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Home Food Business in the GTA: Who to Call, Region by Region

Toronto, Peel, York and Durham each have their own way to register a home-based food business. Here is who to notify, how, and what happens next.

A home cook at a kitchen table with a laptop, a notebook and a phone

Ontario has one food premises regulation and many doors into it. The rule is the same everywhere: before you sell food from home, you tell the public health unit where your kitchen is. The form, the phone number and what happens next change the moment you cross from Etobicoke into Mississauga.

This is the door for each part of the Greater Toronto Area, taken from each region's own pages. Phone numbers and forms change, so treat this as a map and confirm on the linked page before you dial.

General information, not legal advice

Checked against the official pages listed at the end on November 13, 2026. Rules change, and your public health unit decides what applies to your kitchen.

  1. 1. Toronto: a form with a long name

    In the city, the first step is a notice to the Medical Officer of Health.

    Toronto says every person who intends to operate a food premises in the city must notify the Medical Officer of Health before starting, and it lists home-based food premises among the types that must do so. The route is an online form called Notify Toronto Public Health of a New Food Premises.

    After the notice, a public health inspector contacts you and explains the requirements for your kitchen. Results of inspections are posted on the DineSafe website, and an inspection notice is posted at the premises.

  2. 2. Peel: Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon

    Peel asks for two calls: one to public health, one to your city.

    Operators are required to notify Peel Public Health when starting a home-based food business in the region. The region's guide gives the contacts as 905-799-7700, toll-free 1-888-919-7800, or peelhealth@peelregion.ca.

    Peel is also the clearest about the second call. Its guide says all operators must contact their local municipality before opening, and prints the numbers: Brampton 905-874-2000, Mississauga 905-615-4311 and Caledon 905-584-2272. If you started without telling your municipality, the guide asks you to tell them right away.

  3. 3. York: Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill and north

    York offers a form or a phone line, and a green sign at the end.

    Hands holding a phone beside a checklist on a kitchen counter

    Anyone planning to open a new food premises in York Region, including a home-based business, must notify York Region Public Health before operating. You can submit the New Food Premises Notification Form or call Health Connection at 1-800-361-5653, extension 4. Inspectors also answer questions at health.inspectors@york.ca.

    Once inspected, you are given a green YorkSafe Proof of Public Health Inspection sign to post. York's page spells out the low-risk and potentially hazardous lists in detail, which makes it worth reading wherever you live.

  4. 4. Durham: an application, then an inspection before you open

    East of Toronto, approval comes before the first sale.

    Durham Region says all new food businesses, and it names home-based food businesses among them, must submit a food premises application to the Health Department before offering food to the public. A pre-opening inspection and approval must be issued by a public health inspector before opening.

    The Durham Health Connection Line is 905-668-2020 or 1-800-841-2729. If your home is on a private septic system, mention it early, because the region reviews that as well.

  5. 5. Halton and the rest of Ontario

    Outside those four, the province keeps one list that covers everyone.

    Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills belong to Halton Region's health unit; Hamilton, Simcoe Muskoka, Waterloo and the others each have their own. The province's guide points to a single page that lists every local health unit with its contact details.

    The rule that decides which unit is yours is simple. It is the one where your home-based food business will be located, not where your customers live.

  6. 6. What to have ready when you call

    An inspector can give you a real answer in one conversation if you bring the right four things.

    The health unit's guidance depends on what you plan to prepare. Have these in front of you.

    • Your full menu, including fillings, icings and sauces
    • How each item is made, cooled, stored and packed
    • Where you will sell: pickup from home, delivery, markets or events
    • Your kitchen as it is today: sinks, dishwasher, fridge and storage

  7. 7. After the inspection

    The visit is the start of a relationship, and it repeats.

    Every home-based food business is subject to routine inspection. Peel publishes its schedule by risk: at least once a year for low-risk, twice for moderate-risk and three times for high-risk.

    Results are public in every region. York notes that the name and address of the premises and the date of inspection are disclosed, which for a home business means your home address. It is better to know that now than to find it in a search result later.

Questions people ask

Which health unit do I call if I live in one region and sell in another?

The one where your kitchen is. Ontario's guide says to contact the local public health unit where your home-based food business will be located.

Can I start selling while I wait for the inspector?

Do not assume so. Durham requires a pre-opening inspection and approval before you open. Other regions require you to notify them before operating and will tell you what happens next, so ask that question when you notify.

Will my home address be public?

Inspection results are disclosed publicly. York Region states that this includes the type of premises, its name and address, and the date of inspection. Toronto and Peel also post results online.

Does Dish.ly register my kitchen for me?

No. Registering and inspection are between you and your public health unit. Dish.ly gives you the order page: your menu, cut-off times, limits and payment by card or Interac e-Transfer. You can keep your pickup address hidden until a customer has paid.

ONE LESS THING

The paperwork is yours. The orders can be ours.

Set up a Dish.ly order page in a few minutes and share one link with your customers. There is no monthly fee.

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Sources

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