Start a brewery in Nova Scotia: the federal excise licence first, the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation manufacturer permit, and the municipal permits for the site.
Applies in: Nova Scotia
Get the federal excise licence first, then the Nova Scotia manufacturer permit. A brewery in Nova Scotia needs both: a brewer's licence from the Canada Revenue Agency under the Excise Act, and a manufacturer permit from the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC). Neither one lets you brew for sale on its own. The Government of Nova Scotia's Starting a brewery guide walks through the same order: business plan, location, site plan, NSLC permits and requirements, then applying for permits.
This guide covers only the Nova Scotia mechanics. The national steps that apply everywhere, such as the federal excise forms, are in our How to Start a Brewery Business in Canada guide. Do not use another province's liquor regulator or fees for Nova Scotia — the regulator, the permit names, and the supply route are different here.
A brewer's licence is required to manufacture beer, malt liquor, wort, or yeast, and a licence is required for each physical business location where any manufacturing takes place, where brewing equipment is kept or used, or where products of brewing are kept or stored. That is the rule in the Canada Revenue Agency's Excise Duty Circular ED200-1.
For each location, complete Form L1, Application for a Brewer's Licence, Form E110, Description of Premises, and Form E111, Description of Vessels and Utensils, and submit them with a floor plan and the supporting documents the circular lists to your regional excise office. A person who makes beer only for personal use does not need a brewer's licence, but that exception does not cover a commercial brewery.
Register the business with the Registry of Joint Stock Companies and get a Canada Revenue Agency business number. The Registry must approve the business name before you use it, and you have 90 days from approval to register or incorporate. The full steps are in our How to Register a Business in Nova Scotia guide — this guide does not repeat them.
The NSLC issues manufacturer permits for breweries and other liquor manufacturers. The province's Starting a brewery guide lists NSLC permits and requirements as a named step, and the province's liquor licence forms page confirms that liquor manufacturers need an NSLC Liquor Manufacturer's Hospitality Room Permit to sell alcohol by the glass, and an NSLC Liquor Manufacturer Offsite Retail Permit to sell alcohol or give free samples away from the manufacturing location.
Apply for the manufacturer permit for the brewery itself, and add a hospitality room permit only if you plan to sell by the glass on site. The Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel and Tobacco Division of Service Nova Scotia handles liquor licence applications and forms, so check its forms page for the current application form before you file.
Check zoning, building, and fire rules for the exact address with the municipality before you sign a lease or start fitting out the site. A brewery combines brewing, storage, and possibly a taproom, and the building must pass inspection before the licence is issued. Confirm the site is zoned for the use and that the building, fire, and health approvals are in place for the address, not just for the business in general.
Plan how the beer reaches buyers through NSLC channels before the first batch is brewed. Keep production records, inventory records, and excise records from the first batch, not from the first sale. The federal excise licence carries record-keeping and reporting duties that start when manufacturing starts.
On July 15, 2026, the Province announced two changes for local alcohol producers, including breweries. First, producers will be able to cross-sell other Nova Scotia producers' alcohol at their own locations — for example, a brewery selling a Nova Scotia cidery's product at its taproom. Second, producers will be able to open a secondary retail store separate from their production facility; until now, a producer could have more than one retail store only if each one was attached to a production site. The Province intended cross-selling from early August 2026 and secondary retail stores from fall 2026, but limits on how much of another producer's product one producer may sell were still to be set after discussions between the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation and the industry, and the regulatory framework was still being developed in fall 2026. Confirm the current position with the NSLC before planning a cross-selling shelf or a second store around these changes.
The premises must pass inspection before the licence is issued. Do not brew for sale, sell by the glass, or offer samples off site until both the federal brewer's licence and the provincial manufacturer permit are in hand, plus any hospitality room or offsite retail permit the sales plan needs.
The opened Nova Scotia pages do not publish a manufacturer permit application fee, a licence fee, or a processing time for a brewery manufacturer permit, so this guide states none of them. The province's Starting a brewery guide is an overview page, not the permit application itself, so it does not list the documents the NSLC asks for; get the current application form from the Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel and Tobacco Division before you file. This guide also does not state NSLC listing or markup terms, because the opened pages do not publish them.
Yes. A brewer's licence from the Canada Revenue Agency is required to manufacture beer for sale. Apply with Form L1, Form E110, and Form E111 for each physical location where beer is made, brewing equipment is kept, or beer is stored. The provincial manufacturer permit does not replace the federal licence.
The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation issues manufacturer permits for breweries, distilleries, wineries, and cideries. The provincial government's Starting a brewery guide lists Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation permits and requirements as one of the steps, and the Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel and Tobacco Division of Service Nova Scotia handles liquor licence applications and forms.
Only with the right permit. A liquor manufacturer needs a Liquor Manufacturer's Hospitality Room Permit to sell alcohol by the glass at the brewery. A separate Manufacturer Offsite Retail Permit is needed to sell alcohol or give free samples at a location away from the manufacturing site.
Yes, in practice. The business must be registered with the Registry of Joint Stock Companies, and the name must be approved before you use it. The brewery application asks for the business details, so register the business and get a Canada Revenue Agency business number first.
Check zoning, building, and fire rules for the exact address with the municipality. A brewery is an industrial use with brewing, storage, and possibly a taproom, so confirm the site is zoned for it and that the building passes inspection before you commit to the location.
There is no single published timeline for the whole process. The federal excise application, the provincial manufacturer permit, and the municipal approvals each run on their own timetable, and the premises must pass inspection before the licence is issued. Start the federal excise application early, because the provincial application asks for proof of it.