Operating permit (Technical Safety BC)

Buyers of a British Columbia business with gas or electrical equipment may meet this permit when they ask who is responsible for the equipment after closing. Technical Safety BC takes applications for electrical operating permits, and its gas page lists operating permits among the permit types. The licences and permits in a BC business sale guide covers other approvals.

How the permit works

Under s.28 of the Safety Standards Act, an operating permit is subject to terms and conditions, may be issued for a term up to 5 years, and its holder must comply with its conditions. The holder must also ensure that people doing regulated work under it keep current knowledge of the Act and must not let unauthorized people do that work. Technical Safety BC’s electrical page says every electrical operating permit names a Field Safety Representative, that building owners or operators are typically responsible for the permit but tenants may be in some cases, and that a Change of Ownership form is used if you are no longer responsible for the registered address.

What to ask

• Which operating permits the business holds, in whose name, and when each ends.
• Who the named Field Safety Representative is and whether that person stays after closing.
• Whether the landlord or the tenant is responsible for the permit under the lease.

This entry covers British Columbia only; check the rules where the business is.