Manage a ferment on premises licence

The AGCO will remind you by email or mail 60 days and 7 days before your ferment on premises licence expires. You must apply to renew your licence and submit the right fee before this expiry date. You can apply to renew your ferment on premises licence through the iAGCO portal.

If we get your application and fee(s) by the expiry date, we’ll send you confirmation of your renewal application. This will allow you to operate until you receive your renewed licence.

Important: expired ferment on premises licences cannot be renewed. 

If we don’t receive your renewal application by the expiry date on your ferment on premises licence, your licence will expire and won’t be valid anymore.

You’ll have to apply for a new ferment on premises licence.

You can’t operate your ferment on premises facility without a valid ferment on premises licence.

To renew your ferment on premises licence the AGCO will need confirmation that:

• Your tax status is up-to-date (check your status on the Ministry of Finance’s Tax Compliance Verification portal)

• If you’ve changed owners, you’ve reported it to the AGCO (if you haven’t, you’ll need to apply for a liquor sales licence transfer first)

Manage your licence

If you’re moving to a new location, you must inform the Registrar before removing carboys to the new location. The AGCO must inspect the new location before we’ll issue an revised licence. You can’t operate at the new location until you receive the revised licence. You can make this change through the iAGCO portal.

Manage your licence

You can transfer your licence to someone else provided that the regulatory requirements are met, subject to the approval of the AGCO. The person interested in taking over the licence will need to submit the transfer application.

The AGCO will issue a transfer licence for the remaining time on the licence. You need a transfer licence if:

• There’s a change in officers or directors of the corporation

• There’s a change in the corporation that controls the activities authorized under the licence

• There’s a change in partnership status (i.e., a person becomes or ceases to be a partner)

• A person or partnership buys a beneficial interest in the licenced business (this could include acquiring shares of a licensee that results in the person or partnership holding or controlling 10% or more of the outstanding shares, or of a class of shares, of the corporation)

• Someone other than you as the licensee becomes entitled to any of the profits from the sale of liquor, or liable for any responsibilities that come with the licence

The AGCO won’t approve a transfer if you have an outstanding monetary penalty or if the person or entity you want to transfer the licence to isn’t eligible.

The following documents will be required as part of the transfer application:

• Consent to transfer (indicating the agreement of the current licence holder to transfer the licence)  

• Proof of transfer (confirmation that the purchase of the business has been finalized) 

Transfer application

The Registrar might transfer your ferment on premises licence for up to one year if:

• A trustee in bankruptcy or court-appointed receiver buys the business

• A mortgagee, franchisor, landlord or executor of the estate of a licensee who dies takes possession of the licensed facility

You can contract out business operations to another person if you and the other person meet the regulatory requirements. 

You remain liable under the licence while business is contracted out.

Your ability to contract out expires fi you transfer your licence, or if the AGCO refuses a licence transfer.

You can make changes to your licence through the iAGCO portal. You’ll need to complete an authorization to contract out as part of your contract out application.

Manage your licence

You need to submit a voluntary surrender of licence application on the iAGCO portal if you’re closing your licensed business.

Surrender your licence

In the unfortunate event that a licensee dies, someone will need to submit the following information to make sure the business continues without interruption:

• A copy of the death certificate

• A copy of the will (if there is one) with an affidavit from the executor stating that they are the executor and their appointment as executor was never revoked

• If there is no will, a certificate of appointment with an affidavit from the spouse/child(ren) (whoever is entitled by law to the proceeds of the estate) that they are the spouse/child(ren) of the deceased. 

• Personal disclosure information for the executor or administrator of the licensee’s estate

The Registrar must be informed within 15 days of the will being probated. At this point, the beneficiary will need to submit a transfer licence application. It will take several weeks for your application to be processed.

Please contact us if you would like help.