Licence Types & Fees
Licence Types
The City of St. Albert approves the following licence types through associated bylaws:
- In-Town Business: If a business's physical address is located within the City of St. Albert's boundaries, the business is classified as an In-Town Business.
- Out-of-Town Business: If a business's physical address is located outside the City of St. Albert's boundaries, the business is classified as an Out-of-Town Business.
- Tobacco: If a business sells tobacco-related products.
- All businesses in St. Albert that sell tobacco require a Tobacco Retail Licence, as well as a Business Licence.
- The Tobacco Retail Licensing Bylaw defines "Tobacco Products as: the following: tobacco in any form, including, but not limited to, cigarettes, pipe tobacco, loose tobacco, plugs of tobacco, chewing tobacco and snuff.
- Cannabis: If a business sells cannabis related products.
- Cannabis Retail Stores are required to obtain an approved development permit before an application for a Business Licence can be accepted by Business Licensing.
- The Business Licence Bylaw also notes that the Inspector can place conditions on the Business Licence for a Cannabis Retail Store if the store causes a “Public Nuisance” (offensive odours, noise at late hours, etc.); these conditions can either limit the hours of operation of the store or require that all cannabis products on the premises are kept in sealed containers.
- Exempt: If the industry or profession has legislation which exempts the business from the licensing fee.
- To be considered exempt, a business owner must provide proof of a valid licence or practice permit related to their business type (e.g., a registered nurse or lawyer).
- A business which is considered exempt must still obtain a business licence; however, the licensing fee is waived.
To obtain a business licence, please visit:
Licence Fees
Licensing fees are set and approved by Council and are legislated in Bylaws.
Business licences are valid for the calendar year, and fees are prorated depending on when a business licence is issued.
| Licence renewed or issued up to Apr 30 | Licence issued on or after May 1 | Licence issued on or after Sep 1 | |
| In Town Licence | $144.00 | $108.00 | $72.00 |
| Out of Town Licence | $683.00 | $512.25 | $341.50 |
| Tobacco Licence | $721.00 | $540.75 | $360.50 |
| Cannabis Retail Licence | $865.00 | $648.75 | $432.50 |
- A late penalty of $25.00 is charged on in-town and cannabis licences if not renewed by Jan 31, and were operating prior to Jan 1.
- Licences not renewed by February 28 are considered expired and will be moved to an enforcement status, where a fine may be issued.
- Business Licences are a regulatory fee (not supplies/goods, or services provided), so they are GST-exempt.
Additional Licence Information
- Shisha/ Hookah or Cigar Lounges
- At present, the City of St. Albert does not allow for shisha/ hookah or cigar lounges as per the Smoking Bylaw 1/2004, Section 3(1)(b)(d).
- Changes to Cannabis Retail Legislation
- A cannabis retail store is no longer required to hide Cannabis and Cannabis Accessories in a way that makes them visible from outside the business premises (e.g., windows being "frosted" or "blacked-out"). Section 3.2.6 of the Retail Cannabis Store Handbook repealed this requirement as of August 9, 2022.
- Temporary Licences
- Currently, the City of St. Albert does not offer temporary or short-term licences.
- Licence Appeals
- For information on appealing a licence decision, please visit St. Albert Bylaws.
Related Pages
Last edited: October 1, 2025
