Your Business and Public Health

Public health inspectors

• Public health inspectors are responsible for inspections of places such as food premises, public recreational water facilities, child care centres, and personal service settings.
• They enforce regulations under the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act.

Tobacco enforcement officers

• Tobacco enforcement officers are responsible for inspection of businesses that sell tobacco and vape products.
• They enforce the requirements of Ontario’s Smoke-Free Ontario Act.

Both public health inspectors and tobacco enforcement officers can provide guidance and consultations to businesses to ensure they meet provincial and local public health legislative requirements.

All public health inspectors and tobacco enforcement officers carry a badge and Durham Region picture identification. If you do not recognize the inspector, ask for their identification and/or business card. If you are still unsure of the person, please contact the Durham Health Connection Line to speak with a manager to confirm the inspector's or enforcement officer’s identity.

Visit our Public Health Inspections and Investigations page for more information.

This information is for all owners and operators that intend to operate a licensed child care centre within Durham Region. Licensed child care centres may include full-day child care facilities, nursery schools, and/or before and after school programs. The Health Department inspects licensed child care centres with the intent to:

• Re-enforce infection prevention and control (IPAC) measures designed to prevent the spread of infections and to control outbreaks of illness.
• Reduce the potential for injuries related to health hazards.
• Prevent food-borne illnesses through enforcement of Ontario Regulation 493/17: Food Premises.

All owners/operators intending to open a new child care centre or intending to make alterations/renovations to their current facility must submit a child care centre application form.

Child care centre application Report an outbreak in a child care setting

For more information about public health requirements and online training opportunities, please visit our Operating a Child Care Centre page.

This information is intended for all owners and operators opening a business that prepares and/or serves cooked or pre-packaged food items. This includes, but is not limited to, grocers, restaurants, mobile food trucks, home-based food businesses, and convenience stores. This section is also applicable to businesses that intend to sell or serve food to the public at special events only. These food businesses must comply with Ontario Regulation 493/17 – Food Premises.

All new food businesses opening and/or re-opening within Durham Region must submit a food premises application to the Health Department prior to offering food to the public. A pre-opening inspection and approval must be issued by a public health inspector before opening.

Special events and farmers’ markets coordinators, and food businesses participating at these events must notify the Health Department using the special event coordinator or vendor application forms. Coordinators of an event must submit the application 45 days prior to the start of the event and vendors must submit the application 30 days prior to the start of the event.

Food premises application

Community special events and farmers’ markets event coordinator/organizer application

Community special events and farmers’ markets event vendor application

Please note: the use of a water pipe with or without tobacco, in an enclosed public place or workplace such as bars and restaurants, including the outdoor patios of these establishments, is not permitted under the Smoke Free Ontario Act and the Durham Region Smoke and Vape By-law.

For more information about food safety requirements, please visit our Food Safety page.

This information is for all owners and operators who intend to provide seasonal housing for migrant farm workers in Durham Region. This includes businesses that offer new accommodations and existing accommodations.

Existing accommodation owners must notify the Health Department at least 14 days prior to migrant farm workers’ arrival. Owners and operators can notify the Health Department by phone or email by contacting the Durham Health Connection Line.

First time or new accommodation owners must notify the Health Department in writing no later than six weeks prior to migrant farm workers' arrival.

Notification of intent to operate new seasonal housing for international agricultural workers

For more information about seasonal housing for international agricultural workers requirements, please visit our International Agricultural Worker Housing Inspections page.

This information is for owners and operators that intend to operate a personal service facility such as hair, nail, medi spas, tattoo and piercing parlours, or a home-based personal service operation. Owners of these facilities must comply with Ontario Regulation 136/18 – Personal Service Settings.

All owners of a personal service setting are required to notify the Health Department in writing at least 14 days prior to opening a new personal service establishment OR if there are additional services being offered.

All personal service vendors at a special event must notify the health department using the special event coordinator and vendor application.  Coordinators must submit the application 30 days prior to the start of the event and vendors must submit the application 14 days prior to the start of the event. 

Personal service settings notification formPersonal service special event coordinator/organizer application Personal service special event vendor application

For more information about personal service settings requirements, please visit our Salon and Spas page and our Tattoos and Piercings page.

This information is intended for owners and operators that operate their business on a private septic system in Durham Region. The Health Department is responsible for approving the design and installation of private septic systems in the Region, with the exception of properties in the City of Oshawa.

The Health Department must review plans for a business, including home-based businesses, before they can operate on a private septic system. This review may include determining the capacity of the existing septic system to confirm it is sized sufficiently to meet the requirements of the Ontario Building Code for the proposed use.

A business owner may be required to provide information regarding the details of the septic system for the review. A property owner can request a septic record search from the Health Department to check if we have records for the property. Instructions on how to complete this search can be found on our Sewage and Septic Systems page. If there no records are available, the property owner must contact a private, qualified individual to determine the details of the existing sewage system.

If the septic system is not sized sufficiently, the Health Department will not approve the business for operation until the septic system has been upgraded or replaced. A building permit from the Health Department is required for an alteration or replacement of any part of a septic system.

For more information on the application process and fees, please visit our Sewage and Septic Systems page.

This information is for all owners and operators that intend to operate a public pool, spa, splash pad, wading pool, or water slide receiving basin. All owners and operators of recreational water facilities must comply with Ontario Regulation 565 – Public Pools.

Notification of intent to open or re-open a public pool or spa or Class C facility form

For more information about recreational water requirements, please visit our Recreational Water page.

This information is intended for all business owners that provide the general public access to a drinking water supply that is not obtained from a municipal drinking water system. Owners of businesses operating these type of water supplies may be the owner of a small drinking water system (SDWS). Restaurants, gas stations, recreational facilities, campgrounds, hotels/motels, places of worship, club and fraternal organizations and facilities that provide the general public with access to a washroom, drinking water fountain or shower are legislated under Ontario Regulation 319/08 – Small Drinking Water Systems.

Business owners must register their drinking water system with the Health Department and also register with a licensed laboratory for water testing.

Small drinking water system identification form Reopening a small drinking water system 
Laboratory services notification form Notice of adverse test results and issue resolution form

For more information about small drinking water system requirements, please visit our Small Drinking Water Systems page.

This information is for all business owners who intend to sell specialty vapour products and/or specialty tobacco products in Durham Region. As a owner or proprietor of the retail establishment, it is your obligation to comply with the Smoke Free Ontario Act, 2017, Ontario Regulation 268/18, and the Durham Region Smoke and Vape By-law.

Retailers must submit their application to Durham Region Health Department prior to opening their new store.

Specialty vape store application form

How the Act affects: Specialty vape stores

Tobacconist application form

How the Act affects: Tobacconists

For more information about specialty vape store and tobacconist retailer requirements, please see our Tobacco and Vapour Product Retailers page.

If we do not have a dedicated online form for your application, you can also submit your documents to us the following ways:

1. Online: Using our Public Health Applications for Businesses form
2. Fax: 905-666-1887
3. Mail or drop-off: Durham Region Health Department - Health Protection Division
   Whitby office - The Regional Municipality of Durham Headquarters, 605 Rossland Rd. E., Whitby, ON L1N 6A3
   (Applications at our Whitby location will be accepted by staff at the first floor, main reception counter.)
   Port Perry office - 181 Perry Street (Suite 200), Port Perry, ON L9L 1B8