Apply to sell or serve alcohol at a Tailgate parties

If you want to host a party in an area near a sporting event where people 19 years old or older will bring and drink their own liquor, you’ll need a tailgate event permit.

A tailgate party needs to be outside, at ground level and connected to:

• A post-secondary sporting event, such as varsity, extramural or intercollegiate
• A semi-professional event, such as Ontario Hockey League (OHL), AAA baseball, United Soccer League Championship
• A professional sporting event, such as Canadian Football League (CFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Hockey League (NHL), American Hockey League (AHL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Soccer (MLS)

With a tailgate event permit, you’ll have to allow attendees 19 years and older to bring their own liquor to drink at the event. You can also choose to sell and serve liquor, but you don’t have to.

Types of tailgate party permits include:

1. No-sale permit: You’ll need this permit if you want to serve liquor, or let people attending who are over 19 years old bring their own liquor to drink at the event.  
2. Sale permit: You’ll need this permit if you’re collecting money in any way for liquor. You’ll need to tell us how you’re collecting the money, such as an admission charge, liquor tickets, or a cash bar. 

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

Here’s what you’ll need to fill out the liquor permit application for a tailgate 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 
• What kind of vehicles you’ll allow to park in the area (add examples)
• If liquor will be sold (sale versus no sale)
   

Because a tailgate event is outside, you’ll need to provide other information, such as:

• Notification letters to municipal authorities, including municipal clerk’s office, police, fire, and health departments 

• Detailed sketch showing physical boundaries of the space (if you’re using a tent, marquee, pavilion or tiered seating, contact your local municipal building department to let them know what the outdoor area will look like and what format they would like the drawing in (e.g., Word document, hand-drawing, photo, etc.)
   

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

• Apply for a 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 at least 30 days to process a tailgate event application (60 days for outdoor events with more than 5,000 people attending). 

You’ll also need to send notification letters informing municipal authorities (30 days before if you’re expecting fewer than 5,000, 60 days before if you expect more than 5,000). The AGCO needs a copy of the letter.

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

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.

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

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

• Liquor permit guide
• Tailgate event 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