A valid business licence is required to conduct business in Penticton. Explore your options below to find out which licence best suits your business.
Business Licence Types
You are in the swing of things – an office or storefront location operating in a commercial or industrial area of the City.
- Our Economic Development team is happy to help! Find out about the local market and additional opportunities to leverage that will grow your business.
- Partnerships are key. Check out this list of business resources.
Thinking of renting your home? Learn more here about the licences required.
B&B
Anyone interested in opening a Bed and Breakfast within the City of Penticton should meet with our Planning Department prior to applying for a Business Licence to ensure the location is zoned correctly.
A Bed and Breakfast home means the use of a residence in which temporary overnight accommodation and breakfast is provided to tourists. Where permitted, is to be operated as an accessory use within a single detached dwelling with a maximum four sleeping units with accommodation for a maximum of two guests per sleeping unit. The licensed operator of a bed and breakfast home must reside in the dwelling in which the bed and breakfast operation is located.
Bed and Breakfast Inn
A Bed and Breakfast Inn means the use of a building containing dwelling units within which not more than 10 sleeping units may be rented for the temporary accommodation of the travelling public and where the room rate may include meals served on the premises.
*Bed and Breakfasts shall provide 1 parking stall per bedroom to a maximum of 3, plus 1 for the corresponding dwelling unit.
Are you operating a business out of a home located within a residential area? If so, this is the business type for you.
Is your main office based outside of city limits, but you serve Penticton customers? Do you serve Penticton customers and customers in the communities surrounding Penticton?
We have two different categories of business licences that help serve mobile businesses:
1. Inter-Community Business Licence
In partnership with the Provincial Ministry of Small Business and Revenue, The City of Penticton has entered into a Mobile Business Licence Program, with this program eligible businesses will only have to obtain one additional business licence to do business in another participating community. The “inter-community business licence” will allow you to do business in the 19 municipalities* in the program. The inter-community licence is an annual licence and is issued in addition to your City of Penticton business licence.
2. No Location
If your mobile business is located outside the City of Penticton limits and you don't have an office/location registered in your home municipality, then the “no location” licence is for you.
Eligible Businesses
Eligibility for an Inter-Community (Mobile) Business Licence is limited to any business that performs a service in more than one of the participating municipalities, and who provides the service by moving from client to client. A business that has a storefront but also provides a service by moving from client to client in more than one of the participating municipalities where they do not have a storefront would be eligible to apply for an Inter-Community (Mobile) Business Licence, but only for the portion of their business that would fall into the criteria (i.e. not the storefront). More specifically, this includes:
• contractors of all types (e.g. tradespeople, landscaping services, janitorial services, pest control, etc.)
• other service providers (e.g. massage therapist, photographer, mobile hair dresser/barber, etc).
It must be noted that the primary licence would be required for the storefront business and the mobile licence would be approved for only the portion of the business that fell within the Inter-Community (Mobile) Business Licence criteria.Ineligible
The following business types are ineligible for the Inter-Community (Mobile) Business Licence:
• Social escort services
• Vehicles for hire (for example, taxis, limousines or buses)
• Body-rub services (which includes the manipulating, touching or stimulating by any means, of a person's body or part thereof, but does not include medical, therapeutic or cosmetic massage treatment given by a person duly licensed or registered under any statute of the Province of British Columbia governing such activities or a therapeutic touch technique)
• Those businesses selling goods or services to clients from the same location and not moving from client to client (e.g., fruit stands/trucks, mobile stores, mobile vendors, flea markets, carnivals, trade shows etc.)Municipalities involved in the Inter-Community Business Licence Program are:
- City of Armstrong
- Regional District of Central Okanagan
- District of Coldstream
- City of Enderby
- City of Kelowna
- Village of Keremeos
- District of Lake Country
- Village of Lumby
- Town of Oliver
- Town of Osoyoos
- District of Peachland
- City of Penticton
- Town of Princeton
- City of Salmon Arm
- District of Sicamous
- Township of Spallumcheen
- District of Summerland
- City of Vernon
- City of West Kelowna
Your business is all about warm beaches. Or maybe you succeed when the snow flies. Either way, there are two types of seasonal business licences to choose from 6 months or 1 month.
3 Easy Steps to Apply for Your Licence
You can start with BizPal online service, a free service that determines which permits and licences are required from all levels of government (federal, provincial, territorial and municipal).
If you have questions about licensing, zoning or possible health or building code requirements, our business licensing representatives can point you in the right direction. Ph: 250-490-2488, businesslicences@penticton.ca.
Is your business new to B.C.? If you're just getting started, visit B.C.’s OneStop Business Registry to register and obtain B.C. business numbers. There, you can apply for and complete registrations for new or existing businesses with local, provincial and federal governments.
If your business is already registered within the province, you can move ahead to step #3.
Is your business new to Penticton? Complete our application form to apply for a City of Penticton business licence. A City representative will contact you to complete the process.
Note: If you have already applied for a business licence through OneStop, you don't need to complete this form. Our team will contact you for further information.
Business licence approvals can vary, depending on the licence type. Typically, as long as your business is within an appropriate zone, and you do not require additional approvals from other agencies, a business licence can be issued within 2-3 weeks.
If you're planning on substantial renovations or have a business that doesn't quite fit within the established zoning, this may take a bit more time.
To ensure your application can be processed as quickly as possible, provide accurate information and a full description of your business. For Contractor or Trades licences, please ensure you include a copy of your Trade Qualification Numbers.
Business licence fees vary. Please contact our licensing clerk to find out which fees apply to you. You can pay:
- In person (cash, debit, cheque or money order)
- By mail (cheque or money order with renewal notice enclosed)
- After hours drop box (cheque or money order with renewal notice enclosed)
- Online using MyPayments
Have Questions?
Our business licensing representatives will point you in the right direction and provide everything you need to know about licensing, zoning or possible health or building code requirements.
Business Licensing
Phone: 250-490-2488
Email: businesslicences@penticton.ca