How to Start in Canada

How to Start a Restaurant in Quebec City

Open a restaurant in Quebec City: the City occupancy permit and zoning quotas, the MAPAQ restaurant permit, and the RACJ restaurant liquor permit.

Written November 10, 2026 · 11 min read

Applies in: Quebec

The short answer

Zoning and the quota first, then the City occupancy permit, then the MAPAQ food permit — with the liquor permit on its own track. To open a restaurant in Quebec City you need approvals from three separate bodies: the Ville de Québec for zoning and the occupancy permit, the Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ) for the food permit, and the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux (RACJ) for a liquor permit if you serve alcohol. This guide walks the Quebec City mechanics only, and it is distinct from the Montreal restaurant guide: Quebec City has its own zoning bylaw, its own quota districts, and its own occupancy permit process. The national restaurant guide covers the parts that are the same everywhere in Canada; nothing in this guide repeats it.

French permit names appear once each in this guide, in English text throughout: the permis de restauration is the MAPAQ restaurant permit, the permis d'occupation is the City occupancy permit, and the attestation de formation de gestionnaire d'établissement alimentaire is the food establishment manager training attestation.

Step 1: Check zoning and the restaurant quota for your district

Before you file anything with MAPAQ, check with the municipality whether a food business is allowed at the address where you will operate. Quebec City's zoning bylaw sets the rules, and in some districts restaurants and alcohol outlets are subject to a quota: the quota is set for each zone, with a minimum distance between establishments and a maximum floor area for an establishment. Those quota rules do not apply to an alcohol outlet in a building with more than 10,000 square metres of floor area, in a hotel, or holding a club permit.

One quota rule is worth knowing at the planning stage: if an alcohol outlet that holds a permit has not operated for more than six months, the permit issued becomes void, and the use cannot begin or operate again without obtaining a new occupancy permit. A previous tenant's old permit is not something you inherit. Check the quota and the distance rules for your address before you sign a lease, because a district that has hit its quota cannot take another restaurant no matter how good the space is.

Step 2: Get the City occupancy permit

Quebec City issues an occupancy permit for the premises, the permis d'occupation, through its building-management division (Division de la gestion du cadre bâti). It confirms the premises may be occupied for the restaurant use. The zoning bylaw treats the occupancy permit as the document that lets a restaurant or alcohol use start again after a lapse, so get it in hand before you spend on the build-out.

The City pages opened for this guide do not publish the fee for the occupancy permit, so this guide states no figure for it — confirm the current fee with the City at 311 when you apply. Do not use Montreal's occupancy permit fees here: Montreal runs its own borough process with its own fees, and Quebec City's are different.

Step 3: Apply for the MAPAQ restaurant permit

You must receive your permit before starting your activities, and you must display it where customers can see it. The permit is valid for one year, and it is neither refundable nor transferable.

MAPAQ issues the permit for restaurants and retail food sale under the same application. For a restaurant, choose the category that matches your operation:

  • General preparation: $367 a year. This is the category for a restaurant that prepares meals.
  • Holding food hot or cold: $283 a year. For an operation that holds prepared food at temperature rather than cooking it.
  • General preparation with a buffet: $566 a year. For a restaurant that prepares food and runs a buffet.
  • Holding hot or cold with a buffet: $566 a year.

A first application also carries a file-opening fee of $144, which is not refundable. So a first-year general preparation permit costs $367 plus $144, or $511 in total. Incomplete applications are not processed, so complete every section of the form, including your Quebec enterprise number (NEQ).

The application also sets the sanitary layout requirements for the premises: a dedicated food preparation area, a sink in the preparation area, and hot and cold running drinking water at 60 degrees Celsius or more. MAPAQ's permit office is at 200 chemin Sainte-Foy, 10th floor, Québec, QC G1R 4X6, reachable at 418-380-2130 or toll-free at 1-800-463-6210, and by email at permislegers@mapaq.gouv.qc.ca. Phone service runs Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Step 4: Name the trained food safety manager

The MAPAQ application requires you to designate a person responsible for food hygiene and safety who holds the food establishment manager training attestation. Name that person on the application. This is a named-person requirement, not a general staff rule: one designated manager holds the attestation, and the permit file records who that is.

Plan the training before opening week. If your designated manager leaves, the permit file needs a replacement who holds the attestation, so do not build the opening around a single person with no backup.

Step 5: Apply for the RACJ restaurant permit, if you serve alcohol

To serve alcohol you need a liquor permit from the RACJ. The permit classes that matter to a restaurant are the restaurant permit, the bar permit, and the accessory permit. A restaurant permit fits a business whose main activity is serving food; a bar permit fits a business whose main activity is selling alcohol; an accessory permit covers alcohol service as an accessory to another main activity.

The duties are set by the Regulation respecting duties and costs payable under the Act respecting liquor permits, indexed as of April 1, 2025:

  • Restaurant permit: $674 fixed duty, payable on issue and annually after that.
  • Variable duty: $0.75 per person who may be admitted at one time, as set by the board, up to a maximum of $800. Where the board does not set a capacity, the variable amount is $50.
  • Bar permit: $674 fixed duty, with the same variable duty.
  • Accessory permit: $395 fixed duty.

