Buying a Convenience Store in Ontario: Alcohol Licence, Lottery, Tobacco and What Transfers to You

By Jatin Dua · Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty · Updated 29 September 2026 · 13 min read — which of a convenience store’s permissions move to a buyer and which must be applied for again, the tobacco history that follows the address, staff, HST and the documents to ask for.

What you are really buying

A convenience store’s profit comes from categories that each need someone else’s permission:

A store whose sales depend on lottery and alcohol is only worth its asking price if you will hold those permissions after closing.

The AGCO alcohol licence: transferable, with limits

Convenience stores in Ontario can now hold an AGCO licence to sell beer, wine, cider and ready-to-drink beverages. The annual fee is $500. The rules that matter to a buyer are in O. Reg. 746/21:

• Only to the buyer of the store. A convenience store licence may be transferred to a different person, but the Registrar shall not transfer it unless the transfer is to the purchaser of the store it applies to (section 155(6)). You cannot buy the licence without the store.
• Not to another address. The AGCO says the licence is issued for a specific store location, and convenience store licences are no longer on the list of licences that can move to a different location (section 156).
• Share deals count. A licensee cannot keep selling under the licence after a new officer or director, a new partner, or anyone acquiring 10 percent or more of the shares, unless the Registrar transfers the licence (section 154). Only a departing director or partner can be handled by a notice within 30 days.
• No transfer with a penalty outstanding. The Registrar shall not transfer a licence while an AGCO monetary penalty against the current holder is unpaid (section 155(3)).
• A bridge while you wait. Once you have applied for the transfer and paid the fee, the seller can contract out operation of the business to you, but the seller stays liable under the licence until the transfer issues (section 157).

The application runs through iAGCO, with personal disclosures for decision-makers. The AGCO does not publish a transfer processing time, so make it a condition of the deal. Staff who sell alcohol need AGCO-approved training.

Lottery: register first, then sell

Selling OLG products needs two things: an AGCO seller registration and a signed OLG Retailer Agreement for the location, identified by its Retailer Location Number. Registration has no fee, and every person on the application without an existing registration needs a gaming assistant registration too.

OLG’s Retailer Policy Manual is blunt about a sale: “If a retailer intends to sell a retail outlet, the new owner or owners must be registered by the Registrar before selling any OLG authorized tickets/products.” The manual forms part of OLG’s agreement with the seller and does not describe it being assigned to a buyer; whether and when OLG signs with you is not published. Make the purchase conditional on your registration and OLG agreement.

Tobacco and vapour products: the history follows the address

This is the clause most buyers never hear about. Under section 22 of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, if an owner of the business at a place is convicted of a tobacco sales offence committed there, and within the previous five years the same or a different owner of a business at that place was also convicted, the Minister sends a notice. For the period that follows, no one may sell or store tobacco at the place and wholesalers may not deliver there: six months after two convictions, nine months after three, twelve months after four or more.

Tobacco sales offences include selling to anyone under 19 or without checking identification of anyone who appears under 25. A seller’s conviction last year plus one slip by your new cashier can stop a core category for six months. Get a written statement of every charge and conviction at the address in the last five years.

Flavoured vapour products other than tobacco, menthol or mint, and any over 20 mg/mL nicotine, can only be sold in a registered specialty vape store (O. Reg. 268/18). In Toronto, a convenience store adds a tobacco endorsement and a $70.39 vapour product endorsement to its licence.

Municipal licences are not transferable

Toronto’s licensing chapter says no one has a right to the continuance of a licence, its value belongs to the City, and no licence is transferred except as the chapter allows. In practice the buyer applies in their own name. A convenience store selling pre-packaged food needs a Take-out or Retail Food Establishment licence: $197.60 to apply plus $197.60 for the licence, $395.20 in total, with a $261.04 annual renewal, and a criminal record and judicial matters check.

Toronto does not require new zoning approval when you take over a business whose licence is valid or expired under three years ago, in the same category. The physical side of that is covered in convenience store premises in Ontario. Elsewhere in the GTA, check the municipality’s own licensing by-law.

Staff, HST and the lease

Staff. Employees you keep carry their service over to you under section 9 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000, unless hired more than 13 weeks after the earlier of their last day and the sale date.

HST. Section 167 of the Excise Tax Act lets both parties elect so no GST/HST is charged on the business sale, if you buy all or substantially all of the property needed to run it. It is not available where the seller is registered and you are not, and it does not cover property supplied by lease. The election is on CRA Form GST44; ask your accountant how stock and equipment are treated.

The lease. An alcohol licence tied to one address is worth only as much as the remaining term; read the assignment and exclusive-use clauses, as in restaurant lease assignments.

Documents to demand before you sign

No Canadian regulator, statistics agency or industry body publishes sale prices or price multiples for these businesses, so I will not quote one, and you should be wary of anyone who does. What you can do is test the asking price against documents.

• The AGCO licence, its conditions, and confirmation that no monetary penalty is outstanding.
• AGCO seller registration and the OLG Retailer Agreement, with 24 months of lottery commission statements.
• A written statement of every tobacco or vapour charge or conviction at the address in the past five years.
• Toronto (or other municipal) licences and endorsements, and the last public health inspection results.
• Three years of sales by category, reconciled to HST returns.
• LCBO purchase records for alcohol, since licensees must buy through the LCBO.
• A stock count method agreed in writing for closing day.
• Employee list with start dates, and the lease with any renewal options.

Another heavily regulated retail purchase, with a similar licence-first approach, is buying a cannabis store. For the environmental side of a store with a fuel pump, see buying a gas station.

Where I fit

I help buyers and sellers of GTA convenience stores with the real estate side: the lease, the site, and whether the store fits the AGCO floor-space and food rules. The AI convenience store value estimator below gives a range from the numbers a seller should be able to show you. When you have it, book a call or phone 833-330-1925. If you are also weighing a different small business, compare this with buying a bakery.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• O. Reg. 746/21, Licensing (Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019) — e-Laws — convenience store definition, ss. 82–87, 154–157
• AGCO — Manage a convenience store or grocery store licence — transfers, ownership changes, $500 fee
• AGCO — Apply for a convenience store or grocery store licence — eligibility, timing, staff training
• AGCO — Lottery retailer seller registration — OLG agreement per location, no fee
• OLG — Retailer Policy Manual (effective 8 June 2022) — new owners must be registered before selling
• Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017 — e-Laws — ss. 3, 4, 4.1 and 22 automatic prohibition
• O. Reg. 268/18 under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017 — e-Laws — flavoured and high-nicotine vapour products
• City of Toronto — Municipal Code Chapter 545, Licensing — licences are not transferable; licence categories
• City of Toronto — Take-out or Retail Food Establishment licence — fees; zoning approval on a takeover
• City of Toronto — Smoke shops and stores that sell cigars/cigarettes — tobacco endorsement for convenience stores
• City of Toronto — Vapour product retailers — vapour product endorsement $70.39
• Employment Standards Act, 2000 — e-Laws — s. 9 sale of a business, 13-week rule

Related reading

• Convenience store premises in Ontario
• Buying a cannabis store in Ontario
• Buying a gas station in Ontario
• Buying a bakery in Ontario
• Lease assignment when a business is sold
• HST when selling a business
• AI convenience store value estimator