Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
City & County of San Francisco food-facility health permits run about $408–$1,991 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $276–$2,207. Confirm the exact amount with San Francisco Department of Public Health - Environmental Health Branch (EHB), Food Safety Program 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 San Francisco Department of Public Health - Environmental Health Branch (EHB), Food Safety Program issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 0.5% change in establishments since 2022 (3,900 → 3,920).
The average foodservice wage here is $7,269 above 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.
Fees stack with a Fire Department referral $156 and a Zoning referral $192. Most core restaurant/bar/take-out annual-license cells are blank ($-) in the published schedule; the $470 Permit to Operate application fee is the confirmed food-permit charge; confirm the annual license amount with EHB; Inspection/reinspection billed at $276/hr; Values shown are the current 4/1/26-3/31/27 license period; the schedule also lists a following-year (4/1/27-3/31/28) column with higher amounts (e.g., Restricted Food Service Facility $1,598, Employee Cafeteria w/ Food Prep $1,460)
Turnaround: Multi-agency plan review/inspection (health, fire, building, planning) commonly takes 3-6 months overall
SF posts green/yellow/red placards (Pass/Conditional Pass/Closed) plus a 1-100 score; reports online.
DPH-EHB issues the health MFF permit; a separate SF Public Works permit is required to operate in the public right-of-way (street/sidewalk)
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 $1,098–$4,939 for City & County of San Francisco:
That’s the paperwork only. Add buildout, equipment, deposits and licenses with the cost-to-open calculator. Fees change — confirm current amounts with the department.
Under UPC, food establishments here must control fats, oils & grease (FOG) with a grease interceptor or trap, and typically register with the local sewer/wastewater authority. A grease interceptor sized to the California Plumbing Code is required, with a municipal sewer-authority FOG discharge permit.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with San Francisco Department of Public Health - Environmental Health Branch (EHB), Food Safety Program (contact above).
Hood fire suppression (IFC): commercial cooking under a Type I hood needs a wet-chemical suppression system to NFPA 96, permitted and inspected by the local fire marshal. Type I hood fire suppression must meet NFPA 96 and the California Fire Code enforced by the local fire authority. See do I need a hood? and the hood CFM calculator.
Backflow prevention: An approved backflow preventer with a certified annual test is required by the local water purveyor. A certified backflow assembly (often an RPZ) on the water service, tested annually, is standard — confirm with your water utility.
| Category | Annual fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| caterer | — | 'Caterers', 'Catering Facilities with Cooking' and 'without Cooking' are listed but published with no flat annual license fee ($-); SF charges a $470 Permit to Operate application fee plus hourly inspection; From DPH-EHB Fee Schedule (revised 7/1/2026) |
| commissary/central kitchen | $1,288 | License period 4/1/26-3/31/27: 'Commissaries for Cooking' $1,288; 'Commissary for Mobile Food Facility Servicing' $741; 'Cooking school' $741; 'Host Facility' $988. (Following-year 4/1/27-3/31/28 amounts are $1,416 / $815 / $815 / $1,087.) |
| shared kitchen | $988 | License period 4/1/26-3/31/27: Shared Kitchen Complex less than 2,000 sq ft $988; 2,000 sq ft or more $1,235 |
| bakery | — | 'Retail Bakeries WITH Food Prep' and 'WITHOUT Food Prep' are listed but published with no flat annual license fee ($-) |
| bar/tavern | — | 'Bars / Taverns (W Food Prep)' and '(W/O Food Prep)' are listed but published with no flat annual license fee ($-) |
| market/grocery with deli | $1,159 | License period 4/1/26-3/31/27. Retail Markets WITH Food Prep (deli): Under 5,001 sq ft $-, 5,001-10,000 $1,159, 10,001-20,000 $1,407. WITHOUT Food Prep: Under 5,001 $-, 5,001-10,000 $1,091, 10,001-20,000 $1,358, over 20,000 $1,648. Supermarkets over 20,000 sq ft $1,593 (1 food prep) / $1,793 (2-3) / $1,991 (4+) |
| temporary/seasonal/special-event | $225 | 'Temporary Facilities' $225 (license period 4/1/26-3/31/27); Special Events: Food Operator High $152 / Low $59; Event Sponsor Permit Application $211; Annual Special Events Application; Food Operator (Low or High Potential Hazard) $412. 'Certified Farmers Markets' $628 |
| pushcart/limited operation | $555 | 'Retail Food Vendor at Farmers Market (Pushcarts)' $555 (license period 4/1/26-3/31/27) |
| food processing/wholesale | $922 | License period 4/1/26-3/31/27: 'Food Manufacturing / Processing' $922; 'Wholesale Food Markets' $894; 'Fisherman's Markets' $894 |
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.
This is a typical sequence — confirm the exact sequence with your authority having jurisdiction.
Official plan-check requirements: plan-check guide →