Restaurants and food trucks.
Butte County food-facility health permits run about $803–$1,071 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $536–$1,272. Confirm the exact amount with Butte County Public Health Department, Environmental Health Division 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 Butte County Public Health Department, Environmental Health Division issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▼ 1.4% change in establishments since 2022 (425 → 419).
The average foodservice wage here is $5,354 below the California average ($28,902); California has about 88,778 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.
Butte County Master Fee Schedule, Public Health; Environmental Health, effective 10/1/2025. Restaurant annual permit tiered by seating capacity; Bar with no food service $670/yr
Butte requires a green/yellow/red placard (program since 2014) and posts all inspection reports online.
Mobile Food Facility plan review (per permit): Truck Cat A $670, Cat B $536, Pre-packaged $268. Annual permit amounts from FY25/26 Master Fee Schedule (eff; 10/1/2025)
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 $1,506–$3,013 for Butte 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.
Under UPC, 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 California 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 Butte County Public Health Department, Environmental Health Division (contact above).
Hood fire suppression (IFC): 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 California Fire Code enforced 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Caterer | $803/yr (owns/operates their own commissary); $402/yr (uses a permitted food facility as commissary) | Butte County Master Fee Schedule, Food Program Annual Permit (eff; 10/1/2025) |
| Bakery / food processing | $268/yr (bakery within a retail facility) | Priced as a component within a grocery/retail facility permit |
| Bar / limited food service | $670/yr (bar, no food service) | Annual food permit category for bars with no food service |
| Grocery / market with deli | Grocery: <1,000 sq ft $670, 1,000-5,999 sq ft $670, 6,000+ sq ft $937; Deli within retail $402 | Grocery store annual permit tiered by square footage; deli is a separate add-on component |
| Temporary / seasonal event | Annual Temporary Food Facility: Significant prep $268, Minimum prep $201, Prepackaged $100, Non-profit charitable $0. Community Event Organizer: 2-5 vendors $167, 6-10 $234, 11+ $268 | One-time temporary facility priced lower (Significant prep $201, Min prep $134, Prepackaged $67); Seasonal food facilities $335/yr |
| Pushcart / mobile vending | Cart: Category A $335/yr, Category B $167/yr | Mobile Food Facility cart tier (distinct from mobile truck); Mobile truck: Cat A $670, Cat B $335, Pre-packaged $268 |
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 Butte 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 →