Starting a catering business: what permits are required?

Are you planning to launch a business in the HoReCa sector in Brussels and feeling overwhelmed by the many administrative steps involved? This article outlines the key permits and documents you need before getting started. 
Additionally, hub.info has compiled a practical and essential checklist that includes all the required permits and legal obligations, helping you launch your business with peace of mind.

Professional competence

Some catering establishment activities require competence in the professional sector involved. These involve the activities of a caterer. The activity of a restaurateur or caterer-banquet (FR) organiser means the person who, regularly and independently, prepares hot or cold meals intended to be consumed on the premises of the establishment or to be served by him or her, on order, outside the establishment.

By preparation, we understand any act by which a dish is made, put together, prepared, heated or thawed.

Some activities are exempted from the competence in the professional sector involved, you will find the list of exceptions by following this link.

Authorisation to operate an establishment selling fermented beverages

Certificate of good conduct

The certificate of good conduct confirms that you are authorised to sell or serve fermented and distilled alcoholic beverages. To obtain it, you must go in person with your ID card to the municipality where you are registered in the population register.

This certificate is required for anyone who will operate or work—either occasionally or permanently—in an establishment that serves alcohol (such as a restaurant, bar, snack bar, etc.). Therefore, every person serving drinks in your business must have this certificate. In the case of a company, all co-managers must also obtain one.

Alcohol Licence and “Patente”

If you plan to allow your customers to consume alcoholic beverages on-site, you must first apply for an alcohol sales permit from the municipality where your establishment is located.
As there are two categories of alcoholic beverages, two different permits may be required. However, they are often complementary.

• If you intend to serve only beer and wine, you must apply for a beverage outlet licence (“débit de boissons”).
• If you wish to serve spirits, you must request a patente.

Depending on the municipality, the terminology may vary. Some municipalities use the single term patente, whether you intend to serve one or both types of alcohol.

What about events where spirits are offered or sold for free? If spirits are sold or offered free of charge to the public in a public venue during an event or party, the event organiser does not need to apply for a patente. However, be aware that some municipalities require a special permit from the municipal council to sell spirits at cultural, sporting, or political events.

Important: You are not allowed to serve alcoholic drinks until your licence has been officially approved. Furthermore, it is also prohibited to stock up on alcoholic beverages before obtaining this authorisation.

Who to contact?
In general, these permits can be obtained from the Economy or Commerce Department of the municipality where your business is located. Some municipalities also have a dedicated HoReCa support service.
You will typically be asked to provide:

• A certificate of good conduct
• A photocopy of your ID card

Some municipalities may also charge an administrative fee to open your application file.

Planning permission

Changing a business into a snack bar or a restaurant into a bar, for example, requires prior planning permission. The same applies to placing a sign, or the construction, demolition, renovation or conversion of a building.

A planning permission is a permit attached to a building that defines its use, external appearance, supporting structures, etc. You must therefore determine whether your project requires a new permit for some types of work (for example construction, demolition, change of use, felling of a tall tree, significant modification of the ground surface, placing a sign, chimney or shutter, replacement of a bay window).

Warning: before signing a lease, always check the use of the premises with the town planning department of the municipality!

Who to contact?

• You must submit your application to the Urban Planning Department of the municipality where your establishment is located.
• If your project requires a planning permit, the Urban Planning Unit at hub.brussels can provide guidance and support with your application.

Environmental permit

An environmental permit is an administrative authorisation that requires a self-employed person, private individual, retailer, artisanal or industrial business to take specific measures. These measures aim to ensure the safety of nearby residents or visitors to the premises, limit potential disturbances caused by the activity or equipment, and protect environmental quality. 
For example, the permit may impose a maximum noise level or restrict the concentration of certain substances released into the air.

Depending on your activity, the type of equipment or materials you use or store, you may be required to obtain an environmental permit. Be sure to check the requirements carefully.

