When service ends, how the RACJ bar permit works, what the team costs, and the nights that fill the city, for anyone running a club, lounge or bar here.
What Quebec’s RACJ and the City of Montreal’s boroughs ask of a licensed room, from the end of service to the door. Liquor licences come from the RACJ.
Qualified venues and districts can extend their hours on pre-authorised evenings under Nuits Montréal. The City’s pages give no closing time for them, so none is drawn. The RACJ’s bar permit page lists no New Year’s Eve exception, and noise hours are set borough by borough.
The RACJ offers responsible-service training rather than requiring it: Action Service, from the ITHQ with Éduc’alcool, costs $45 a person online.
MoreHolders and staff are still expected to know the duties: no sales to minors or to people who are intoxicated.
Source: RACJA bar permit holder can’t allow a minor on the premises, or let one sell, serve or perform.
MoreThe RACJ sets the line at under 18. The exceptions are a private reception and the terrace until 10 p.m. with a parent.
Source: RACJA tip belongs to the worker who served. An owner can’t keep any of it, and a service charge added to the bill is treated as a tip.
MoreStaff can agree to pool tips if a majority of tipped workers accept. The owner can’t impose a pool.
Source: CNESSTA bar permit holder needs the Régie’s authorisation before presenting a show, offering dancing or screening an 18+ film, and keeps the approved layout plan on site.
MoreChanging the layout, even without changing capacity, needs prior authorisation too.
Source: RACJNoise rules belong to the boroughs, not to one city-wide bylaw, and some boroughs have no specific rule for noise from businesses.
MoreComplaints go to 311, and at night to the local police station. Read your own borough’s bylaw.
Source: City of MontrealA new terrace, a change to a terrace’s capacity, or a temporary terrace in a street during a public event all need a request to the Régie.
MoreMinors may sit on a terrace until 10 p.m. when a parent is with them.
Source: RACJMinimum charges that entitle a guest to a drink, and entry fees, must be posted in public view at the entrance to the room or terrace.
MoreThe permit and the full price list are displayed too, and the capacity can’t be exceeded.
Source: RACJA bar permit runs every day from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. the next day. Guests may stay up to an hour after closing to finish their drinks.
MoreThe room is clear by 4 a.m. The RACJ’s page lists no New Year’s Eve exception.
Source: RACJThe City’s Politique de la vie nocturne lets qualified venues and districts extend their opening hours on pre-authorised evenings.
MoreA venue needs the salle de spectacle certificate and a year in operation. Files are reviewed on 1 February, 1 June and 1 October.
Source: City of MontrealBars buy from authorised SAQ distributors (not SAQ Dépôt), or from permit-holding brewers, beer distributors and cider makers.
MoreKeep purchase books with quantity, price, date and supplier, and the supporting documents.
Source: RACJSelling alcohol to drink on the premises takes the RACJ’s permis de bar. A permit can be annual or seasonal. The path runs in this order.
The Régie does a preliminary analysis and sends a first email within 15 days of receiving the application.
Source: RACJ processingIf documents are missing or don’t comply, you have 45 days to provide them. A notice of intent to refuse follows, with another 45 days, and then the application is rejected.
Source: RACJ processingA notice runs in a newspaper. Anyone may object within 30 days of it appearing, and anyone may speak in favour within 45 days if there is an objection.
Source: RACJ processingSome permits go through a police investigation at the same time, which averages 40 days.
Source: RACJ processingA citizen opposition or a police objection sends the file to the Tribunal de la Régie. A complete file with no opposition is granted.
Source: RACJ processingOnce the permit is granted, the annual rights are payable. Shows, dancing and 18+ films each need their own authorisation on top.
Source: RACJ processingSource: RACJ feesIssued by the RACJ
General information, not legal advice. Laws and licence conditions change and vary by venue. Confirm with the RACJ or your borough before acting on it.
