Drink price floor & happy hour check
Put in your drinks with their sizes and prices, and see each one against Ontario's minimum price for its size, with the lowest you can put on the menu before HST. Check the days and times against the hours of sale, paste the words for your board or post to see what the Registrar's rules don't allow, and print the notice of your happy hour prices.
Help and background Back to the tool
How it works
- 1 Set the days and times of your happy hour, where it applies, and whether your menu prices include HST.
- 2 Add each drink with the size of the pour, its regular price and its happy hour price. For a cocktail, add each pour of liquor in it.
- 3 See each price against Ontario's minimum for its size, and the lowest you can put on the menu. A price under it can be raised in one tap.
- 4 Paste the words for your board, menu or post, and see the wording the Registrar's rules don't allow, with why and what to say instead.
- 5 Print the notice of your happy hour prices to post while they're on, or copy it as text.
Free, with no account. Everything is worked out on this page: your drinks, prices and words are never sent to us or put in a link. Remember keeps them on this device, and only while it's on.
Good to know
- What is the minimum price?
- In Ontario, a drink can't be sold for less than $2.00 for a standard serving, taxes included, or $1.34 for spirits over 14.8% alcohol. It goes up or down with the size: a standard serving is 341 mL of beer, cider or cooler, 142 mL of wine, 85 mL of fortified wine and 29 mL of spirits. So a 20 oz pint can't go below $3.34 with tax.
- Why is the lowest price before HST different?
- The minimum includes tax. If your menu shows prices before HST, the price on the menu has to come to the minimum once 13% is added. A 1 oz shot of spirits has a $1.34 minimum, so the lowest you can show before HST is $1.19.
- Are happy hours allowed?
- Yes. Prices can change for a set time, as long as each stays at or above the minimum, is the same for everyone, doesn't depend on buying another drink, and a notice of the prices is posted or available while they're on. "2 for 1" and "second drink half off" aren't allowed at any price.
- What does it leave out?
- Your licence. It may allow fewer hours, or have conditions of its own, and the check can't see it. The words are read by the words used, not what they mean, so read them over too. It's for Ontario; other provinces have their own rules. Guidance, not legal advice: check O. Reg. 746/21 and the Registrar's guidelines.
Where it fits in a restaurant
When the rules come up Liquor to go, bring-your-own wine, happy hour and the patio.
When the rules come up
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