What do I need to do to sell a food truck in Ontario?

This page covers Ontario only. Ontario’s Food Premises regulation, O. Reg. 493/17, defines a mobile food premise as a trailer, cart or vehicle-mounted food premise, or other itinerant food premise, that can be readily moved and in which food is prepared and offered for sale to the public. A food truck in which food is prepared and offered for sale fits that definition, so the regulation’s mobile rules apply to the truck, and a buyer who will operate it has steps of their own. Selling one means working through four separate items: the truck’s food-premise standards, the buyer’s notice to public health, the vehicle transfer and any gas licences.

What the regulation requires of the truck itself

Section 4(1) of O. Reg. 493/17 sets rules for every mobile food premise. Food must be prepared within the premise and served to the public by persons working within it. Only single-service articles may be used to serve the food. Potable water and waste water need separate holding tanks, and every waste tank and water supply tank must have an easily readable gauge. Subsection 4(2) says the tank clauses do not apply to mobile food premises that sell only pre-packaged or non-hazardous food. Confirm your truck meets these before listing it.

The buyer gives their own notice to public health

Under section 16(2) of the Health Protection and Promotion Act, every person who intends to commence to operate a food premise shall give notice of that intention to the medical officer of health of the health unit in which the food premise will be located. Section 5 of O. Reg. 493/17 says the notice must include the person’s name, contact information and the location of the food premise. A buyer who intends to commence operating the truck falls within that subsection, so the buyer should plan to give that notice in their own name. Ask the health unit where the truck will operate what else it expects. Whether a municipality also requires its own licence is a question for that municipality.

The vehicle: safety standards certificate

The Ministry of Transportation says you need a safety standards inspection and certificate if you are transferring a used vehicle to a new owner, unless the new owner is your spouse. The certificate comes after the vehicle passes an inspection at a DriveON vehicle inspection centre licensed by the Ministry of Transportation. The Ministry of Transportation’s page says a certificate is valid for 36 calendar days after the inspection. If your truck is a self-propelled vehicle, plan the inspection date close to closing so the certificate has not expired when ownership transfers. The same page lists registering a used trailer among its exemptions, so if your unit is a trailer or cart, ask ServiceOntario whether a certificate is needed.

Gas licences do not move with the truck

The Technical Standards and Safety Authority, known as TSSA, says on its change of ownership page that licences are not transferable and the onus to apply for a new licence will fall on the new owner. The page lists forms for specific facility types, such as a propane cylinder handling facility. Whether any gas equipment on your truck needs a TSSA licence is not something that page answers, so ask TSSA directly. If a licence does apply, the buyer should expect to apply for their own and should not assume yours carries over.

Who is responsible before and after the handover

Section 16(1) of the Health Protection and Promotion Act says every person who operates a food premise shall maintain and operate it in accordance with the regulations. Whoever operates the truck, before or after closing, carries that duty. The Act defines an operator as a person who has responsibility for and control over an activity carried on at the food premise, and allows that there can be more than one operator of the same premise. That is why the handover date matters: agree in writing on the day responsibility for and control of the truck passes, so it is clear which of you is operating it on each day. Section 6 of O. Reg. 493/17 also requires every operator to ensure that the results of any inspections by a public health inspector are posted in accordance with the inspector’s request.

• Check the truck against section 4 of O. Reg. 493/17 before it is listed: preparation within the premise, single-service articles, separate tanks and gauges.
• Tell the buyer they will need to give their own notice to the medical officer of health before they operate.
• Ask the municipality where the truck sells what its licence or permit rules say about a change of owner.
• Book the safety standards inspection close enough to closing that the certificate is still valid on the transfer date.
• Ask TSSA whether any gas licence applies to the truck, and tell the buyer it will not transfer.

The national picture, including equipment records and closing preparation, is in selling a food truck in Canada.