Restaurants and food trucks.
Bay County food-facility health permits run about $126–$357 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $25–$55.10. Confirm the exact amount with State-administered: FL Dept. of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR), Division of Hotels & Restaurants (restaurants + mobile food dispensing vehicles); FL Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services (FDACS), Division of Food Safety (grocery/retail food stores). Temporary events at public events are permitted locally by Florida DOH-Bay 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 State-administered: FL Dept. of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR), Division of Hotels & Restaurants (restaurants + mobile food dispensing vehicles); FL Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services (FDACS), Division of Food Safety (grocery/retail food stores). Temporary events at public events are permitted locally by Florida DOH-Bay County. issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 2.2% change in establishments since 2022 (464 → 474).
The average foodservice wage here is $116 above 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.
Statewide fees set by Rule 61C-1.008 F.A.C; under Fla; Stat; 509.251/509.302; identical in all 67 counties (county only affects the renewal cycle, not the amount); DBPR licenses restaurants regardless of county; there is no separate Bay County restaurant fee; Verified against DBPR food-fees page 2026-08-10
State DBPR Division of Hotels & Restaurants inspects; outcome is met-standards / warning / emergency closure with violations listed, no letter grade; searchable statewide online database.
DBPR licenses mobile units that prepare potentially hazardous food (e.g., hot dogs, burgers); FDACS permits mobile units selling only prepackaged/non-potentially-hazardous items; One free mobile permit is allowed for an owner with an active brick-and-mortar food permit
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 $213.50–$759.10 for Bay 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 Bay 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 State-administered: FL Dept. of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR), Division of Hotels & Restaurants (restaurants + mobile food dispensing vehicles); FL Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services (FDACS), Division of Food Safety (grocery/retail food stores). Temporary events at public events are permitted locally by Florida DOH-Bay 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 | $263/yr ($136.50 half year) | Licensed by DBPR, Division of Hotels & Restaurants (statewide fee, Rule 61C-1.008 F.A.C.) |
| Bakery / food processing | Retail Bakery $355/yr; Wholesale Bakery $530/yr; Processor (other perishable foods) $490/yr; Processor (other non-perishable foods) $335/yr | FDACS retail food establishment permit, Rule 5K-4.020 F.A.C; (statewide), verified 2026-08-10 |
| Bar / limited food service | A bar serving food is a DBPR Public Food Service Establishment: nonseating $242/yr, or by seats (1-49 $262, 50-149 $273) | Alcohol-only bars are licensed by DBPR Division of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco; a bar preparing/serving food needs the DBPR food service license priced by seating |
| Grocery / market with deli | Supermarket $650/yr; Grocery Store $540/yr; Convenience Store $330/yr (w/limited food service $430, w/significant food service $475); Meat Market $455; Seafood Market $410; Health Food Store $300 | FDACS retail food permits, Rule 5K-4.020 F.A.C; (verified 2026-08-10); A supermarket/grocery deli is captured within the grocery/supermarket permit or the 'significant food service' tier |
| Temporary / seasonal event | DBPR temporary food service: 1-3 day event $91; 4-30 day event $105; annual temporary vendor $456. FDACS Semi-permanent Vendor $195/yr | DBPR permits temporary food service operators; FDACS uses a semi-permanent vendor category; Temporary events at public venues may also require a Florida DOH-Bay County event permit |
| Pushcart / mobile vending | DBPR hot dog cart / mobile food dispensing vehicle $347/yr; FDACS Mobile Vendor (prepackaged only) $300/yr | DBPR covers carts preparing potentially hazardous food; FDACS covers prepackaged/non-hazardous mobile vendors |
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 Bay 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 →