Restaurants and food trucks.
Alachua County food-facility health permits run about $242–$357 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $50. Confirm the exact amount with Florida DBPR, Division of Hotels & Restaurants (restaurants); Florida Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services (FDACS), Division of Food Safety (grocery/retail food stores). Restaurant and retail-food permitting in Florida is STATE-administered, not by the county. before you budget.
Confirm the authority for your exact address. Some cities run their own health division, and building, planning, fire, sewer/grease and business-license approvals are separate even when Florida DBPR, Division of Hotels & Restaurants (restaurants); Florida Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services (FDACS), Division of Food Safety (grocery/retail food stores). Restaurant and retail-food permitting in Florida is STATE-administered, not by the county. issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
— 0.0% change in establishments since 2022 (599 → 599).
The average foodservice wage here is $3,409 below the Florida average ($25,544); Florida has about 44,608 food & drink establishments statewide.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (NAICS 722, food services & drinking places) — establishments with paid employees. Some small-county payroll figures are withheld by Census for confidentiality.
Same statewide DBPR schedule applies in every FL county; there is no Alachua-County-specific restaurant fee; Half-year rates available; Caterers licensed by DBPR at $262/yr
State DBPR Division of Hotels & Restaurants inspects; outcome is met-standards / warning / emergency closure with violations listed, no letter grade; searchable statewide online database.
Statewide DBPR fee; MFDVs must be affiliated with a licensed commissary; FDACS-regulated mobile units (selling packaged/retail food) instead pay $300 under Rule 5K-4.020
Fees/payment and forms are on the department site; application steps vary by concept — see the checklist below.
The government permit & plan-review fees below total roughly $110–$754 for Alachua County:
That’s the paperwork only. Add buildout, equipment, deposits and licenses with the cost-to-open calculator. Fees change — confirm current amounts with the department.
Check the health-inspection history and violation scores for any food establishment in Alachua County and Florida. Florida DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants runs a statewide restaurant inspection report search.
Florida inspection lookup →Comparison uses the lowest published annual restaurant-permit figure in each county; confirm your exact tier with the department.
U.S. Census 2023 population; County Business Patterns 2022 (NAICS 722).
Plus building, fire, and business-license fees that vary locally — use the cost calculators and the checklist below to budget the full stack.
Under Florida Building Code, Plumbing, 8th Edition (2023), food establishments here must control fats, oils & grease (FOG) with a grease interceptor or trap, and typically register with the local sewer/wastewater authority. Grease interceptors are required under the Florida Building Code Plumbing, with FOG permits from the local utility/sewer authority.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with Florida DBPR, Division of Hotels & Restaurants (restaurants); Florida Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services (FDACS), Division of Food Safety (grocery/retail food stores). Restaurant and retail-food permitting in Florida is STATE-administered, not by the county. (contact above).
Hood fire suppression (Florida Fire Prevention Code, 8th Edition (NFPA 1 & NFPA 101, 2021)): commercial cooking under a Type I hood needs a wet-chemical suppression system to NFPA 96, permitted and inspected by the local fire marshal. Kitchen hood suppression follows NFPA 96 under the Florida Fire Prevention Code, enforced by the local fire marshal. See do I need a hood? and the hood CFM calculator.
Backflow prevention: Annual RPZ backflow testing is required by the local utility's cross-connection control program. A certified backflow assembly (often an RPZ) on the water service, tested annually, is standard — confirm with your water utility.
| Category | Annual fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Caterer | $262/yr (+ $50 application fee) | Licensed by DBPR as a public food service establishment (caterer classification), Rule 61C-1.008 |
| Bar / limited food service | $242/yr nonseating (+ $50 application fee) | A bar with limited/nonseating food service is a DBPR public food service establishment at the nonseating rate |
| Grocery / market with deli | Annual FDACS permit by type (Rule 5K-4.020): supermarket $650; grocery store $540; convenience store $330; convenience w/ significant food service $475; meat market $455; seafood market $410; health food store $300 | Regulated by FDACS Division of Food Safety, NOT DBPR; A deli/food-service component may add a DBPR license |
| Bakery / food processing | Annual FDACS permit (Rule 5K-4.020): retail bakery $355; retail bakery w/ food service $490; wholesale bakery $530; processor non-perishable $335; processor perishable $490; canning plant $490 | Regulated by FDACS Division of Food Safety |
| Temporary / seasonal event | DBPR temporary food service event license fee is not stated on the fee page consulted; typically issued to the event/vendor; FDACS semi-permanent vendor $195 | DBPR licenses temporary food service events; FDACS handles temporary retail food |
| Pushcart / mobile vending | DBPR MFDV / hot dog cart $347/yr (+ $50 application); FDACS mobile vendor $300/yr; semi-permanent vendor $195/yr | DBPR for prepared-food carts/trucks; FDACS for packaged/retail mobile units |
Health-department plan review looks for specific, code-compliant fixtures. Compare spec-filtered options, then confirm counts and sizes with your local requirements. See the full list in what equipment a commercial kitchen requires.
Permit costs and rules change at the county line — compare Alachua County with its neighbors.
This is a typical sequence — confirm the exact sequence with your authority having jurisdiction.
Official plan-check requirements: plan-check guide →