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Home > Doing business > Commercial licences/permits > Business licences > Types of businesses > Trades and construction

Doing business

Trades and construction business licences

If you are a trades contractor or a construction-industry professional, you can now get a business licence that allows you to work in six cities throughout Metro Vancouver.

The participating cities are:

City of Burnaby
Corporation of Delta
City of New Westminster
City of Richmond
City of Surrey
City of Vancouver

Metro West Inter-Municipal Business Licence

Starting October 1, 2013, six municipalities began participating in the Metro West Inter-Municipal Business Licence (IMBL) program.

The Metro West IMBL is a single business licence that allows construction- or trades-related businesses to operate in six participating cities without having to purchase separate licences from each municipality.

Strongly supported by government, business, and communities, the program will reduce administration, and save time and costs. It will also help increase licensing compliance and promote a healthy regional economy.

Learn more about this program below.

Get the application form

Details on the program

The IMBL program streamlines the licensing process for construction- and trades-related businesses. It allows them to operate in all six participating municipalities with a single licence. This program was developed with the partner municipalities, Vancouver Economic Commission, Board of Trade, and Ministry of Jobs, Tourism, and Skills Training.

This initiative supports the City's goal for streamlining regulatory processes and advances the City's Economic Action Strategy for promoting a robust business climate.

Who benefits

The licensing process is simple, and will provide a number of benefits to:

Businesses - savings in time and money due to a simplified process
Citizens and consumers - greater choice in service providers
Municipalities - increased licensing compliance and overall administrative efficiency

Who is eligible

Eligibility for a Metro West IMBL is open to trades contractors or other professionals related to the construction industry, or a contractor that performs maintenance, repair and/or inspections of land and buildings. The business must operate from a fixed location in any one of the six participating municipalities and must first get a regular business licence from the municipality where the business is located.

If your business operates from a fixed location in Vancouver, you can email, or mail your application, or apply in person.
If your business location is in any of the other participating municipalities, apply for the IMBL from your home municipality.

Fees

The fee for a Metro West IMBL is $250.00 and is not pro-rated. This is in addition to your home municipality's business licence fee.

Dates

The IMBL is valid for the same term as the regular business licence issued from your home municipality. The City of Vancouver business licence expires annually on December 31.