How to Start a Bakery in Regina

The short answer

In Regina, the health licence is the main gate, and the city licence depends on where you bake. The Saskatchewan Health Authority requires floor plans, food facility information, and licence application forms at your local public health inspector's office before renovations. The City of Regina licence works differently from most cities: under the Licensing Bylaw, a business operating from premises on property taxed as commercial or industrial does not need a city business licence, while a bakery run from a home or other non-commercial premises does. Plan for the health authority first either way.

Written November 13, 2026

The health authority licence comes first

Whether you are opening a new food business or taking over an existing facility, the Saskatchewan Health Authority sets the same starting steps. Floor plans of the business must be submitted to your local public health inspector's office, together with the food facility information and licence application forms. The authority asks for this material before you carry out any renovations, and several weeks before you plan to open.

That order matters for a bakery. Ovens, proofing space, cooling racks, dry storage, and the wash-up area all sit in the floor plan the inspector reviews. A layout problem found on paper costs a redraw. The same problem found after the fit-out costs construction work. The authority also notes that a licensed food facility must follow operational standards on top of the physical requirements, and it publishes the standards for operators to work from. Questions go to your local public health inspection office.

How Saskatchewan classifies a bakery

The Government of Saskatchewan food safety page divides food businesses by what they do. Restaurant-type facilities prepare and serve food to the public for immediate consumption. Food processing facilities prepare food that is not for immediate consumption, and the province lists bake shops in that group, alongside cheese processing facilities.

Both groups sit under Saskatchewan's Food Safety Regulations. Restaurant-type facilities are licensed to operate under the regulations. Food processing facilities may be licensed under the same regulations, and public health inspectors inspect them to check they operate according to the regulations and the supporting Food Facility Standards. Inspectors look for conditions that can cause food-borne illness, including temperature control, safe food handling practices, and water quality.

For a bakery with a retail counter, the practical reading is this: the production side is a food processing facility, and anything you serve for immediate consumption sits close to the restaurant-type rules. Confirm with the public health inspector's office which licence description covers your exact mix of wholesale, retail, and counter service before you submit the application forms, because the classification drives the application.

The City of Regina licence: the premises decide

Regina's Licensing Bylaw, No. 2006-86, requires a licence for a resident business or a non-resident business, then carves out exemptions. A licence is not required for a business that operates from a premise located on property the City assesses and taxes as commercial or industrial property. The City's own business licence material repeats the same point from the other direction: businesses operating from a premise that pays commercial or industrial property taxes are exempt, except for second-hand dealers, pawn brokers, and coin dealers.

So a bakery leased in a normal commercial storefront generally does not buy a City of Regina business licence. That surprises people moving from other Saskatchewan or Alberta cities, where the municipal licence is a standard first step. Do not skip the check, though: the exemption follows the tax status of the property, not the type of business. If your premises are not taxed as commercial or industrial property, the exemption does not apply.

A bakery run from a home is the common case that does need the city licence. The City issues resident business licences to businesses that operate from a premise on property that is not assessed and taxed as commercial or industrial property. The City's business licences information lists the residential business licence at $195 annually and the non-resident business licence, for a business carrying on business in Regina without a permanent premise in the city, at $450 annually. Licences are valid for one year from the date of issue and must be renewed annually. One fee relief exists on the residential side: the City's residential business licence application provides that a business whose gross revenue does not exceed $5,000 for the year is exempt from paying the licence fee, with proof such as written confirmation from the Canada Revenue Agency or a Notice of Assessment for the previous tax year. The City's licence table also shows Saskatchewan Health Authority approval as a required item for licence types where it applies, which is one more reason the health authority step comes first.

A building permit can enter the picture as well. The City's residential business licence application directs applicants to the Building Standards and Inspections Branch at 306-777-7000 for building permit rules on interior alterations or renovations, and a commercial fit-out has its own permit path. Treat zoning as part of the same conversation: the licence, where one is required, is issued under the Licensing Bylaw and the Regina Zoning Bylaw No. 2019-19.

The home bakery route is a different regime

Saskatchewan amended the Food Safety Regulations to allow home food processors to prepare low-risk foods at home. The province's examples of low-risk foods include baked goods such as bread, cakes, and fruit pies, along with jam, jelly, candy, and pickled vegetables. The home food processing rules cover water safety, labelling, lab testing, a food safety course, and limits on where the food can be sold, including prohibited sales to places such as hospitals and child care centres.

That route suits a market-and-orders start. It does not license a commercial bakery premises, and a growing bakery that signs a lease moves into the licensed food facility system described above, with floor plans reviewed before renovations. Decide which regime you are actually in before you spend money, because equipment bought for a home kitchen may not satisfy the Food Facility Standards for a licensed premises.

Putting the sequence together

1. Choose the premises and confirm how the property is taxed, because that decides the city licence question.
2. Draw the floor plan and submit it, with the food facility information and licence application forms, to the local public health inspection office before renovating.
3. If the premises need a city licence, apply to the City of Regina with the health authority approval the licence table calls for.
4. Build to the approved plan and the Food Facility Standards, then open as a licensed food facility.

What the opened pages do not state

The Saskatchewan Health Authority page opened for this guide states the floor plan and application steps but does not state a fee for the food facility licence, so this guide gives no health authority fee. The Government of Saskatchewan food safety page states the bake shop classification and the home food processing rules but does not state processing times for a new licence application, so none is given. The City of Regina figures carried here, $195 for a residential business licence and $450 for a non-resident business licence, are the figures in the City's current Business Licences information and in the licence fee schedule of the Licensing Bylaw itself (Resident Business Licence Fee $195.00; Non-Resident Business Licence Fee $450.00); older third-party pages show different residential figures, and those older figures were not carried.

Related guides:

• How to Start a Restaurant in Regina — the same city's restaurant-type facility route, licensed for food served for immediate consumption.
• How to Start a Bakery in Saskatoon — the other Saskatchewan city bakery guide, under the same provincial food safety system.
• How to Start a Bakery Business in Canada — the national overview of bakery startup steps.
• How to Get a Food Handler Certificate in Canada — food handler training and certification across Canada.

Sources

• Saskatchewan Health Authority, Requirements for Opening a Food Business — floor plans, food facility information, and licence application forms submitted to the local public health inspector's office before renovations and several weeks before opening, and the operational standards a licensed food facility must follow.
• Government of Saskatchewan, Food Safety — bake shops listed as food processing facilities, licensing and inspection under the Food Safety Regulations and Food Facility Standards, what inspectors look for, and the home food processing route for low-risk foods including bread, cakes, and fruit pies.
• City of Regina, The Licensing Bylaw, 2007 (Bylaw No. 2006-86) — the licence requirement for resident and non-resident businesses, the exemption for a business operating from a premise on property assessed and taxed as commercial or industrial property, and the licence fee schedule (Resident Business Licence Fee $195.00; Non-Resident Business Licence Fee $450.00).
• City of Regina, Residential Business Licence Application Form — the resident business licence application, the gross revenue fee exemption proof, and the Building Standards and Inspections Branch contact for building permit rules.