How to Start a Bakery in Toronto

The short answer

A Toronto bakery needs a City of Toronto business licence matched to what the shop actually does, a zoning check, a Toronto Public Health notification, and certified food handlers — in that order. The licence class is the decision that trips up most bakeries, because the City licenses the activity at the address, not the word "bakery" on the sign. A bakery with tables is licensed differently from a bakery that sells everything to take away, and a bakery that also bakes for wholesale is licensed differently again. Get the class wrong and you will have to convert the licence later, so decide it from the real layout before you apply.

This guide walks the full Toronto application. 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 — and it does not repeat the Ontario-wide health unit rules in our How to Start a Bakery in Ontario guide. Everything below is Toronto's own process.

Step 1: Run the Licence Finder Tool

The City has developed a Licence Finder Tool to help businesses understand which licence or licences suit their operations. Run it before anything else, with the real plan for the shop: what is baked on site, what is sold over the counter, whether customers can sit down, whether anything is sold wholesale, and whether there will be entertainment or alcohol. The tool's answer is the starting point for the application, and the rest of this guide follows from it.

The City updated its licensing and zoning bylaws for restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues on January 1, 2025, so advice written before that date may name licence categories that no longer exist. Use the current pages.

Step 2: Decide the licence class from seating, takeaway, and production

There are three licence classes a bakery can fall into. Work through them in order, using the shop's real layout.

Eating or Drinking Establishment. A business where food or beverages are prepared or served to patrons for immediate consumption on site. It may include take-out service and some entertainment or live performance. A bakery with tables, chairs, and customer washrooms is here, even if most sales are takeaway. The fee is an application fee of $268.32, non-refundable and due when a complete application is submitted, plus a licence fee of $268.32 due on approval — $536.64 in total. The licence expires annually on the anniversary of the date it was first issued, and the renewal fee is $362.96. A courtesy notice is mailed to the mailing address on file, but the licensee is responsible for keeping the licence valid.

Take-out or Retail Food Establishment. A business where food or beverages are prepared and offered to patrons exclusively for consumption off site, or where pre-packaged food or drink items are offered exclusively for consumption off site. A bakery with no seating that sells loaves, pastries, and pre-packaged goods to take away is here. The City states the 2026 application fee as $395.20 and the renewal fee as $261.04. If the business is not selling pre-packaged or prepared food or drinks, it may not need this licence at all.

Expanded Activity Eating or Drinking Establishment. A business that meets the Eating or Drinking Establishment criteria and also meets three or more of the following: within any seven-day period, it operates past 11 p.m. for the majority of days it is open; it has a liquor licence to serve alcohol; amusement, entertainment, or live performance is offered; or the occupant load is more than 150 people. A bakery café with evening events and live music can land here. The 2026 application fee is $751.92 and the renewal fee is $546. A business does not need both an Eating or Drinking Establishment licence and an Expanded Activity licence — only the one that applies.

The seating decision is a licence decision, not a furniture decision. Adding two tables after opening can move the shop from one class to another. If the class changes, the City now has a streamlined process for converting from one licence category to another: send a few documents to update the licence, and any fees already paid are applied to the new licence. But converting is slower than choosing correctly, so settle the layout first.

The City also screens applications. Municipal Licensing and Standards will deny an application or a renewal where the applicant or licensee meets the screening criteria published on the licence page, which cover certain criminal convictions and overdue by-law fines. A criminal record suspension, also called a pardon, is not counted against the applicant.

Step 3: Confirm zoning and the sign before signing the lease

Contact Toronto Building for zoning, heating, ventilation and air conditioning permits, plumbing and mechanical permits, a sign permit, a building permit, and plan reviews. The City's food business page says to research what additional legislation and bylaws may affect the business before signing a lease, and that zoning bylaws may need to be confirmed or building plans submitted. A bakery cannot open in a space where the zoning does not allow a food business, and a sign permit is a separate application from the business licence — the shop sign needs its own permit from Toronto Building.

Step 4: Notify Toronto Public Health

Every person who intends to operate a food premises within the City of Toronto must notify the Medical Officer of Health before starting. This requirement also applies to operators buying an existing food premises. Notify Toronto Public Health of a new food premises before the shop opens.

After receiving the notification, a Toronto Public Health inspector contacts you and provides more information about the legislative requirements for starting a food business. The inspector can help with the structural requirements for food premises and will review building plans for newly constructed or renovated food premises, so send the plans in before the build-out is finished, not after.

