Starting a catering business

You have a catering establishment if you provide food and/or (alcoholic) beverages. Examples of hospitality businesses include a café, restaurant, snack bar, disco, community center, clubhouse, canteen or hotel, as well as take-out centers.

If you are going to start, take over or move a catering establishment, you need a catering operating license. If you are also going to serve alcohol in the business, you will also need an Alcohol Act permit.

New executive:

• You do not have to apply for a new Alcohol Law license if you hire a new executive. 
• There is a new procedure to register other executive in catering establishments. Use the application declaration executive.
• For an overview of the changes, please visit the Entrepreneur's Square.

New entrepreneur:

Apply for a new permit to change the business owner(s) in time and before the change. Only after the permit is approved may you arrange the change. 

• You need permits to start a catering business. 
• The operator and managers must comply with the municipality's (behavioral) requirements.
• The establishment itself must meet requirements (environmental and establishment requirements in terms of hospitality regulations).
• Executives must be 21 years of age or older. Executives must be 18 years of age or older under the operating license for the catering industry. If both a license based on the Alcohol Act and the operating license for the catering industry are required, the age limit of at least 21 years applies.
• Executives must not be of bad character.
• The establishment of a new hospitality business must fit within the municipality's zoning plan.
• The permit is in the name of the owner and is valid indefinitely. The owner cannot transfer the permit to anyone else.
• The license is no longer valid if the operation stops, the legal form changes or if changes occur around the owner/owners (for example, a partner quits, or a partner joins, or another person takes over the business).
• The municipality can conduct a Bibob investigation. For more information, see Bibob investigation.

The municipality has 8 weeks to make a decision and can extend this decision period one more time. Postponing the decision period can be done by the General Administrative Law Act.

You can object to the decision on your application. Do this within 6 weeks. Do you then disagree with the decision on the objection? Then file an appeal with the court.