- Burnaby business licences — apply online or in person; the 2026 fee schedule by category is linked from that page
- Home-based rules worth knowing: only residents of the address can be employed in the business, and in residential zones one commercial vehicle under 4,500 kg may be kept — rear yard only
- Metro West Inter-Municipal Business Licence — Burnaby is a participating city; contact Licensing at 604-294-7320 (our guide)
- BC Registries — register a sole proprietorship · CRA — when to register for GST
Every Burnaby application carries a non-refundable application fee on top of the licence fee; you're invoiced for both once the application is approved. Licences run 12 months.
Burnaby is quietly one of the best home bases in the region. The city mixes dense condo nodes (Metrotown, Brentwood, Lougheed — all still building) with established single-family neighbourhoods (Burnaby Heights, Deer Lake, the Crest) that generate steady maintenance, cleaning, painting, and yard demand. Its central position means a Burnaby-based operator reaches Vancouver, New Westminster, Coquitlam, and Richmond inside a 25-minute drive.
That geography matters for a service business: your real market is a drive-time radius, and Burnaby's radius covers more paying households than almost anywhere else in BC. Many Prontco clients based here run multi-city operations from day one — which makes the Inter-municipal Business Licence conversation especially relevant.
Business licensing in Burnaby
Burnaby is the only one of the five that charges a high first-year fee and a much lower renewal. Which of the two categories you land in depends on whether you're licensed as a contractor or as a home-based business — ask before you apply, because the first-year gap is $44 and the renewal gap is $12.
| Fee | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| BC Registries — name request | $30 | Up to three names |
| BC Registries — sole proprietorship | $40 | Or $350 to incorporate |
| City of Burnaby — Contractor — Misc (first year) | $378 | Annual |
| City of Burnaby — Contractor — Misc (renewal) | $133 | Annual |
| City of Burnaby — Home Based Business — General (first year) | $422 | Annual |
| City of Burnaby — Home Based Business — General (renewal) | $145 | Annual |
| City of Burnaby — application fee | $55 | Non-refundable, one time |
| Metro West Inter-Municipal Business Licence | $300 | Twelve months, not pro-rated. |
Read off Consolidated Fees and Charges Bylaw 14485, Schedule A2, as amended by Bylaw 14766 effective 1 January 2026 on 22 September 2026: the fee schedule itself, alongside the City of Burnaby licence page. Municipal fees change every year, so we confirm your exact figure before anything is filed and pass it through at cost.
The renewal clock
The licence runs 1 January to 31 December and is not pro-rated — apply in November and you pay the full year, then renew six weeks later. Burnaby mails a reminder 30 days before the due date. Late payment adds $53.
Burnaby will not process a licence application while there is an open building permit on the address. The application fee is non-refundable, so the building department (604-294-7130) is a free call worth making first.
Working in more than one city
The Metro West Inter-Municipal Business Licence is $300 and covers Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Delta and New Westminster on one licence, for trades contractors and others in the construction industry, contractors who maintain, repair or inspect land and buildings, and in-home health-care providers. Twelve months, not pro-rated. The bylaw is worth two minutes before you pay it.
Running it from home in Burnaby
Nearly every business we launch starts in a spare room and a driveway, and each of the five cities licences that differently. Burnaby’s rules, as written:
- Only people who live at the address may work in the business. No non-resident staff at all — the strictest staffing rule of the five.
- One customer and one customer vehicle at a time, maximum.
- No outdoor storage of materials, containers or finished product; no manufacturing or welding.
- In the R1–R8 residential districts, one commercial vehicle up to 4,500 kg, parked in the rear yard.
From City of Burnaby home-based business licence rules and Zoning Bylaw home-occupation provisions — read it in full. Breaching one of these is how a licence gets refused after you have paid for it, which is why we read them before we file.
What works in the Burnaby market
Strong Burnaby niches: recurring cleaning for the tower districts (Metrotown and Brentwood turnover is constant), landscaping and lawn care in the single-family belts, handyman services for the city's large stock of 1960s–80s homes, and pressure washing — north-facing Burnaby Mountain-area properties grow moss like a crop.
Launched in Burnaby in about 10 business days
Registration, Burnaby business licence filing, brand, website, online booking, payments, Google Business Profile, and 30 days of support — from $997. You do the work you're great at; we build the company around it.
Book a free launch callBurnaby startup FAQ
How much is a Burnaby business licence?
Fees vary by business category and are set in the city's current fee schedule — most small service businesses land in the low hundreds of dollars per year. We confirm your trade's current fee when preparing the application.
Can I serve Vancouver from a Burnaby base?
Yes — and most Burnaby-based operators do. Working regularly in other municipalities generally means licensing there too, which is where the Inter-municipal Business Licence often becomes the economical answer. We map this to your actual service area during setup.
What trades are underserved in Burnaby?
Small-job handyman work and recurring residential cleaning stand out — demand from the condo boom has outpaced the supply of professional, bookable operators. Yard care in the single-family neighbourhoods also skews toward informal competitors, which is winnable ground.
What each trade charges, and what Burnaby charges it
Burnaby charges a steep first year and a much lighter renewal, and does not pro-rate, so the month you file in is worth real money. Nine trades we launch, priced by the engine behind our public calculators and calibrated to 2026 Metro Vancouver rates, next to what Burnaby charges each one to licence. Click a trade to price a job of your own.
| Trade | Market range | Burnaby licence |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning | $40–$75 an hour | $378 first year, $133 to renew |
| Painting | $40–$100 an hour on site | $378 first year, $133 to renew |
| Landscaping | $35–$80 an hour per visit | $378 first year, $133 to renew |
| Pressure washing | $50–$160 an hour | $378 first year, $133 to renew |
| Mobile detailing | $40–$95 an hour | $378 first year, $133 to renew |
| Handyman | $70–$145 an hour | $378 first year, $133 to renew |
| HVAC | $110–$190 an hour | $378 first year, $133 to renew |
| Epoxy flooring | $6.50–$13 a square foot | $378 first year, $133 to renew |
| Junk removal | $42–$68 a cubic yard | $378 first year, $133 to renew |
Your own prices are yours to set; these are what the market is doing. What you actually take home depends on how full your calendar is and how you run the business, which is not something anyone can promise you from a table.
Start a specific business in Burnaby
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Trade guides for Burnaby: Handyman · Hvac · Mobile Detailing · Epoxy Flooring · Pressure Washing · Junk Removal · Cleaning · Painting · Landscaping