Apply to sell or serve alcohol at an Industry promotional event

Industry promotional events are public events that promote an alcohol manufacturer’s product. This permit allows you to offer or sell samples at cost or less and take orders for liquor purchases. 

Types of industry promotional event permits

There are two types of permits. 
1.    No-sale permit: You need this permit when you’re serving liquor at no charge. 
2.   Sale permit: You need this permit if you’re collecting money for liquor samples.
 

• No-sale permit: $50 per day.
• Sale permit: $150 per day.
   

Here’s what you need to fill out the liquor permit application for an industry promotional event:

• The name of the person responsible for the event
• Event name and details
• Dates and times (start and end time)
• Location 
• Roughly how many people will attend 
• How many people the location can hold
• If liquor will be sold
   

Outdoor events need more information, such as:

• Notification letters that you’ve submitted to municipal authorities, including local building departments, the city clerk, police, fire, and health authorities, identifying the date, time, and location of the event
• A detailed sketch that shows the physical boundaries of the space (if you’re using a tent, marquee, pavilion, or tiered seating, you’ll need to contact your local building department)
• Letter of support (only if a representative of a foreign government is holding the event)
• Letter of authorization from the manufacturer
   

To get a liquor permit, you’ll need to create an account on the iAGCO portal. Once you’ve set up your iAGCO account, you can:

• Apply for your liquor permit
• Check the status of your application
• Ask for changes and print the permit once it’s approved

Apply for a permit now

The AGCO needs 30 days to process your permit (60 days for outdoor events with more than 5,000 attendees). 

You need to inform municipal authorities, or locations that require municipal authority approval, 30 days before an outdoor events. As the permit holder, you must do this yourself.

Once approved, you need to prepare for and run your event in the right way. Read the next section to make sure you follow all the standards and requirements established by the Registrar.

As a permit holder, are responsible for meeting all Registrar’s standards that apply to your permit, all applicable laws and regulations (including the Liquor Licence Control Act), and any terms and conditions that may be applied to your permit.
 

Advertising

If you want to advertise that you’ll be serving alcohol at your industry promotional event, make sure you read and follow the standards and requirements established by the Registrar. 
 

Market research

With a “no-sale” industry promotional event permit, you can do market research to learn more about customer needs and preferences. Make sure you read and follow the standards created by the Registrar.

If you’re an event organizer or an AGCO-licenced representative of a manufacturer, and you’re doing market research or handing out samples, you must have a letter from the manufacturer saying that you’re working on their behalf. An AGCO inspector may ask to see this.

If you’re doing market research in an open area, make sure people can identify your permit area from the rest of the open area.
 

Security

As the permit holder, you must make sure that you have the right level of security to meet the standards created by the AGCO Registrar.
 

Where to buy alcohol for your event

Your liquor permit includes a number. You’ll need to provide this number to the cashier when you buy your liquor. For details on where you can purchase liquor for your event, see section 15 (purchase of liquor to be sold, served) of regulation 747/21. 

Event inspections

An AGCO inspector may come to inspect the place and the event. 

If you’re hosting a large event, an AGCO inspector will contact you to confirm the details and do a walkthrough with you before the event.

Other important information

You must follow all conditions that come with having a liquor permit. Otherwise, a police officer or an AGCO inspector can take away your liquor permit or shut down your event down. 

For more information about liquor permits for industry promotional events, and to understand what you need to do as the holder of a liquor permit, you must read: 

• Special occasion permit guide
• Risk-based permitting
• Ontario regulations under the liquor licence and control act, 2019, regarding liquor permits
• Registrar’s interim standards and requirements for liquor 
• Monetary penalties 
   

To make a change to the permit after it’s been issued, submit a change request on the iAGCO portal. You may need a new permit depending on the kind of change.

Request a change