How to Start a Food Truck in Toronto
Permits, fees, and health steps for a Toronto food truck: the V15 licence, mobile vending permit, DineSafe rules, and the commissary requirement.
How to Start a Food Truck in Ottawa
Ottawa licences food trucks as mobile refreshment vehicles: $263 to $3,862 a year for an urban vehicle, about three weeks to process, with Ottawa Public Health approval, fire code compliance, and a Designated Space Permit for City roads and sidewalks.
Applies in: Ontario
The short answer
Ottawa does not use the words food truck in its licensing. It licences a mobile refreshment vehicle: any motor vehicle or trailer from which refreshments are cooked, carried, or offered for sale to the general public. The fee is a range, not a single figure — $263 to $3,862 for an urban vehicle — the timeline is about three weeks, and the licence sits on top of Ottawa Public Health approval, fire code compliance, and a site permission that changes depending on whether you park on private property, a City street, or at an event.
Ontario's province-wide food premises rules sit behind all of this. This guide covers Ottawa's licence layer only.
Step 1: Classify the truck correctly
Ottawa's mobile classes are split by how the food reaches the customer:
- Mobile refreshment vehicle. A motor vehicle or trailer from which refreshments are cooked, carried, or offered for sale to the public. This is the standard food truck.
- Mobile canteen. A motor vehicle selling food products and beverages that are prepared and cooked elsewhere, to individuals at their place of employment — the industrial-park lunch run, not a public truck.
- Mobile refreshment cart. A hand-powered or pedal-powered vehicle, including ice cream and frozen milk products.
- Refreshment stand. A temporary structure selling refreshments to the public.
The class decides the fee band and parts of the file, so classify before you apply. A trailer that cooks on board is a vehicle; the same trailer selling sandwiches made in a commissary kitchen to office workers is closer to a canteen, and the City will license what the truck actually does.
Step 2: Budget inside the range, then confirm your band
The City's published approximate costs are: cart $263 to $730, urban vehicle $263 to $3,862, rural vehicle $203 to $622, canteen $280 to $884, and stand $259 to $956. Fees vary according to the type of licence, and the City summary does not break the range down by setup.
That spread is too wide to budget blind. The City routes questions to its Business Information Officer at 613-580-2745 or bio1stop@ottawa.ca — one call settles which part of the range your truck, your menu, and your operating area land in. Ottawa also runs a Business Ambassador Service that builds a custom road map for food businesses; food establishment packages there take about four to six weeks per package, which is a second reason to start before the season does.
Step 3: Clear health, fire, and equipment checks
The licence requirements tie the truck to three approvals:
- Ottawa Public Health approval. The vehicle, cart, or stand must be approved by Ottawa Public Health. Ontario's Food Premises Regulation sits behind this: a certified food handler or supervisor on the premises during every operating hour, and the regulation's standards for water, refrigeration, and food contact surfaces apply to a truck as they do to a restaurant.
- Fire code compliance. The unit must comply with the fire code.
- TSSA inspection. A certificate of inspection by the Technical Standards and Safety Association is required as it applies — the propane and fuel side of the truck.
The application file needs full details of the vehicle, cart, or stand — make, model, style, and dimensions, the equipment, and photos — plus proof the location complies with zoning, building code, fire code, and property standards for the activities proposed, and Commercial General Liability insurance at the level the permit type requires.
Step 4: Get the site permission that matches the ground
Ottawa asks where the truck will stand, and the answer changes the paperwork:
- Private property: written authorization from the property owner, granting permission to use the property for the purpose applied for.
- City roads and sidewalks: a valid Designated Space Permit under the Designated Space By-law (No. 2007-478).
- Special events: written confirmation from the event organizer, with the application form, documents, and payment submitted to By-law and Regulatory Services before the event starts.
A licence without a lawful place to park is a truck that can cook and cannot sell. Secure the site first, then file.
Step 5: Apply, and allow the three weeks
Apply in person at the Business Licensing Centre, 735 Industrial Avenue, or online through the City's business application form. The applicant must be 18 years of age and the operator of the business. The City's approximate timeline is three weeks, and it warns the timeline may run longer — an application filed in late April for a May opening is a gamble, not a plan.