All food premises are subject to the Health Protection and Promotion Act and the Ontario Food Premises Regulation, including allowing entry to public health inspectors to conduct inspections. The City posts inspection results online on the DineSafe website, and an inspection notice is also posted at the location of the premises. DineSafe is Toronto Public Health's food establishment inspection program, and its results are public.

Step 5: Certify the food handlers

Staff who handle food in an Eating or Drinking Establishment must have Accredited Food Handler Certification. That covers waiters, waitresses, hosts, hostesses, bartenders, cooks, and every other person serving or making available food or drink. In a bakery, that means the counter staff as well as the bakers. Arrange the certification before opening day, so there is a certified person on site from the first day of trading.

Take-away only? The trained-handler rule still applies

Step 5 ties Accredited Food Handler Certification to the Eating or Drinking Establishment class, but the rule is wider than that class. Under Ontario Regulation 493/17, every operator of a food service premises must ensure at least one food handler or supervisor who has completed food handler training is on the premises during every hour it is operating — and the City's business regulations page states Food Handler Certification is required for anyone who serves and handles food. A take-out-only bakery still prepares food on site, so it still needs a certified person on site for every operating hour.

One practical wrinkle: Toronto Public Health has currently suspended its own food handler program, so book through an alternate authorized provider listed by the Ontario Ministry of Health. Do not wait until opening week — a service with no certified handler on site is a failed inspection, not a paperwork delay.

Step 6: Apply for the licence

Apply online or in person, after all documents and information are ready.

Online. The application takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete and cannot be saved, so have all required documents ready to upload before starting. Licence application fees can be paid online or by sending a cheque. The City provides a step-by-step guide for submitting a new application online.

In person. In-person services are available at the Licence and Permit Issuing Office, 850 Coxwell Avenue, 3rd Floor. Walk-in services for new applications run Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and appointments can also be booked online. Bring hard copies of all application requirements: applications will not be started unless all requirements are provided, and digital copies are not accepted. Payment can only be made by debit, credit, or cheque. Cash is not accepted.

A sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation can apply. For questions, or to find out which documents to submit, call 416-392-6700 or email mlsbusinesslicence@toronto.ca.

Step 7: 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 City's pages do not state a processing time for a business licence application, so this guide gives none. They do not state the fee for the zoning review, the sign permit, or the building permit, so this guide states no figure for any of them. They do not break the Take-out or Retail Food Establishment fee into an application portion and a licence portion — the City's page states only the 2026 application fee of $395.20 — so this guide does not split it. They do not state how often DineSafe inspects a bakery, or what the food handler course costs, so this guide states neither. Confirm the current fees on the City's pages before paying, because the City updates 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 Ontario — the Ontario-wide rules: notifying the health unit, the food premises regulation, and the trained food handler requirement.
• How to Start a Coffee Shop in Toronto — the same Toronto licence, zoning, and DineSafe process for a coffee shop with seating.
• How to Get a Business Licence in Toronto — the City's business licence process in general, beyond food businesses.
• How to Get a Food Handler Certificate in Canada — food handler certification for the staff who prepare and serve food.
• 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.

Sources

• City of Toronto, Eating or Drinking Establishment — the Licence Finder Tool, the definition of an Eating or Drinking Establishment, who can apply, the online and in-person application routes, the 850 Coxwell Avenue office and hours, the Accredited Food Handler Certification requirement, the $268.32 application fee, $268.32 licence fee, $536.64 total, and $362.96 renewal fee, the licence conversion process, and the screening criteria.
• City of Toronto, Changes to Licensing and Zoning Bylaws for Restaurants, Bars and Entertainment Venues — the January 1, 2025 bylaw changes, the Expanded Activity Eating or Drinking Establishment criteria and 2026 fees, the Take-out or Retail Food Establishment definition and 2026 fees, and the Licence Finder Tool.
• City of Toronto, Starting a Food Business — the duty to notify the Medical Officer of Health before starting, the inspector contact and plan review after notification, Toronto Building's role in zoning, sign permits, and building permits, and the warning to check zoning before signing a lease.
• City of Toronto, Food Safety — DineSafe as Toronto Public Health's food establishment inspection program, with inspection results available to the public, and food handler certification information for businesses.
• City of Toronto, Business Regulations, Licences & Permits — Food Handler Certification required for anyone who serves and handles food, and Toronto Public Health's suspended program with alternate authorized providers through the Ministry of Health.
• Ontario, O. Reg. 493/17, Food Premises Regulation — at least one trained food handler or supervisor on site during every operating hour.