A restaurant spends money for weeks before it takes its first order. Here is how food establishment permitting works in Texas, what the state charges, and how to plan the cash around it.
Apply Now →The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has a Retail Food Establishment group that licenses and inspects restaurants, food stores, school cafeterias and similar operations. DSHS defines a retail food establishment as any place where food is prepared and intended for individual portion service, and lists examples such as restaurants, bars, cafes, snack bars and bed and breakfasts with more than seven rooms.
But many Texas businesses never deal with DSHS for their permit. DSHS lists as exempt from its permitting any operation that is inspected and permitted by a city, county or public health district. In other words, if your address falls inside a local health department's jurisdiction, that local department issues your permit, runs your inspections and sets its own fees. DSHS publishes an interactive jurisdiction map so you can search which health department covers a given location, and it maintains a registry of local ordinances and fee schedules.
Start there. Your fee, your inspection process and often your plan-review steps depend on which authority you land with.
Where DSHS issues the permit, its published fees for initial applications, renewals and change of ownership are tiered by gross annual volume of food sales:
| Gross annual food sales | DSHS permit fee | Amendment fee |
|---|---|---|
| $0 to $49,999.99 | $258 | $125 |
| $50,000 to $149,999.99 | $515 | $250 |
| $150,000 or more | $773 | $375 |
Applications can be filed through the DSHS Regulatory Services online licensing system or with the paper Retail Food Operation Permit Application. Local health departments charge their own amounts, so check your jurisdiction before budgeting from this table.
DSHS treats a temporary food establishment as one that operates for no more than 14 consecutive days in conjunction with a single event or celebration. Its single event permit costs $52 and covers one booth or unit at one event. A multiple event permit costs $200 and is valid for one booth or unit at multiple events for two years, as long as each event runs no more than 14 consecutive days. DSHS says permit applications must be received at least 30 days before the event. For a new operator testing a concept at festivals before signing a lease, that lead time belongs on the calendar.
DSHS lists several businesses that do not require its retail food permit, including establishments that offer only pre-packaged foods that are not potentially hazardous, produce stands that sell only whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables, food processing plants, and day care facilities. It also lists exemptions for food manufacturers already licensed by DSHS and paying a higher fee, and for registered 501(c) nonprofits. Cottage food production and mobile food vendors have their own DSHS pages and rules, so read those if your plan is a home kitchen or a truck.
The permit fee is rarely what strains an opening budget. The larger costs tend to arrive in this order:
For illustration only: a small cafe could pay a few hundred dollars for its permit and many thousands for equipment, inventory and the first payroll. The exact figures depend entirely on the space and the concept.
Texas Biz Funding provides $25,000 to $5,000,000 in business funding to operating businesses, with an application that takes about five minutes, a soft credit pull, and funding in as little as 24 hours. It is most useful once a food business has revenue: replacing a failed walk-in, buying inventory for a catering contract, opening a second location or carrying payroll through a slow season. Sole proprietors can apply. If that describes your business, you can apply here.
No. DSHS exempts operations that are inspected and permitted by a city, county or public health district. If a local health department covers your address, it issues the permit and sets the fee. DSHS publishes a jurisdiction map to check.
Where DSHS is the authority, the fee is $258, $515 or $773 depending on gross annual food sales, per the DSHS permits page. Local health department fees differ.
DSHS says temporary food establishment permit applications must be received at least 30 days before the event. A single event permit is $52 and a multiple event permit is $200.
DSHS lists change of ownership alongside initial applications and renewals as carrying the sales-based fee, so budget for it when a restaurant changes hands in DSHS jurisdiction. Check with your local department otherwise.
Funding is designed for operating businesses with revenue. Existing food businesses use it for equipment, inventory, payroll and expansion.
Three months of business bank statements and a 5-minute application. FICO 500+ considered. $25,000 to $5,000,000, funded in as little as 24 hours.
Apply Now →It takes about two minutes and it will not affect your credit score.
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