So a restaurant with a board-set capacity of 100 people pays $674 plus $75, or $749 a year; a restaurant with a capacity of 1,200 people pays $674 plus the $800 maximum, or $1,474 a year. For a one-off event rather than a permanent permit, the RACJ charges $33.25 per day to serve alcohol, up to six times that amount, or $60.50 per day to sell alcohol, up to five times that amount.

If you want a café-terrasse on the public domain

A terrace on the sidewalk or in a street parking space is a separate authorisation, not part of the restaurant permits above. For summer 2026, renting the public-domain space for a café-terrasse is free, but two authorisations are still required. First, a certificat d'autorisation (permit) from the City's Gestion du territoire, which is needed only once, not every year. Second, a signed entente with the City for occupation of the public domain, renewed every year. After the certificate, a restaurant that wants to serve alcohol on the terrace must ask the RACJ to amend its operating permit. The application for the annual entente goes to degp.location@ville.quebec.qc.ca with proof of $2,000,000 civil liability insurance naming the City of Québec as an additional insured, with a 30-day notice clause if the policy is cancelled. Once authorised, the terrace may be installed from April 15, once spring cleaning is done, and must be removed by October 31 of the same year. A straight pedestrian corridor at least 1.75 metres wide must be kept clear on the sidewalk at all times, and no shelter may be built over a temporary terrace on the public domain — parasols only. Terraces in declared, classified, or cited heritage sites, or in protection areas, also need the Commission d'urbanisme et de conservation de Québec (CUCQ).

The order that avoids rework

Check zoning and the district quota first, then get the occupancy permit, then file the MAPAQ application with the trained manager named. Start the RACJ application early, because its duty depends on the capacity the board sets for your room. The expensive mistake is signing a lease in a district that has hit its restaurant quota, or opening without the MAPAQ permit in hand — the permit must be received before activities start, and it must be displayed where customers can see it.

What the opened pages do not state

Three figures a reader would reasonably want are not stated on the official pages opened for this guide, so they are not carried here. The City pages do not publish the fee for the occupancy permit, so this guide states no figure for it. The RACJ regulation states the duties but not a processing time for a restaurant permit application, so this guide states no timeline for it. The MAPAQ pages do not publish a processing time for a restaurant permit application either, so this guide states no timeline for that. Confirm the occupancy permit fee with the City at 311, and ask MAPAQ and the RACJ for their current processing times when you apply.

Related guides:

Opening a restaurant in Quebec City, in order

  1. Check zoning and the restaurant quota for your districtSome districts cap the number of restaurants and alcohol outlets, with minimum distances between them and a maximum floor area
  2. Get the City occupancy permitThe permis d'occupation, issued by the City's building-management division, confirms the premises may be used as a restaurant
  3. Apply for the MAPAQ restaurant permitGeneral preparation costs $367 a year, plus a $144 file-opening fee on a first application; the permit is valid for one year
  4. Name the trained food safety managerDesignate a person responsible for food hygiene who holds the food establishment manager training attestation
  5. Apply for the RACJ restaurant permit if serving alcoholThe fixed duty is $674, plus $0.75 per person of capacity up to a maximum of $800
  6. Open with the permits displayedThe MAPAQ permit must be received before activities start and displayed where customers can see it

Questions people ask

What City permit does a Quebec City restaurant need?

A permis d'occupation, an occupancy permit issued by the City's building-management division, confirming the premises may be used as a restaurant. Check zoning first: under the City zoning bylaw, some districts cap the number of restaurants and alcohol outlets, set a minimum distance between them, and set a maximum floor area for an establishment. The City pages opened for this guide do not publish the fee for the occupancy permit, so confirm it with the City at 311 before budgeting.

How much is the MAPAQ restaurant permit in Quebec City?

For a restaurant permit, general preparation costs $367 a year, holding food hot or cold costs $283 a year, and general preparation with a buffet costs $566 a year. A first application also carries a $144 file-opening fee. The permit is valid for one year and is neither refundable nor transferable.

Who needs food safety training in a Quebec City restaurant?

You must designate a person responsible for food hygiene and safety who holds the food establishment manager training attestation. That person is named on the MAPAQ permit application, and the permit form also sets sanitary layout requirements for the premises, including a dedicated food preparation area, a sink in the preparation area, and hot and cold running drinking water.

What does the RACJ restaurant permit cost?

The fixed duty for a restaurant permit is $674, payable on issue and annually after that. On top of that, a variable duty of $0.75 per person who may be admitted at one time applies, up to a maximum of $800. Where the board does not set a capacity, the variable amount is $50. A bar permit carries the same $674 fixed duty, and an accessory permit carries a $395 fixed duty.

Can I open a restaurant anywhere in Quebec City?

No. Before applying for the MAPAQ permit, you must check with the municipality whether a food business is allowed at the address where you will operate. In districts where restaurants and alcohol outlets are subject to a quota, the quota is set per zone, with a minimum distance between establishments and a maximum floor area. If an alcohol outlet has not operated for more than six months, its permit becomes void and the use cannot start again without a new occupancy permit.

Do I need the MAPAQ permit before I open?

Yes. You must receive your permit before starting your activities, and you must display it where customers can see it. The permit is valid for one year. Apply before you commit to an opening date, and check with your municipality first that a food business is allowed at your address.

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