How to Start a Bakery in Calgary
Open a bakery in Calgary: work out the City licence types from seating, takeaway, and production, clear location approval, then pass the Alberta Health Services plan review and inspection.
How to Start a Catering Business in Calgary
A Calgary caterer needs a City of Calgary business licence with location approval and an Alberta Health Services inspection of the kitchen. Catering trucks fall under mobile food services, home cooking for events takes a Food Service — Premises licence, and food must be prepared in an AHS-approved kitchen.
Applies in: Alberta
The short answer
A Calgary catering business is approved around one question: where is the food prepared? The City of Calgary requires location approval for every business operating from a Calgary location, and the licence type follows the kitchen. Cooking at home for events takes a Food Service — Premises licence. A catering truck is handled under mobile food services. On top of the city licence, Alberta Health Services inspects the kitchen: any business involving the sale, preparation, manufacturing, or storage of food requires an AHS inspection before the licence can be issued.
Written November 13, 2026
Pick your kitchen model first
Calgary's pages split caterers into three working models. The licence follows the model, so settle this before you apply.
Cooking from a commercial kitchen you control. If the business prepares and serves food to the public from fixed premises, the licence type is Food Service — Premises. The premises need planning approval and, where the work requires it, building safety approval. All businesses in Calgary require planning approval before they can open.
Cooking at home. All home-based food businesses that prepare or sell food require a business licence and location approval. The City's own examples put preparing food at home, baking at home, and cooking food at home to cater to events all under Food Service — Premises. Even doing paperwork at home while cooking in a licensed commercial kitchen is still listed as Food Service — Premises, so a home office does not move you out of the food licence.
Cooking in a truck or trailer. A municipal business licence is required for businesses that offer mobile food services, and the City's list expressly includes catering trucks. Food prepared and stored in a vehicle, in a commercial kitchen (including catering trucks), or in a trailer falls under food service — no premises, which can only operate on private property and does not require a self-contained kitchen. A separate licence is required for each mobile unit or location.
Location approval and the two home occupation classes
Location approval is not optional and it is not the same as the licence. The City states that all businesses operating from a location in Calgary are required to obtain location approval, even if a licence is not required, because location approval confirms the space has been approved for your business and is safe for occupants. If the business requires a licence, registration with the City happens at the same time as the licence application.
For a home-based caterer, the location approval is a home occupation permit, and the class matters:
- Home Occupation Class 1 is the default. It is applied for automatically when you apply for the licence, costs $0, takes about 5 business days, and has no expiry.
- Home Occupation Class 2 applies when the business breaks any Class 1 rule. The City's comparison table puts a food-related business using a kitchen in the home in Class 2, along with 4 to 15 business visits a week, use of the garage for the business, and one employee or partner working at the home who does not live there. Class 2 costs a $449 permit fee plus a $32 advertising fee, $481 in total, takes about 10 to 12 weeks including the advertisement and appeal period, and does not guarantee approval.
A home caterer adding a second, commercial-grade kitchen inside the home can also need a commercial building permit, because the space must comply with the National Building Code — Alberta Edition and health and safety standards. The City gives its own example: you will need a building permit for a separate kitchen for a baking business. Budget the Class 2 timeline into your opening date; it is the longest single step in the home route.
The Alberta Health Services side
The city's licence cannot finish without the health approval. An AHS location inspection is required to ensure public safety, and any business involving the sale, preparation, manufacturing, or storage of food products requires this inspection. Contact AHS at 1-833-476-4743 for timelines and to book a date. Inspection results can be submitted in person at the Planning Services Centre, 3rd floor, Municipal Building, 800 Macleod Trail S.E., or by email to licencedivisionteam@calgary.ca. If AHS advises that your business type does not require a health inspection, the City asks you to record the name of the person you spoke with, their telephone number, and the reason given, and provide those details to the Planning Services Centre.
AHS Environmental Public Health runs the food facility side through its Open a Business page, which lists the starting-a-food-business guidance, the Food Handling Permit Application, and the Permission to Use an Approved Food Establishment route. That last item matters for caterers without their own approved kitchen: caterers must prepare food in an approved kitchen, and a caterer without its own food establishment may get permission to use another approved food establishment. It also matters for the hall question below.
Catering rules that are specific to Calgary
Community halls. Commercial caterers cannot operate their business from a community association hall. They can use the hall's kitchen in two specific scenarios only: to prepare food for a function within the hall, or to prepare food for delivery at a different location if the kitchen is an hourly rental, the caterer has a business licence, and no food is stored at the hall.
Alcohol at private functions. A catering business can only provide alcohol with meals served along with catered events for private social functions, such as a wedding. It can store alcohol at the business premises if the alcohol is not sold for consumption on, away from, or at the premises, and then no alcohol beverage sales or liquor store licence is required. The line moves when the event becomes public: a catering business that promotes or organizes a public event and sells tickets to the general public may require alcohol beverage sales, food service — premises, and entertainment establishment licence types.
Private property permission. To operate on private property, businesses must get written consent from the property owner. For food service — no premises downtown, the service is only offered between 7 a.m. and 3 a.m.
Grease. Under the Wastewater Bylaw 14M2012, all food service establishments that prepare, process, or serve food or beverages containing fats, oils, and grease must install a properly sized grease interceptor approved and certified to ASME A112 or CSA B481 standards, or equivalent. A new commercial kitchen budget that omits the interceptor is incomplete.
