Restaurants and food trucks.
Boulder County food-facility health permits run about $338–$581 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $155–$900. Confirm the exact amount with Boulder County Public Health, Environmental Health (Consumer Protection / Retail Food) 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 Boulder County Public Health, Environmental Health (Consumer Protection / Retail Food) issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 0.7% change in establishments since 2022 (871 → 877).
The average foodservice wage here is $292 below the Colorado average ($28,457); Colorado has about 13,675 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.
Fee varies by size/type; due at opening inspection; No fee for K-12 schools or nonprofits serving food-insecure populations; Credit card surcharge $0.75 + 2.25%; e-check +$1
Turnaround: Plan review specialists notify within up to 8 weeks of submission
Colorado law bars local letter grades; inspection reports posted online via CDPHE/county portal.
Mobile units submit floor plans, finish/plumbing specs, commissary agreement (if applicable), and menu; NOTE: within City of Boulder limits a separate City Mobile Food Vehicles license also applies
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 $831–$1,962 for Boulder 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.
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.
food establishments here must control fats, oils & grease (FOG) with a grease interceptor or trap, and typically register with the local sewer/wastewater authority. A grease interceptor sized to the adopted plumbing code is required, with a municipal sewer-authority FOG discharge permit.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with Boulder County Public Health, Environmental Health (Consumer Protection / Retail Food) (contact above).
Hood fire suppression: commercial cooking under a Type I hood needs a wet-chemical suppression system to NFPA 96, permitted and inspected by the local fire marshal. Type I hood fire suppression must meet NFPA 96 and the fire code adopted by the local fire authority. See do I need a hood? and the hood CFM calculator.
Backflow prevention: An approved backflow preventer with a certified annual test is required by the local water purveyor. A certified backflow assembly (often an RPZ) on the water service, tested annually, is standard — confirm with your water utility.
| Category | Annual fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| market/grocery with deli | $469-$664 (<=15,000 sqft) / $894-$1,276 (>15,000 sqft) | Grocery Stores with Deli (range reflects phased SB25-285 increases); grocery without deli $244-$340 / $441-$624 |
| pushcart/limited operation | $338-$682 | Mobile Unit Prepackaged $338-$475, Full Service $481-$682; Limited Retail Food Service $338-$475 |
| caterer | $481-$826 | Caterers licensed under Restaurant seating tiers (0-100 $481-$682; 101-200 $538-$763; over 200 $581-$826) |
| food processing/wholesale | — | Not a county retail-food category |
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 Boulder 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 →