How to Start a Catering Business in Toronto

Written November 14, 2026

The short answer

A Toronto catering business is set up through the kitchen you cook in, not the events you serve. The City of Toronto business regulations page lists catering with a Municipal Operating Licence required if the business has a location, alongside zoning requirements, sign permits, food handler certification and a food premises inspection. On the public health side, you notify Toronto Public Health before you start, and your premises must hold a DineSafe PASS to operate. This guide covers Toronto mechanics only; the general business spine is in the national and Ontario catering guides linked below.

One boundary matters at the start. The same City page lists catering services that are not to the public among the businesses that do not require a Municipal Operating Licence. A caterer cooking from a commercial kitchen for paying clients sits on the licensed side of that line when the business has a location.

Step 1: Register the business name in Ontario

Businesses that operate under a name other than the owner's need to register with Service Ontario, and the City points you to the Ontario Business Registry for business name registrations and renewals, in person or online. The City's page also notes that a business will not be issued or renewed a licence until all overdue bylaw fines are paid in full, with proof of payment needed to complete a new application.

Since November 1, 2018, Municipal Licensing and Standards has required Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Checks for all business licence applications and renewals. A plain Criminal Record Check is not accepted in its place.

Step 2: Confirm zoning and signs for your kitchen location

The City's catering row carries zoning requirements and sign permits. The City of Toronto starting a food business page advises researching what legislation and by-laws may affect the business before you sign a lease, including confirming zoning by-laws and whether building plans must be submitted. Toronto Building is the contact for zoning, building, plumbing, mechanical, HVAC and sign permits, and Toronto Public Health will review building plans for newly constructed or renovated food premises.

Do this before committing to a commissary or shared kitchen address: the licence and the inspection both attach to the premises, not to your event calendar.

Step 3: Notify Toronto Public Health before you start

Every person who intends to operate a food premises within the City of Toronto must notify the Medical Officer of Health before starting, and the requirement also applies to operators purchasing an existing food premise. Use the Notify Toronto Public Health of a New Food Premises route linked from the City's starting a food business page, which covers fixed food premises, mobile food premises and home-based food premises.

After receiving your notification, a Toronto Public Health inspector will contact you and provide more information on the legislative requirements for starting a food business, including structural requirements for the premises and submitting plans where your kitchen is newly built or renovated.

Step 4: Get food handler certification for everyone who serves and handles food

The City states that food handler certification is required through your local public health unit for anyone who serves and handles food. Toronto Public Health has currently suspended its own program, so the City directs you to alternate authorized program providers listed through the Ontario Ministry of Health website. Build this into hiring: a new server or cook who handles food needs certification, not just the owner.

Step 5: Pass the DineSafe inspection, then keep the notice posted

All businesses serving food in Toronto must comply with the Ontario Food Premises Regulation as well as Toronto's Licensing By-Law No. 545, and premises must receive a PASS status by Toronto Public Health under DineSafe in order to operate. The City of Toronto About DineSafe page explains that the inspection system is based on the Ontario Food Premises Regulation (493/17) and municipal by-laws, with inspection frequency set according to risk levels.

Inspection results are public. The City posts results online on the DineSafe website, covering inspections conducted over the past two years, and an inspection notice is posted at the location of the premises. Infractions are classed as crucial, significant or minor: a Pass is issued when only minor or no infractions are observed, a Conditional Pass triggers a re-inspection within 24 to 48 hours, and a Closed notice follows a crucial infraction that is not corrected immediately where a health hazard is present.

Step 6: Apply for the Municipal Operating Licence

With the premises, zoning and public health steps in hand, apply through Municipal Licensing and Standards. The City of Toronto licences and permits page lists 416-392-6700 to speak to licensing staff and MLSBusinessLicence@toronto.ca for general inquiries, and carries the online renewal route for an existing licence or permit. If you will serve alcohol at catered events, the City's catering row also lists a Smart Serve Certificate on the provincial side, and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario regulates the sale, service and consumption of alcoholic beverages.

What the opened pages do not state

The City of Toronto pages opened for this guide — the business regulations page, the starting a food business page, the About DineSafe page and the licences and permits page — state the catering licence requirement, the notification duty, the certification rule and the PASS condition, but they do not state a dollar fee for the catering Municipal Operating Licence, a processing time for a catering licence application, or a set inspection fee for a fixed catering premises. This guide gives none of those figures; confirm the fee and timing with Municipal Licensing and Standards when you apply.

Related guides:

• How to Start a Catering Business in Canada — the national spine for catering: registration, taxes, insurance and equipment.
• How to Start a Catering Business in Ontario — the Ontario layer above Toronto's city rules.
• How to Get a Business Licence in Toronto — how Toronto business licensing works across categories.
• How to Get a Food Handler Certificate in Canada — food handler training and certification routes.
• How to Start a Restaurant in Toronto — the Toronto licence and inspection route for a sit-down premises.

Sources

• City of Toronto, Business Regulations, Licences & Permits — the catering row (Municipal Operating Licence required if the business has a location, zoning requirements, sign permits, food handler certification, food premises inspection, business registration and Smart Serve), catering services not to the public listed among businesses not requiring a Municipal Operating Licence, the PASS requirement under DineSafe, Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Checks for applications and renewals, and overdue bylaw fines blocking issue or renewal.
• City of Toronto, Starting a Food Business — the food premise definition including a commercial home kitchen, the duty to notify the Medical Officer of Health before starting (including when buying an existing premise), the notification route for fixed, mobile and home-based premises, inspector follow-up, plan review, and checking zoning before signing a lease.
• City of Toronto, About DineSafe — the DineSafe system based on Ontario Food Premises Regulation 493/17 and municipal by-laws, risk-based inspection frequency, the Pass, Conditional Pass and Closed notices, re-inspection within 24 to 48 hours after a Conditional Pass, and inspection details published for the past two years.
• City of Toronto, Licences & Permits — the 416-392-6700 licensing contact, the MLSBusinessLicence@toronto.ca inquiry address, and the online business licence and permit renewal route.