Fees. Business licence fees are set out in the City's business licence fee schedule by licence type; if your business requires multiple licence types, the highest category fee applies. Fees vary by licence type and by whether the business is home-based or commercial-based, and all business licence fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. You pay when you submit the application, online through the City's application system. The fee does not include land use approvals, permits, or third-party approvals and inspections.
Sequence for a Calgary catering start
- Decide the kitchen model: your own premises, your home, a permitted shared kitchen, or a truck.
- Apply for location approval. For a home, work out Class 1 versus Class 2 before applying, because Class 2 adds roughly 10 to 12 weeks.
- Contact AHS at 1-833-476-4743 and book the location inspection for the kitchen.
- File the business licence application and pay the fee at submission.
- Submit the AHS inspection results to the Planning Services Centre so the licence can be issued.
- Get written consent from property owners for the private properties you will serve from.
What the opened pages do not state
The City of Calgary pages opened for this guide state that licence fees sit in a separate fee schedule and vary by type and by home-based or commercial-based status, but they do not state the dollar fee for a Food Service — Premises licence on the pages themselves, so this guide gives no figure for it. The Alberta Health Services Open a Business page lists the Food Handling Permit Application and related food facility links but does not state a permit fee or a fixed inspection timeline on the page, so neither is given here; the City directs applicants to AHS at 1-833-476-4743 for timelines.
Related guides:
- How to Start a Catering Business in Canada — the national overview of catering startup and licensing.
- How to Start a Food Truck in Calgary — the full-service food truck route in the same city, under the same mobile food services rules.
- How to Start a Restaurant in Calgary — fixed-premises food service in Calgary, with the same AHS inspection step.
- How to Get a Food Handler Certificate in Canada — food handler training and certification across Canada.
Calgary location approval costs stated on the opened pages
| Home Occupation Class 1 location approval | $0, about 5 business days, no expiry |
|---|---|
| Home Occupation Class 2 development permit | $449 permit fee plus $32 advertising fee, $481 total; about 10 to 12 weeks |
Location approval is one part of the Calgary licence. The City's pages state that business licence fees vary by licence type and whether the business is home-based or commercial-based, and that all licence fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. Alberta Health Services permit fees are not stated on the pages opened for this guide.
Questions people ask
What City of Calgary licence does a caterer need?
It depends on where the food is prepared. Cooking food at home to cater events takes a Food Service — Premises licence, and all home-based food businesses in Calgary require a business licence and location approval. A catering truck is licensed under mobile food services, and food prepared and stored in a vehicle or a commercial kitchen, including catering trucks, falls under the food service — no premises type when it operates only on private property. Every Calgary business also needs location approval for its address.
Does Alberta Health Services have to inspect my Calgary catering kitchen?
Yes. The City of Calgary states that an Alberta Health Services location inspection is required for public safety, and that any business involving the sale, preparation, manufacturing, or storage of food products requires this inspection. Contact AHS at 1-833-476-4743 to book, and submit the results to the Planning Services Centre in person or by email to licencedivisionteam@calgary.ca.
Can a Calgary caterer cook in a rented hall kitchen?
Only in two specific scenarios the City names. A commercial caterer cannot operate its business from a community association hall, but can use the hall's kitchen to prepare food for a function within the hall, or to prepare food for delivery at a different location if it is an hourly rental of the hall's kitchen, the caterer has a business licence, and no storage of food occurs at the hall.
Can I serve alcohol with catered meals in Calgary?
The City states a catering business can only provide alcohol with meals served along with catered events for private social functions, such as a wedding. A catering business can store alcohol at its premises if it is not sold for consumption on, away from, or at the premises, and in that situation no alcohol beverage sales or liquor store licence is required. A caterer that promotes or organizes a public event and sells tickets to the general public may need alcohol beverage sales, food service — premises, and entertainment establishment licence types.
What is the difference between Home Occupation Class 1 and Class 2 in Calgary?
Class 1 is the default location approval, applied for automatically with the licence, at no fee and with no expiry. Class 2 is a development permit needed when the home business does not meet all Class 1 rules, for example using a kitchen in the home for a food-related business, having 4 to 15 business visits a week, or having an employee who does not live in the home. Class 2 costs $449 plus a $32 advertising fee and takes about 10 to 12 weeks.
Does a Calgary food premises need a grease interceptor?
Yes, if it prepares, processes, or serves food or beverages containing fats, oils, and grease. Under the City of Calgary Wastewater Bylaw 14M2012, food service establishments must install a properly sized grease interceptor approved and certified to ASME A112 or CSA B481 standards, or equivalent.
Sources
- City of Calgary, Home-Based Food Business — all home-based food businesses require a business licence and location approval, cooking at home to cater events under Food Service — Premises, the Class 1 and Class 2 home occupation rules, fees, and timelines, the community hall kitchen scenarios, the caterer alcohol rule, the personal chef distinction, and the Alberta low-risk home-prepared food note.
- City of Calgary, Mobile Food Vendors — business licensing — a municipal licence required for mobile food services including catering trucks, food service — no premises covering food prepared in a commercial kitchen including catering trucks, the caterer alcohol and private property consent rules, the AHS Health Inspection (Health Recommendation Report) requirement and contact number, and licence fees being non-refundable and non-transferable.
- Alberta Health Services, Open a Business — Environmental Public Health — the food facility resources for a Calgary caterer: Starting a Food Business, the Food Handling Permit Application, Low Risk Home-Prepared Foods, Mobile Food Establishments, Pay Permit Fee, and Permission to Use an Approved Food Establishment.