How a table’s bill adds up once tax and a service charge are on it, and what guests pay at the door.
| Minimum spend | $1,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Service charge 20%, added by the venue | $200.00 |
| GST 5% of both lines | $60.00 |
| Guest pays | $1,260.00 |
| Tip the guest chooses to add | No tax |
A service charge the venue adds to the bill, mandatory or suggested, carries GST. A tip the guest freely gives doesn’t.
Source: Canada Revenue AgencyQuebec adds 9.975% QST. This bill shows GST only: how QST applies to service charges, covers and table minimums isn’t confirmed here, so ask Revenu Québec or your accountant.
Source: Canada Revenue AgencyQuebec’s labour rules still treat a service charge you collect as a tip, so it belongs to the staff who served.
Source: CNESSTRough estimates for tickets and bottle-service tables, from public listings and venues’ own pages.
$10 to $35
Typically about $20
Montreal clubs sell through ticket sellers rather than their own pages, so this is the range Toronto and Vancouver clubs publish for a Thursday to Saturday club night.
$250 to $750
A typical table, about $550
Montreal clubs quote tables privately, so this is the range Toronto clubs publish for a weekend table, before tax and service. Expect bigger rooms and holiday nights to run higher.
Figures are estimates from the sources and samples listed. They change often and may be wrong. Check with the venue or the relevant authority before relying on them. Venues and events named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
Hourly wages for the roles a night runs on, and the rules on tips.
| Role | Range, low to high | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Bartenders$16.60 to $40.00 | $22.44 | |
| Servers$16.60 to $40.00 | $20.00 | |
| Hosts$16.60 to $27.72 | $19.21 | |
| Security and door$18.99 to $28.00 | $20.00 | |
| Cooks$16.60 to $26.00 | $20.00 | |
| Managers$18.25 to $43.27 | $24.50 |
Minimum wage $16.60 an hourSource: CNESST
Bar: lowest to highest wage reported. Dot: median. Source: Job Bank
Tips belong to the worker who served. An owner can’t keep part or all of them, even as a disciplinary measure.
Source: CNESSTA tip an owner collects by card, debit or a service charge on the bill must be handed over in full to the worker who served.
Source: CNESSTA tip pool needs the agreement of a majority (50% plus one) of tipped workers. The owner can’t impose or set one up.
Source: CNESSTStaff who usually receive tips in a room serving alcohol sold and drunk on the premises get the $13.30 tipped rate, not the $16.60 general rate. Tips can’t count toward it.
Source: CNESST
The nights that fill a room, or empty it, month by month.
The morning after New Year’s Eve, and a paid holiday for staff.
Outdoor winter electronic music at the Old Port, Thursday to Saturday.
Official siteThe dinner and date crowd. When it falls midweek, couples book the weekend before too.
The winter festival, with the all-night Nuit blanche inside it.
Official siteOne of the year’s biggest bar nights, whatever the weekday.
The Thursday before Good Friday is a holiday eve.
The biggest race weekend, now in May. Saint-Laurent in Little Italy is party central during Grand Prix season.
A holiday Monday, so a long weekend.
The biggest civic night of the summer, just before Jazz Fest.
Ten nights in the Quartier des spectacles, straddling Fête nationale and Canada Day.
Official siteUsually in the middle of Jazz Fest; the night before is a holiday eve.
Tens of thousands of visitors at Parc Jean-Drapeau, with club after-shows.
Official sitePride, centred on the Village.
Official siteElectronic music weekend at Parc Jean-Drapeau.
Official siteThe last summer long weekend.
A holiday Monday, so the Sunday before trades like a Saturday.
When it falls midweek, the parties run the weekend before.
No city-wide dates
Staff holiday pay applies.
The RACJ’s bar permit page lists no later closing for the night.
Official site
Montreal’s nightlife districts and the rooms each is known for.
Called the epicentre of the city’s entertainment district, with over 80 performance venues and bright nights all year.
