Used Merchandise - business guide
Businesses that offer secured money loans to a person using personal property as collateral require a pawnbroker licence. Businesses acquiring second-hand property for the purpose of selling require a municipal business licence.
Examples of businesses that do require municipal licensing:
Do
- Antique or gold buyers
- Consignment stores
- Loan offices
- Pawn shops
- Thrift stores
- Traveling road shows
- Dismantling vehicles for the purpose of selling parts
- Flea markets
Examples of businesses that do not require municipal licensing:
Don't
- Banks and credit unions
- Electronic recycle drop off where there are no business transactions
- Personal sales: garage sales, yard sales, moving sales and estate sales
- Provincially-licenced auction sales
To speed up the business licence approvals process, customers with a myID business account can receive a digital copy of their business licence via email. Customers applying for a new business licence or renewing an existing licence can use this service. To learn more about the benefits of a myID business account, please visit myID business account (calgary.ca).
Rules and regulations
Auction sales
An auction would require a licence as a second-hand dealer if:
- The business offers the second-hand property for sale without holding an auction.
- The goods are purchased by the auction or auctioneer for resale.
Antique buyers, gold buyers and travelling road shows
Antique buyers, gold buyers and travelling road shows that set up temporarily in hotels, malls or other commercial locations within the city require a second-hand dealer licence, regardless of the event's length of time.
Additional licence regulations
If selling used guns and ammunition, contact the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at 1-800-731-4000. The chief firearms officer of Alberta requires proof that a municipal licence has been issued before an applicant can obtain a federal gun dealer's licence.
Fees
For business licence fees, see the Business Licence Fee Schedule. The business licence fee schedule is broken down by licence type. If your business requires multiple licence types, the highest category fee will be charged.
These fees do not include the costs related to required permits to meet land use approval, or any third-party approvals or inspections that may be required to obtain your licence.
Apply
Prepare your application
Once you know how and where your business will operate, you’re ready to apply.
For a smooth application, make sure you know the following information:
- Business Activities
- Location of Business
- Fee payment at the time of application*
- Ownership
- Name of Business
- Contact information for the business and owner
- If you are applying online, a myID account
You will be contacted by a file manager to review your application and provide you with next steps.
Required
| Licence type | Land use | Police | Fire | Health | Provincial | AMVIC | ID card |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pawnbroker | |||||||
| Payday lender | |||||||
| Secondhand dealer | |||||||
| Retail dealer - premises | |||||||
| Motor dealer - premises |
Land use approval
All businesses in Calgary require land use approval. Each space in a building has its own specified, approved use that cannot be changed without an approval, permit or both.
To view the allowable uses within a land use district, refer to the Land Use Bylaw. To determine the land use district of a property, visit myProperty.
You can also refer to Commercial, industrial and mulit-residential for more information, or contact our Planning Services Centre at 403-268-5311 to investigate land use approval for your business.
Calgary Police Services approval
This licence type requires recommendation by the Calgary Police Service through the Police Information Checks unit. Approval is completed by the Calgary Police Service and is initiated on your behalf through your business licence application. Please note that previous police checks cannot be used as a substitute for this approval process.
You are required to provide two pieces of valid, government issued identification, one of which must contain photo identification (ID).
You can show your ID:
- In person at the Planning Services Centre:
3rd floor
800 Macleod Trail S.E.
Calgary, AB
- By email: licencedivisionteam@calgary.ca
- By fax: 403-537-3034
Please reference your Business ID (BID) in the email or fax.
Please note: for licenses requiring a statutory declaration or a City-issued ID card, proof of identification must be shown in person.
This approval generally takes about two weeks.
Acceptable forms of government issued photo identification include:
- driver’s license
- passport
- Alberta photo identification card (issued through registry offices)
- firearms license
- Nexus card
- permanent resident card
- Secure Certificate of Indian Status card (federally issued)
- aviation document booklet
- certified refugee protection claimant document
(For youth between the ages of 12 to 15 years old who cannot provide any of the listed photo identification options, a student photo ID will be considered).
Acceptable forms of government issued identification include:
- provincial health care card
- birth certificate
- marriage certificate
- immigration documentation (includes valid document issued by Immigration and citizenship Canada)
- citizenship card
- citizenship certificate
Fire Prevention Bureau approval
Provincial licensing approval
Certain business activities require provincial licensing in addition to your municipal business license. These activities are identified as licence types on the chart above.
Contact Service Alberta at 1-780-427-4088 (or toll free in Alberta only at 1-877-427-4088) and provide details of the licence types you are currently applying for. Service Alberta will direct you to the appropriate provincial contact. They will provide further direction in regard to fulfilling the provincial licensing requirements.
Provincial licenses must be submitted to The City’s licence division to obtain the municipal license.
You can present your provincial licence:
- In person at the Planning Services Centre:
3rd floor
800 Macleod Trail S.E.
Calgary, AB
- By email: licencedivisionteam@calgary.ca
- By fax: 403-537-3034
Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council (AMVIC)
The Alberta government requires a license for certain motor vehicle business activities. You must contact the Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council (AMVIC) at 1-877-979-8100 for details about obtaining a provincial licence.
AMVIC requires confirmation of City planning approvals before they will issue a provincial AMVIC licence. Once AMVIC issues your provincial licence, you must provide it to The City of Calgary, which will then release your municipal business licence.
Applicants can present the AMVIC license:
- In person at the Planning Services Centre:
3rd floor
800 Macleod Trail S.E.
Calgary, AB
- By email: licencedivisionteam@calgary.ca