• Who to contact?
  To find out whether an environmental permit is required, visit the Brussels Environment website.
• If needed, you must submit your application to the municipality where your business is located. For guidance during the process, you can also contact the Environmental Permit Unit at hub.brussels.

Operating permit/authorisation

In most municipalities within the Brussels-Capital Region, you must apply for authorisation before opening a HoReCa business.

The request is made to the "Service des Classes Moyennes" (Department for local middle-class businesses).  Some municipalities also have a dedicated unit for HoReCa businesses.

The municipality will issue the permit after verifying that the future operator has fulfilled all legal requirements and completed the necessary formalities. In some cases, an inspection may be carried out before granting approval to open the business.

The municipality will generally request the following documents:

• A letter of application describing the proposed activity (possibly accompanied by a supporting plan)
• A copy of the operator’s identity card
• A certificate of good conduct for partners and managers (to be requested, depending on the municipality, from the police department or another designated service)
• The business registration number
• A copy of the company's Articles of Association
• A copy of a document certifying the chef’s professional qualifications (for restaurants)
• A medical examination certificate issued by a doctor
• A certificate of objective liability insurance, if the area accessible to the public is 50 m² or more
• A certificate of inspection for the electrical installations, issued by an approved organisation
• Proof of authorisation from the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC)
• A favourable report from the SIAMU prevention service
• Proof of planning permission, if required under planning regulations
• A copy of the waste removal contract
• If applicable, a request for authorisation to set up a terrace (with a plan of the terrace and the surrounding public space)
• If applicable, the municipality’s positive decision regarding the sale of fermented beverages and the licence for the sale of spirits

Often, a municipal fee is charged for the opening, reopening or takeover of a catering establishment.

Contact the "Service des Classes Moyennes" (Department for local middle-class businesses/Self-Employed) of the municipality where the business is located.

Fire safety certificate

Your premises must comply with fire safety regulations. In most cases, this requires a visit from the Brussels Fire Brigade (Pompiers de Bruxelles) to obtain a fire safety certificate (Attestation de sécurité d’incendie).
The official reference website for Brussels is www.pompiers.brussels

HoReCa or Retail?

HoReCa establishments will almost always need to obtain a new certificate when there is a change of operator. This is less frequently the case for retail businesses.
In both cases, future HoReCa or retail operators should contact the Business Operations Service (Service Exploitation) of their municipality to check whether a certificate is required in their specific situation. This depends on local municipal regulations.

How to obtain the certificate

1. Initial contact
   Before taking any further steps, it is advisable to call the Prevention Service of the Brussels Fire Brigade.
   You will receive an immediate answer to any administrative queries. For technical queries regarding the installations required, an officer will call you back to explain the main rules and applicable regulations based on your type of establishment.
2. Scheduling the Inspection
   Once you have spoken with the officer, followed their recommendations and made the necessary changes to your premises, you will need to complete a form to arrange a fire safety inspection. Send the completed form to prev@firebru.brussels.
   The inspection date will be arranged in agreement with the fire brigade.
   Administrative costs include a fixed fee of €60, and the inspection itself costs €100 per hour. One hour is usually sufficient for the inspection of a HoReCa or retail business.
3. If issues are found
   If shortcomings are identified during the inspection, the fire brigade will issue a report listing the issues, which will also be sent to your municipality. You will be asked to bring your premises into compliance.
   To confirm that the necessary corrections have been made, you can either:
   1. Provide photographic evidence (for example, showing the installation of fire extinguishers), attached to the original form; or
   2. If the improvements cannot be verified by photo, schedule a follow-up inspection (charged at the same rate as the first visit).
4. Certificate issued
   If everything is in order, you will receive the certificate with no comments or reservations.

Important
Please note: You are responsible for renewing your certificate after seven years. No reminder will be sent.
Operating without a valid certificate may result in a fine and forced closure of your business.

AFSCA authorisation, registration or approval

Any operator active in the food chain in Belgium may not carry out activities, except in specific cases, without first being registered, authorised, or approved by the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (AFSCA).