A crossroads of cultures that promotes the best clubs in the city, with late dining and the MURAL festival.
A hot spot of Québécois music, theatre and cuisine, with bars such as Bar Darling and Casa del Popolo.
Rue Sainte-Catherine Est is its main street, pedestrian-friendly in summer.
One of the city’s most charming neighbourhoods, with microbreweries such as Dieu du Ciel! and Siboire, and bars.
A historic district of hotels, restaurants, cafés and galleries on the river.
Industrial buildings turned restaurants and bars, with Notre-Dame Street as its dining hub.
Neighbourhood bars on Beaubien Est; Saint-Laurent here is party central during Grand Prix season.
Who lives in the city. These describe Montreal’s population, not any venue’s guests.
Sell tickets, take table bookings with deposits, run the guest list and check guests in at the door, in one place. Built for clubs, lounges and bars.
A bar permit runs every day from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. the next day. Guests may stay up to an hour after closing to finish their drinks, so the room is clear by 4 a.m. The RACJ’s page lists no New Year’s Eve exception.
Apply to the RACJ for a permis de bar. The Régie sends a first email within 15 days, a newspaper notice runs and anyone may object within 30 days, and some permits go through a police investigation. A complete file with no opposition is granted, and the annual rights are then payable.
A new application is $289, including a $120 newspaper notice. Each year the rights are $688, plus $0.75 a person of capacity up to $800, plus $529 for each show, dance or 18+ film authorisation. A transfer when the business sells is $624.
The RACJ puts the average at 105 days for a bar permit. That includes the 30-day public notice and, for some applications, a police investigation averaging 40 days.
18. A bar permit holder can’t allow a minor on the premises. The exceptions are a private reception and the terrace until 10 p.m. with a parent.
Not on the standard permit. Under Nuits Montréal, qualified venues and districts can extend their hours on pre-authorised evenings. A venue needs the salle de spectacle certificate and a year in operation, and files are reviewed on 1 February, 1 June and 1 October.
Yes. Staff who usually receive tips in a room serving alcohol sold and drunk on the premises get $13.30 an hour, against $16.60 for the general rate. Tips can’t count toward either one.
The $13.30 tipped rate applies to staff who usually receive tips in a bar or club. Job Bank puts the median Montreal bartender wage at $22.44 an hour, with the general minimum at $16.60.
There is no single city-wide bylaw. Noise rules belong to the boroughs, and some have no specific rule for business noise. Complaints go to 311, and at night to the local police station.
The RACJ’s page doesn’t require certification. It offers Action Service, from the ITHQ with Éduc’alcool, at $45 a person online, and expects holders and staff to know their duties on minors and intoxicated guests.
A tip belongs to the worker who served, and a service charge added to the bill counts as one. An owner must hand it over in full. Staff can pool tips if a majority of tipped workers agree, and the owner can’t impose a pool.
GST is, since the CRA says a mandatory or suggested service charge added to the bill carries it. How the 9.975% QST applies to service charges and table minimums isn’t confirmed on this page.
VenueStack publishes this guide for general information. We take care to keep it accurate and list our sources and review dates, but we can’t guarantee it is complete, current or correct, and we aren’t responsible for decisions made on it. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice. Prices, minimums and wages are estimates from the samples described and don’t represent any particular venue. Venues, events and organisations named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
Data gathered in October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
TorontoOntario, Canada
Closing time and extensions, getting a liquor licence, the City nightclub licence, noise limits, HST on service charges, door licensing, wages, ticket prices and the year’s big nights.
Read the guide
VancouverBritish Columbia, Canada
Hours to 4 a.m., getting a BC liquor licence, Serving It Right, door licensing, PST on liquor, wages and tips, and the year’s big nights.
Read the guide
CalgaryAlberta, Canada
Closing time, the AGLC liquor licence, the City business licence, ProServe and ProTect, noise limits, GST on service charges, door staff, wages and the year’s big nights.
Read the guide
