# What has to happen before a new store or clinic in Ontario can open?

> What has to happen before a new store, clinic or restaurant in Ontario can open after construction: building, occupancy, electrical and health sign-offs.

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- Section: Home > Planning guides > Inspections before opening
- Business: Cruzz Construction, Hamilton, ON, Canada (serves Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Ancaster, Dundas, Stoney Creek, Waterdown, Mississauga, Toronto)
- Phone: (289) 308-6563 | Email: info@cruzzconstruction.com
- Page updated: 2026-11-06

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Planning guide

The building permit's inspections have to be passed, the Electrical Safety Authority has to accept the electrical work, and in Hamilton a restaurant or food counter must have notified Public Health before it was built. If a unit opens before every item on the permit is finished, the Building Code requires a permit to occupy, issued only once exits, fire separations and fire systems are complete. Cruzz Construction, a Hamilton general contractor, books these inspections into the schedule.

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## Which building inspections come at the end?

Division C of the [Building Code](https://www.ontario.ca/document/2024-building-code-compendium/part-1-general-0) lists the stages the permit holder must report, including substantial completion of fire separations and fire protection systems such as sprinklers, fire alarms and emergency lighting, and the plumbing fixtures. Under Article 1.3.5.3, the inspector visits within two days of the notice. A failed item is fixed and inspected again, so the last inspections are booked before the opening date, not on it.

## Can you open before everything is finished?

Only with a permit authorizing occupation. Article 1.3.3.1 sets what must be done first: walls around the space, fire separations and closures, every required exit with its doors, hardware and handrails, working plumbing, lighting, heat and power, sprinklers and fire alarms working, fire extinguishers in place, incomplete areas closed off and fire access routes open. Anything still unfinished has to be walled off from customers.

## What does the electrical sign-off involve?

Electrical work is inspected by the Electrical Safety Authority, not the City. [ESA says](https://esasafe.com/compliance/what-you-need-to-know/) the installation must be inspected before it is concealed, so rough-in is checked before drywall, and once the work passes ESA issues a Certificate of Acceptance to whoever filed the notification.

## What extra steps do restaurants, spas and child care centres have?

[The City of Hamilton](https://www.hamilton.ca/build-invest-grow/operating-business/health-requirements-inspections/food-premises-food-handling) says that before you build or renovate a food premises you must notify both Public Health Services and the Building Division, and you need a business licence to operate. A spa or salon notifies the health unit before opening; see [spa fit-outs](https://cruzzconstruction.com/commercial/spa-fit-outs/). A child care centre needs ministry plan approval before work starts; see [child care centres](https://cruzzconstruction.com/commercial/child-care-centres/).

## Does the business need a fire safety plan?

Under the [Fire Code](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/070213) (Article 2.8.1.1), a fire safety plan is required in buildings with an assembly occupancy, such as a restaurant, and in stores or offices with an occupant load over 300, among others. The [handover guide](https://cruzzconstruction.com/guides/commercial-handover/) lists the documents to collect at the end, and [retail fit outs](https://cruzzconstruction.com/commercial/retail-fit-outs/) covers the landlord's own sign-off.

**Sign-offs before opening (Building Code Division C, ESA, Fire Code and City of Hamilton, read 2026-11-06)**

| Sign-off | Who gives it | When |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fire separations and fire protection systems | Building inspector | At substantial completion, before opening |
| Permit to occupy an unfinished building | Chief building official | Only if opening before the permit work is finished |
| Electrical Certificate of Acceptance | Electrical Safety Authority | After the final electrical inspection |
| Food premises notice | Public Health Services | Before building or renovating |
| Fire safety plan | Owner or landlord, approved by the Chief Fire Official | Where the Fire Code requires one |

Published by Cruzz Construction, Hamilton. Updated November 6, 2026. Free to share and quote, with a link back to this page.

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