia business registration steps this guide does not repeat.
• How to Get a Food Handler Certificate in Canada — food handler certification, which sits alongside the Nova Scotia food hygiene requirement in this guide.
• How to Start a Home Bakery Business in Canada — the home-kitchen route, for a bakery that does not need a commercial shop at all.

Selling at markets and temporary events

A bakery that also sells at a farmers market, fair, or festival needs a different permit class for that stall. Nova Scotia requires a Temporary Event Permit for the sale of foods at temporary events, fairs and festivals, for a booth or other structure operated for 14 consecutive days or less per year. In the provincial permits directory the fees, with HST included, are $27.57 for a one day temporary event and $57.89 for a temporary event of two days or longer, and $44.12 for a public market vendor. A recognized charity does not have to pay a fee for a Temporary Event Permit. Budget for the stall permit in addition to the Food Establishment Permit for the shop premises.

Sources

• Halifax Regional Municipality, Application to occupy — the occupancy permit definition, the change-of-use and change-of-tenant triggers, the no-expiry rule, the non-transfer rule, the mandatory final inspection, the floor plan requirements, and the $50 occupancy-only and $100 expired-renewal fees.
• Halifax Regional Municipality, Administrative Order 15 — the $600 non-refundable commercial development permit fee and the $60 basic development permit fee.
• Government of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Permits Directory — Food Establishment Permit — who needs the permit, the $220.66 eating establishment and $88.24 food shop prices with HST included, the one-year validity, the 15 to 20 business day initial waiting period, the on-site inspection before issue, the annual inspection, and the cheque or money order payment rule.
• Government of Nova Scotia, Food hygiene (handling) courses — the at-least-1-person-per-shift rule, the 5-year renewal, the recognized-course requirement, and the proof-on-request rule.