General
A bring-your-own permit is a type of Special Occasion Permit (SOP) for a public event meeting the definition outlined in O. Reg. 747/21 . The permit may be issued for an outdoor public event that is held at ground level, and where the event is:
- held in connection with and in proximity to a professional, semi-professional or post-secondary sporting event, or
- has been designated by a municipal council or its delegate as a cultural or community event. At these events, individuals may possess and consume alcohol brought to the permitted premises by attendees.
Consistent with other types of event permits, there are two types of bring-your-own permits: “sale” and “no sale”.
A “no sale” bring-your-own permit only authorizes the permit-holder to allow attendees 19 years of age or older to bring their own liquor for consumption at the event, within the permitted area. This permit does not allow the permit-holder to sell and serve liquor purchased at the event.
A “sale” bring-your-own permit authorizes the permit-holder to sell and serve liquor purchased under the permit at the event. Attendees 19 years of age or older are still allowed to bring their own liquor for consumption at the event, within the permitted area.
The bring-your-own event permit expands the eligibility criteria of the previous tailgate event permit to now include events that have been designated by a municipal council or its delegate as cultural or community events. Permits for tailgate events held in connection with and in proximity to professional, semi-professional or post-secondary sporting events will continue to be eligible under the bring-your-own event permit. Municipal designation is not required for bring-you-own event permits tied to defined sporting events that would have been previously covered by the tailgate permit.
To qualify for the bring-your-own event permit, the event must be a public event that is held at an outdoor premises that is at ground level, and the event must either be:
- held in connection with and in proximity to a professional, semi-professional or post-secondary sporting event (i.e. tailgate); or
- *new* a cultural or community event that has been designated as such by a municipal council or its delegate.
Municipalities are responsible for determining what events would classify as community or cultural events. Examples of events a municipality may classify as an outdoor community or cultural events may include, but are not limited to:
- outdoor movie screenings,
- street markets,
- neighbourhood festivals,
- arts and crafts shows,
- free outdoor concerts,
- fairs,
- neighbourhood sports tournaments,
- public performances (i.e. theatre),
- farmers markets, and
- international or religious festivals.
A “sale” bring-your-own permit authorizes the permit-holder to sell and serve liquor purchased under the permit at the event to attendees 19 years of age or older. Attendees 19 years of age or older are still allowed to bring liquor for consumption at the event, within the permitted area.
A “no sale” bring-your-own permit only authorizes the permit-holder to allow attendees 19 years of age or older to bring liquor for consumption at the event, within the permitted area. Attendees may not sell liquor they have brought with them. Only the permit-holder may sell liquor if their permit allows for sale.
The permit-holder (and, if applicable, the designated Responsible Person) is responsible for ensuring the event is held in compliance with the Liquor Licence and Control Act, 2019 (LLCA), its regulations, and the standards and requirements established by the Registrar, regardless of whether liquor is sold or served by the permit-holder or is brought onto the premises by the attendees.
The permit-holder or Responsible Person must be present at all times during the event.
Permit-holders are also responsible for ensuring the event is held in compliance with applicable municipal requirements. These may vary depending on the municipality.
For details about the application process, please visit:
For more information about the bring-your-own event permit, please contact the Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG) .
Application
As of April 30, 2026, organizations and individuals can apply for a bring-your-own event permit through the iAGCO online portal .
To apply, applicants should select “Apply for an SOP” and click “Apply” in the SOP - Bring-Your-Own Event (Public Event) section.
If applying for an event that has been designated by a municipal council or its delegate as a cultural or community event, applicants will need to provide proof of this designation.
To learn more about how to apply for a bring-your-own permit, please see: Apply to sell or serve alcohol at bring-your-own events.
A Special Occasion Permit – Bring-Your-Own Event costs $150 per day, for either the sale or no sale permit. This price is the same as the previous tailgate event permit.
An application for a bring-your-own event permit must be submitted at least 30 days before the event.
Please visit your local municipality’s website for the application and more information. Contact information for your municipality may be found on the Ontario Municipalities website.
Consistent with other types of outdoor events, event organizers must also provide written notice of the event to the municipal clerk’s department, and police, fire and public health departments:
- 30 days prior to the event when expecting fewer than 5,000 people, and
- 60 days prior to the event if expecting more than 5,000 people.
Events held on municipal property (e.g., city parks) remain subject to applicable municipal approvals and alcohol policies.
Contact information for your municipality may be found on the Ontario Municipalities website.
Event organizers must supply the AGCO with a copy of every notice provided.
An applicant may apply for a single permit for a multiple-day event or activity, but they cannot apply for multiple events on a single application.
Event details
The event must be a public event held at an outdoor premises that is at ground level.
While a fence is not required, you must ensure that the area under the permit is readily distinguishable from the surrounding areas where the permit does not apply. Examples of partitions that could be used to make the permit area readily distinguishable may include, but are not limited to, fences, planters, or ropes.
Persons under the legal drinking age of 19 may attend a bring-your-own event, unless the permit-holder has chosen to host an age-restricted event. Where persons under the legal drinking age do attend, they may not possess, obtain, purchase, or consume liquor and it is the responsibility of the permit-holder to ensure this does not occur.
Persons under the legal drinking age of 19 may not possess, obtain, purchase, or consume liquor at the event. If the permit-holder thinks someone under 19 possesses or is consuming liquor, they must check their ID and remove them from the premises if they are not satisfied that the person is at least 19.
The bring-your-own permit-holder must provide security sufficient to ensure that unauthorized persons do not attend the event, and to ensure that the conditions of the permit, requirements of the Act, and the standards and requirements established by the Registrar are observed.
The bring-your-own event permit-holder is responsible for removing all signs of liquor service and consumption from the premises within 45 minutes after the serving or selling period listed on the permit ends.
The bring-your-own permit-holder may allow attendees who brought liquor with them to the event to remove that liquor when they depart only if:
- the attendee is leaving in a motor vehicle (other than public transportation) and if the liquor is in a sealed and unopened container or packed in baggage that is fastened closed or not otherwise readily available to any person in the motor vehicle;
- the permitted premises is within or adjacent to a public place where the possession and consumption of liquor has been permitted by a by-law made by a council of a municipality, and the attendee is departing to that public place;
- in any other circumstance, if the liquor is in a securely closed container.
The bring-your-own event permit-holder is responsible for ensuring that evidence of liquor that has been served and consumed on the permitted premises is removed within 45 minutes after the serving or selling period stated on the permit ends.
If a bring‑your‑own event permit tied to a sporting event is cancelled, it no longer qualifies as being ‘in connection with and in proximity to’ a live sporting event.
Municipalities
Starting April 30, 2026, event organizers in participating municipalities will be able to apply for bring-your-own permits through the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). Either the municipal council or its delegate can designate events as community or cultural events for the purposes of a BYO Permit.
For more specific information for municipalities, please contact the Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG).
The designation of an event as community or cultural is at the municipality’s discretion. There is no obligation for a municipality to make such a designation.