The Metro West Inter-Municipal Business Licence (IMBL) lets an eligible business licensed in one of six cities — Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Delta and New Westminster — work in all six on one licence. It costs $300 a year (not pro-rated), paid on top of your home-city business licence, and you apply through your home municipality.
Eligibility is narrow: construction and trades businesses doing maintenance, repair or inspection of land and buildings, and health-care providers who visit clients at home. Each participating city applies the eligibility test to its own applicants — confirm with your home city before you rely on it.
Why Metro Vancouver needs an inter-municipal licence at all
There is no province-wide business licence in BC. Licensing is municipal, and Metro Vancouver is more than twenty municipalities with a border every few kilometres. A mobile trade that works in Vancouver on Monday, Burnaby on Tuesday and Surrey on Wednesday would, strictly, need a non-resident licence in each. The IMBL — some cities still call it a Mobile Business Licence — was created in 2013 so eligible mobile businesses could buy one licence instead.
Which cities are in the Metro West IMBL
Six: the City of Vancouver, City of Burnaby, City of Richmond, City of Surrey, City of Delta and City of New Westminster. Notably not included are the Tri-Cities, the North Shore and the Fraser Valley — a business working there still needs the relevant city's licence. Richmond adds one wrinkle: Richmond-based businesses must hold a valid Richmond business licence in addition to the IMBL.
The Tri-Cities have their own — and it's broader
Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody run a separate Tri-Cities Intermunicipal Business Licence: $175 a year, not pro-rated, added to your principal licence in whichever of the three you're based in, and valid across all three. Its eligibility is much wider than Metro West's — the cities list contractors of all types, trades, mobile mechanics, landscaping, janitorial and pest control — so a Coquitlam cleaner or landscaper who wouldn't qualify for Metro West usually does qualify here. It does not extend into Burnaby or Vancouver; a Tri-Cities business working west of the Brunette still needs those cities' non-resident licences.
Who qualifies — and what that means trade by trade
The bylaw language is "construction or trades industry providing services such as maintenance, repair or inspection of land and buildings," plus in-home health care since 2025. Applied to the trades we launch, and subject to your home city's reading of it:
| Trade | Generally eligible? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Painting | Usually yes | Maintenance and repair of buildings |
| Handyman & repairs | Usually yes | Maintenance and repair of buildings |
| Gutter cleaning & guards | Usually yes | Building maintenance |
| Pressure washing & soft wash | Often yes | Exterior building maintenance — confirm locally |
| HVAC | Yes | Construction trade |
| Epoxy flooring | Yes | Construction / flooring installation |
| Landscaping | Often yes | Maintenance of land — confirm locally |
| House & office cleaning | Usually no | Not a construction or building-repair trade |
| Mobile auto detailing | No | Vehicles, not land or buildings |
| Junk removal | Usually no | Hauling, not construction — some cities differ |
If your trade isn't eligible, the route is a business licence in your home city plus non-resident licences in the other cities you regularly work in — or, for many cleaners and detailers, simply a home licence and a service area that stays inside it until the volume justifies more.
What it costs
The IMBL fee is $300 per year across all six cities, paid on top of — not instead of — your regular business licence in your home municipality. It is not pro-rated, so buying it in November costs the same as buying it in January, and it runs on the same term as your home licence. The fee was $250 from 2013 until the participating councils approved the increase to $300 for 2025. Vancouver's own business licence is $376 for a general contractor and $277 for building repair and maintenance services in 2026, plus a $77 application fee; other cities vary. Together, a Vancouver-based contractor is looking at roughly $600+ a year in municipal licensing — which is why our worked fee example for a Vancouver contractor comes in higher than the Richmond or Burnaby ones.
How to apply
- Hold, or apply for, a regular business licence in the city where your business is actually located — the IMBL is added to it, not issued on its own.
- Ask your home city's business-licence office for the Metro West IMBL application (Vancouver, Richmond and New Westminster publish the form online; the others issue it through the licence office).
- Describe your business activity accurately — this is what the eligibility decision is made on.
- Pay the $300 IMBL fee with your licence fee.
- Carry the licence: you're bound by the bylaws of every participating city you work in, and an IMBL suspended in one is suspended in all six.
Where Prontco fits
When we prepare your municipal licence application we assess the IMBL against your actual route — where you live, where the work is, whether your trade qualifies — and file for it when it's the economical choice. The fee is passed through at cost, and the eligibility decision and processing time belong to your city, not to us. See what's included →
Sources
City of Vancouver — Metro West IMBL · City of Richmond — Metro West IMBL · City of New Westminster — IMBL · City of Burnaby — business licences · City of Surrey — business licensing · City of Port Coquitlam — Tri-Cities IMBL · City of Coquitlam — business licences. Fees and eligibility are set by each participating council and verified September 2026; confirm with your home city before you rely on them.
Frequently asked
How much does the Metro West Inter-Municipal Business Licence cost?
$300 per year, not pro-rated, on top of your regular business licence in your home municipality. It was $250 from 2013 until the increase approved for 2025.
Which cities does the Metro West IMBL cover?
Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Delta and New Westminster. The Tri-Cities, the North Shore and the Fraser Valley are not included.
Is a cleaning business eligible for the IMBL?
Usually not. Eligibility is limited to construction and trades businesses doing maintenance, repair or inspection of land and buildings, plus in-home health care. Cleaners typically need a home licence plus non-resident licences where they work regularly — confirm with your home city.
Do I still need a Richmond business licence if I have an IMBL?
Yes. Richmond-based businesses must hold a valid City of Richmond business licence in addition to the Metro West IMBL.
Where do I apply for the IMBL?
Through the business-licence office of your home municipality — the city where your business is located and licensed. It is added to your existing licence.
Does the IMBL cover Coquitlam?
No. Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody are not part of the Metro West agreement. Check with those cities directly for their own inter-municipal or non-resident licence options.
Trade-specific launch guides
City guides