Important update on business licence dataset effective May 6
OpenData - Vancouver
Dear Open Data user,
As a subscriber to Open Data, we would like to inform you of important changes to the business licence dataset, effective May 6, 2024.
What's Changing?
On May 6, 2024, the City will phase out outdated business licence categories and merge similar ones, significantly lowering the total from over 500 to under 100 and reducing the requirement for businesses to obtain multiple similar licences.
Impact on Open Data
Data on business licences will be organized into three datasets instead of the current two.
- The Business licences dataset, after May 6, 2024, will be organized according to the new, streamlined categories and contain data from May 6 onward.
- A new dataset named Business licences 2013 to 2024 will have all the data with original categories (BusinessType) up to May 5 2024.
- The Business licences 1997 to 2012 dataset will remain unchanged.
In addition, we intend to provide a dataset providing a side-by-side comparison of the old and new types (Business licence 2024 licence type streamlining categories).
Please note, all existing business licences will be transitioned automatically into the new category. Business owners will renew their licence at the end of 2024 and may select a different category from the one they were sorted into. New businesses applying for a licence after the update will also select from the updated categories.
Resources
Learn more about the update Business licences | City of Vancouver.
For users who utilize this data for analysis, research, or business purposes, please reach out to open...@vancouver.ca if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
The Open Data Team
Email: open...@vancouver.ca
X:
@VanOpendata
OpenData - Vancouver
Dear Open Data user,
We’ve updated our Business licences dataset to align with changes to the Business licences By-law. We also created a new Business licences 2013 to 2024 dataset to capture records prior to the by-law change.
What's Changed?
On May 6, 2024, the City phased out outdated business licence categories and merged similar ones, significantly lowering the total from over 500 to under 100 and reducing the requirement for businesses to obtain multiple similar licences.
Impact on Open Data
Data on business licences is organized into three datasets instead of the previous two.
- Business licences dataset, since May 6, 2024, is organized according to the new, streamlined categories and contains data from May 6 onward.
- A new dataset named Business licences 2013 to 2024 has all the data with original categories (BusinessType) up to May 3 2024.
- The Business licences 1997 to 2012 dataset remains unchanged.
For convenience a side-by-side comparison of the old and new types is available here: Streamlining of business licence types self serve chart.
Please note, all existing business licences will be transitioned automatically into the new category. Business owners will renew their licence at the end of 2024 and may select a different category from the one they were sorted into. New businesses applying for a licence after the update will also select from the updated categories.
Resources
Learn more about the update Open data change log — City of Vancouver Open Data Portal.