BC gift card rules for restaurants: no expiry, almost no fees and when a voucher is different

A gift card sold in December is cash in your bank today and a meal in March. British Columbia's gift card law shapes how you can write and sell it, and it applies to every business that issues one, from a food truck with printed vouchers to a restaurant group with a plastic card. Consumer Protection BC regulates it under the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act and the Prepaid Purchase Cards Regulation.

What counts as a gift card in BC?

The law uses the term prepaid purchase card. It is a card, written certificate or other voucher or device with a monetary value that is issued or sold to a person in exchange for the future supply of goods or services to a consumer, and it includes a gift card and a gift certificate. A paper voucher for 50 dollars of dinner is covered just like a plastic card.

Can a gift card expire?

Gift cards, vouchers or credits for a specific dollar amount are not allowed to expire. Consumer Protection BC lists the situations in which an expiry date is allowed:

• a gift card issued for a specific good or service, such as a gift certificate for a manicure
• a gift card sold at a discount, such as in a promotion or at an auction
• a gift card sold for charitable purposes
• a gift card bought before 2009, when the law came into force

For a restaurant, a card for "dinner for two at the chef's table" is a card for a specific service. A card worth 100 dollars is not. Be careful with discounted sales: "buy a 100 dollar card for 80 dollars" is a card sold at a discount, which can carry an expiry date, but the clearer you are in writing, the fewer disputes you have.

What fees can you charge?

Fees can be charged for personalizing a card, for replacing a lost or stolen card, and on "mall cards" usable at multiple unrelated businesses. Mall cards may charge up to a 1.50 dollar service fee at purchase and, after 15 months, a monthly post-purchase fee of no more than 2.50 dollars. A single restaurant is not a mall, so assume no activation or inactivity fee is open to you.

What must you tell the customer?

By law, the issuer must tell the buyer about any restrictions, limitations, terms and conditions on the card, including the rules for using, redeeming and replacing it and any charges that apply. Print them on the card, the envelope or the receipt.

Is store credit the same?

No. When a customer cancels or returns a non-refundable good or service and the business gives store credit, or a voucher meant as credit, that credit is allowed to have an expiry date because it is not a gift card in law. A restaurant rarely issues this kind of credit, but a deposit for a cancelled event that you convert to a credit is a case to think about with advice.

What if a card has an expiry date it should not have?

Consumer Protection BC tells customers to notify the business using a form and ask for the card to be reissued without an expiry date, and to complain to the regulator if the business refuses. The process covers customers who live outside BC when the business is in BC.

What about prepaid credit cards?

Cards issued by a financial institution, such as a prepaid Visa, are not covered by BC's gift card laws. They are issued by federally regulated institutions. That is the network's card, not yours.

What should you do now?

1. Look at every card and voucher you sell.
2. Remove expiry dates from dollar-value cards.
3. Remove inactivity fee wording.
4. Put the conditions on the card or receipt.
5. Treat store credit separately, and write down how it works.

For the tax side of selling cards, see gift card sales and GST/HST for restaurants. For wording on deposits and cancellations, see cancellation and no-show policy wording. A new set of BC contract rules took effect in August 2026: BC consumer contract rules from August 2026.

More in the Canadian guides for food businesses.