Ontario · Greater Toronto Area
Toronto is Canada's largest city and the country's undisputed financial and commercial capital. CorpStart files your OBCA corporation (Articles, By-law, and Minute Book) typically within one to two business hours.
Numbered corporation
$299
+ $300 Ontario gov fee
$599 total
Toronto's density of venture capital, professional services and talent pipelines, anchored by MaRS Discovery District and the tech corridor running from the Waterfront to North York, means a lot of Toronto founders end up incorporated sooner than they expected. Sooner is not the same as day one, and plenty of Toronto businesses trade perfectly well as sole proprietorships for a year or more. What moves the date forward is usually a specific counterparty: an investor who will only buy shares, a commercial landlord who wants a corporate tenant, a bank or enterprise client with its own onboarding rules. When one of those appears, an Ontario corporation filed the same business day through CorpStart meets the standard without the cost of a downtown law firm.
Nearby communities (Mississauga, Markham, Vaughan, Brampton, Richmond Hill) are all in Ontario, so one Ontario corporation covers your operations across every one of them. You do not re-incorporate city by city.
Municipal licensing is a separate question from corporate registration, and the two get confused constantly. Depending on what you do, a municipality may still require its own business licence, and the fee is set by each municipality. Carrying on business outside Ontario is different again, and needs extra-provincial registration in that province.
Toronto licenses 5 of the business types we have researched. A food truck licence is called a Motorized Refreshment Vehicle Owner licence under the city's own by-law, and costs $9,257.29 in the first year. That is separate from incorporating, and the city will want proof your business is registered before it issues anything. It does not issue a home based business licence at all.
| Business type | What the by-law calls it | First year |
|---|---|---|
| Food truck licence | Motorized Refreshment Vehicle Owner licence | $9,257.29 |
| Taxi and rideshare driver licence | Vehicle-for-Hire Driver licence | $233.78 |
| Salon, barber and tattoo licence | Personal Service Settings licence | $450.91 |
| Contractor and trades licence | Building Renovator licence | $574.77 |
| Short term rental licence | Short-Term Rental Operator registration | $390 |
| Home based business licence | Home occupations are zoned, not licensed | Toronto does not licence this, it zones it |
Food truck licence: Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing. Checked 2026-09-15. View the source
Taxi and rideshare driver licence: Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 546, Licensing of Vehicles-for-Hire. Checked 2026-09-15. View the source
Salon, barber and tattoo licence: Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing. Checked 2026-09-15. View the source
Contractor and trades licence: Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing. Checked 2026-09-16. View the source
Short term rental licence: Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 547, Licensing and Registration of Short-term Rentals. Checked 2026-09-15. View the source
Home based business licence: Zoning By-law 569-2013, Regulation 150.5.20.1, as amended by By-law 1508-2025. Checked 2026-09-16. View the source
Fee schedules commonly reset in January, so follow the source before you budget. If a figure here disagrees with Toronto, the city is right and we would like to know. See how Toronto compares to other municipalities, or browse every licence type we track. Last checked 2026-09-16.
Three steps: no lawyers, no registry line-ups, no guesswork.
Answer our questionnaire
Tell us your corporation name preference, share structure, directors, and Toronto registered office address. Takes about 15 minutes. We flag issues before you pay.
We prepare and file
CorpStart prepares your Articles of Incorporation, By-law No. 1, and Organizational Resolutions, then files directly with the Ontario Business Registry. Most filings go out the same day.
Receive your Minute Book
Your Certificate of Incorporation, Articles, By-law, and complete digital Minute Book arrive by email. Your bank, accountant, and clients will recognise every document.
No hidden extras. The government fee is collected at cost and shown separately at checkout.
Most popular
Numbered Corporation
e.g., 1234567 Ontario Inc. Fastest option, no name search required.
$299
+ $300 Ontario gov fee = $599 total
Named corporation
Named Corporation
e.g., Acme Holdings Inc. Choose your corporate name, includes NUANS pre-search.
$299
+ $300 Ontario gov fee, NUANS search included = $599 total
Can a Toronto-based startup incorporate online the same day?