What the opened pages do not state
The City page gives fee ranges without the per-setup breakdown, so this guide cannot tell an individual truck where inside $263 to $3,862 it lands — only the Business Information Officer can. The page also does not state a licence term or renewal date for the mobile refreshment classes, and it does not publish an Ottawa Public Health inspection fee, so neither appears here.
Related guides:
- How to Start a Food Truck in Ontario — the provincial frame, including how each Ontario city's licence differs.
- Food Truck Permits and Licences in Canada — the national permit map for mobile food businesses.
- How to Start a Restaurant in Ottawa — the fixed-premises Ottawa route: a food premises licence instead of a vehicle licence.
- How to Start a Bakery in Ottawa — an Ottawa bakeshop under the City's food premises licence, $298 a year.
- Starting a Food Truck in Canada Checklist — the Canada-wide checklist these Ottawa steps sit inside.
Starting a food truck in Ottawa, in five steps
- Pick the right licence classA motor vehicle or trailer that cooks or sells refreshments takes a mobile refreshment vehicle licence; food cooked elsewhere and sold at workplaces takes a mobile canteen licence.
- Budget the City's rangeAn urban vehicle licence runs $263 to $3,862 and a rural vehicle $203 to $622, with the band set by the type of licence.
- Get Ottawa Public Health approvalThe vehicle must comply with the fire code and be approved by Ottawa Public Health before the licence issues.
- Line up the site permissionPrivate property needs the owner's written authorization; City roads and sidewalks need a Designated Space Permit.
- Allow about three weeksThe City gives an approximate timeline of three weeks, and warns it may run longer.
Questions people ask
What licence does a food truck need in Ottawa?
A mobile refreshment vehicle licence from the City of Ottawa. The City requires it for any motor vehicle or trailer from which refreshments are cooked, carried, or offered for sale to the general public. A truck that sells food prepared and cooked elsewhere to people at their place of employment falls under a different class, the mobile canteen licence.
How much does an Ottawa food truck licence cost?
The City publishes ranges, because the fee varies by licence type. A mobile refreshment vehicle in the urban area runs $263 to $3,862, and a rural vehicle $203 to $622. The neighbouring classes are a cart at $263 to $730, a canteen at $280 to $884, and a stand at $259 to $956. The City does not publish which setup lands where in the range, so confirm your band with the Business Information Officer before budgeting.
How long does the Ottawa licence take?
About three weeks, on the City's own approximate timeline, with the warning that timelines are approximate and may be longer due to unforeseen circumstances. Apply at the Business Licensing Centre at 735 Industrial Avenue, or online through the City's business application form.
What approvals does the truck itself need?
The vehicle, cart, or stand must comply with the fire code and be approved by Ottawa Public Health, and a certificate of inspection from the Technical Standards and Safety Association (TSSA) is required where it applies. The application also needs full details of the vehicle — make, model, style, dimensions, and equipment — with photos.
Can I park an Ottawa food truck on a City street?
Only with a Designated Space Permit, issued under the City's Designated Space By-law for City roads and sidewalks. On private property, the requirement is written authorization from the property owner granting permission to use the property for the purpose applied for. For special events, the event organizer's written confirmation and the application package go to By-law and Regulatory Services before the event starts.
What else does the City ask for?
The applicant must be 18 years of age and the operator of the business, the location must comply with zoning, building code, fire code, and property standards requirements for the activities proposed, and the business must carry Commercial General Liability insurance, with the amount varying by the type of permit requested. Questions go to the Business Information Officer at 613-580-2745 or bio1stop@ottawa.ca.
Sources
- City of Ottawa, Mobile Refreshment Cart, Mobile Refreshment Vehicle, Mobile Canteen and Refreshment Stand Licence — the licence class definitions, the fee ranges, the three-week timeline, the public health, fire code, TSSA, insurance, and site permission requirements.
- City of Ottawa, Food Premises Licence — the fixed-premises counterpart, covering bakeshops, cafés, and restaurants, and the line the City draws between premises and refreshment vehicles.
- City of Ottawa, From Permit to Plate — the Business Ambassador Service and its four-to-six-week food establishment package timeline.