Registration, authorisation or approval must be completed before the activity begins. Any modification or cessation of the activity must also be reported to AFSCA.

Depending on your sector, you will need one of the following types of authorisation:

• Registration: required if you serve pre-packaged food products with a shelf life of at least three months at room temperature, such as crisps or canned goods.
• Authorisation: required if you sell food that you have prepared or that is not pre-packaged—for example, meals served in a restaurant.
• Approval: required if you are starting an industrial food business, such as the production of fish or meat products.

Hygiene certificate

The hygiene service of the municipality will generally carry out an inspection to ensure that your premises comply with hygiene standards.

Who to contact?

The HoReCa Service of the municipality where your establishment is located.

Other authorisations

Declaration for camera surveillance

Before installing cameras, it is mandatory to submit a declaration. The declaration should be made on the site declarationcamera.be.

Terrace or object on public property

In the entire Brussels region, the installation of terraces is regulated. It is therefore necessary to request a permit from the municipal authority. As a rule the permit is issued annually.
There are also permits for events, which must always be requested from the municipality.
The regulations are specific to each municipality.
If you want to find out more.

Broadcasting music

If you wish to play music in your shop, restaurant, snack bar, or other business, you must first submit a declaration to Unisono (formerly SABAM) in order to contribute to fair remuneration for artists.
You will be required to pay an annual flat fee, the amount of which depends on your sector.

You can find the procedure and further information on this page of our website and on the Unisono website.

Noise standards

Also, be careful to respect the noise standards applicable to the Brussels-Capital Region and not create any noise nuisance. You will find all the details on this page of the 1819 website.

Licence C for drinking establishments offering games of chance

As a coffee shop operator, you can make games of chance available to your customers. However, only two are allowed: Bingo and One-ball. You may only offer these games with the permission of the Gaming Commission.

Hospitality sector cash register

All hospitality sector operators must provide a control document to the government. It consists of bills, receipts or receipts from a cash register system.

FPS Finance has created a website dedicated to the topic with practical and technical information.

The SCE-Horeca website provides additional explanations to help you.

Waste collection contract

As a retailer, you are required to take out a waste collection contract with an approved private collection company.

Do you want to reduce the waste you produce? There are many sources of information available to help you achieve Zero Waste. Need more information? Contact the zero-waste facilitator: zerowasteretail@environnement.brussels

Other obligations

Opening hours

Retail opening hours are regulated by federal law.  Businesses providing services like restaurants, cafés, barbers, etc. are not subject to them.

The retail trade law requires a weekly day of rest and limits the opening of daytime businesses (from 5:00 am to 8:00 pm during the week and from 5:00 am to 9:00 pm on Fridays and the day before holidays) and night-time businesses (from 6:00 pm to 7:00 am).

Waivers are available depending on the type of business.

Municipal waivers are also available for special events: for sales, year-end holidays, clearance sales, etc. A list is published by each municipality every year.

Tourist centres also benefit from waivers from the law on opening hours and weekly rest.

No smoking

It is forbidden to smoke in enclosed public spaces. Hospitality spaces are non-smoking (fr) by definition. A sign with pictographs or text to remind people that smoking is forbidden must be visible.

Smoking is permitted on terraces as long as they are completely open on one side. Smoking is also permitted in a special smoking room in hospitality establishments, under certain conditions.

All information about the topic can be found in the brochure published by SPF Public Health.

Municipal retail taxes

Each municipality in Brussels has the authority to levy and collect taxes. Each municipality can require taxes for different reasons, for example: taxes on night shops, for use of the public roadway, on commercial signs, for occupancy with a commercial lease, etc.

For more information, you can consult the list of taxes by municipality or contact the tax office for your municipality.

An essential checklist

Planning to open a restaurant, café, or bar in Brussels? hub.brussels has compiled all the administrative steps and legal requirements into a handy checklist to help you turn your project into reality.

Download the checklist

Horeca in transition