Yes. Ontario online incorporations through the Ontario Business Registry are processed immediately upon government acceptance. CorpStart prepares and submits your Articles of Incorporation typically within one to two business hours of your payment, so a Toronto startup can be incorporated and have a signed digital minute book the same business day.
Do I need a Toronto or Ontario address for a registered office?
Your corporation's registered office must be physically within Ontario. It does not have to be in Toronto specifically. A residential address in any Ontario municipality is acceptable. If your Toronto-area business needs a professional registered address, CorpStart can advise on your options.
Is an Ontario corporation or a federal corporation better for a Toronto business expanding nationally?
An Ontario corporation is the fastest and most cost-effective choice for businesses operating primarily in Ontario. If you anticipate opening offices or employees in British Columbia, Alberta, or other provinces within the near term, a federal CBCA corporation avoids the need to register in each additional province separately. CorpStart offers both; we can walk you through the trade-offs for your specific situation.
Do I need a Toronto business licence as well as incorporating?
They are two different things and incorporating does not replace the licence. Incorporating is a provincial filing that creates the company. A municipal licence is Toronto's permission to carry on a specific activity inside the city, and it is issued under the city's own by-law. Of the business types we have researched, Toronto licenses food truck licence, taxi and rideshare driver licence, salon, barber and tattoo licence, contractor and trades licence and short term rental licence. The city will normally want proof the business is registered before it issues a licence, so the order runs registration first and licence second.
What does a food truck licence cost in Toronto?
$9,257.29 in the first year. Toronto calls it a Motorized Refreshment Vehicle Owner licence under Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing, which is worth knowing because searching the city website for the common name often returns nothing. Keeping it costs $8,767.06 a year after that. That figure comes from the schedule effective 2025-01-01, which predates our check, so treat it as the latest published rather than a confirmed 2026 price. We last checked this on 2026-09-15, and Ontario fee schedules commonly reset in January, so confirm against the city before you budget.
What does a taxi and rideshare driver licence cost in Toronto?
$233.78 in the first year. Toronto calls it a Vehicle-for-Hire Driver licence under Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 546, Licensing of Vehicles-for-Hire, which is worth knowing because searching the city website for the common name often returns nothing. Keeping it costs $233.78 a year after that. We last checked this on 2026-09-15, and Ontario fee schedules commonly reset in January, so confirm against the city before you budget.
What does a salon, barber and tattoo licence cost in Toronto?
$450.91 in the first year. Toronto calls it a Personal Service Settings licence under Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing, which is worth knowing because searching the city website for the common name often returns nothing. Keeping it costs $296.45 a year after that. That figure comes from the schedule effective 2025-01-01, which predates our check, so treat it as the latest published rather than a confirmed 2026 price. We last checked this on 2026-09-15, and Ontario fee schedules commonly reset in January, so confirm against the city before you budget.
What does a contractor and trades licence cost in Toronto?
$574.77 in the first year. Toronto calls it a Building Renovator licence under Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing, which is worth knowing because searching the city website for the common name often returns nothing. Keeping it costs $293.14 a year after that. We last checked this on 2026-09-16, and Ontario fee schedules commonly reset in January, so confirm against the city before you budget.
What does a short term rental licence cost in Toronto?
$390 in the first year. Toronto calls it a Short-Term Rental Operator registration under Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 547, Licensing and Registration of Short-term Rentals, which is worth knowing because searching the city website for the common name often returns nothing. Keeping it costs $390 a year after that. We last checked this on 2026-09-15, and Ontario fee schedules commonly reset in January, so confirm against the city before you budget.
What does a home based business licence cost in Toronto?
Toronto does not licence this, it zones it. Home occupations are zoned, not licensed. We last checked on 2026-09-16, and this records what the city publishes rather than a claim that no permission of any kind is needed, since public health and provincial regulators sit outside municipal licensing.
Learn more about Ontario incorporation
Full OBCA overview, what's included, and Ontario vs federal comparison.
The process is the same province-wide, but the tax angle and pitfalls differ by line of work and situation. Explore the guide that fits you.
Incorporate in Toronto today
$299 service fee + $300 Ontario gov fee. Submitted to the Ontario Business Registry within one to two business hours. No lawyers, no delays.
Start my corporationCorpStart is a document preparation service, not a law firm. The information on this page is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, consult a licensed Ontario lawyer.