- Richmond business licences — fillable application form; the application fee must accompany the form or it is not processed
- Metro West Inter-Municipal Business Licence — $300, not pro-rated; Richmond-based businesses must also hold a Richmond licence (our guide)
- BC Registries — register a sole proprietorship · CRA — when to register for GST
Richmond publishes a processing time of about 4–6 weeks for complete commercial applications once approvals are met; home-based and non-resident applications follow a different track. Licence fees are annual on the calendar year and cash is not accepted at City Hall.
Richmond combines affluent, well-maintained neighbourhoods (Terra Nova, Steveston, Broadmoor, Seafair) with newer townhouse and condo development around the Canada Line corridor — and a homeowner culture that genuinely invests in property upkeep. Detached homes here are large, landscaped, and frequently renovated, which feeds painting, landscaping, cleaning, pressure washing, and coating trades year after year.
It's also where Prontco is based, so we'll say it plainly: this market rewards professionalism disproportionately. Richmond homeowners hire carefully, compare options, and are loyal once trust is earned — a dynamic that favours new businesses that arrive looking established over informal operators who've been around longer.
Business licensing in Richmond
Richmond has no contractor category at all. Service businesses are priced by employee count, owners included, and two part-timers count as one full-timer. A one-van operation sits in the first bracket.
| Fee | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| BC Registries — name request | $30 | Up to three names |
| BC Registries — sole proprietorship | $40 | Or $350 to incorporate |
| City of Richmond — Service Use — 0 to 5 employees | $166 | Annual |
| City of Richmond — Service Use — 6 to 10 employees | $281 | Annual |
| City of Richmond — Service Use — 11 to 15 employees | $409 | Annual |
| Metro West Inter-Municipal Business Licence | $300 | Twelve months, not pro-rated. |
Richmond doesn't publish an application fee as a separate line. Its own page says to phone the Licence Division on 604-276-4328 for it, which is what we do before quoting you a figure.
Read off Consolidated Fees Bylaw 8636, Chapter 5, consolidated to 10 November 2025 on 22 September 2026: the fee schedule itself, alongside the City of Richmond 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
A Richmond licence lasts one year from issue and expires on the first of the month after its anniversary — not on 31 December. The renewal notice goes out about 30 days ahead.
Richmond checks the premises against the Zoning, Building Regulation and Fire Prevention bylaws before it grants a licence, and puts standard processing at four to six weeks. It is the slowest of the five to clear, so it goes in 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 Richmond
Nearly every business we launch starts in a spare room and a driveway, and each of the five cities licences that differently. Richmond’s rules, as written:
- No commercial vehicle may be stored or parked at the house. Richmond is the only one of the five that says this outright, and for a van-based trade it's the rule that decides where you live or where you park.
- No outdoor storage of goods or equipment.
- Up to three clients at the property at a time.
From Richmond Zoning Bylaw 8500, s.5.2 (home business regulations) — 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 Richmond market
Strong Richmond niches: landscaping and garden maintenance (large lots, high standards), house cleaning (big homes, busy households), pressure washing (flat terrain plus coastal moisture equals green driveways), mobile detailing (a notably car-proud market), and epoxy garage coatings in the newer developments.
Launched in Richmond in about 10 business days
Registration, Richmond 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 callRichmond startup FAQ
How much is a Richmond business licence?
Fees depend on your business category under the city's current schedule — most small service operations fall in the low-to-mid hundreds per year. We confirm your exact fee when we prepare the filing.
Does Richmond allow home-based businesses?
Yes, with home occupation rules that service businesses working at client locations generally satisfy easily. We handle the application details as part of the launch.
Why is Prontco based in Richmond?
It's home — and it's a genuinely underrated launch market: high household spending on property care, and a thinner field of professionally-presented competitors than Vancouver. Several of the trades we launch most often are at their strongest here.
What each trade charges, and what Richmond charges it
Richmond prices by headcount rather than by trade, so every trade below sits in the same bracket while you are five people or fewer. Nine trades we launch, priced by the engine behind our public calculators and calibrated to 2026 Metro Vancouver rates, next to what Richmond charges each one to licence. Click a trade to price a job of your own.
| Trade | Market range | Richmond licence |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning | $40–$75 an hour | $166–$281 |
| Painting | $40–$100 an hour on site | $166–$281 |
| Landscaping | $35–$80 an hour per visit | $166–$281 |
| Pressure washing | $50–$160 an hour | $166–$281 |
| Mobile detailing | $40–$95 an hour | $166–$281 |
| Handyman | $70–$145 an hour | $166–$281 |
| HVAC | $110–$190 an hour | $166–$281 |
| Epoxy flooring | $6.50–$13 a square foot | $166–$281 |
| Junk removal | $42–$68 a cubic yard | $166–$281 |
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 Richmond
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Trade guides for Richmond: Handyman · Hvac · Mobile Detailing · Epoxy Flooring · Pressure Washing · Junk Removal · Cleaning · Painting · Landscaping