Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
Clark County food-facility health permits run about $290 annually. Plan review runs about $500–$2,791. Confirm the exact amount with Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD), 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 Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD), 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.
▲ 3.1% change in establishments since 2022 (5,292 → 5,457).
The average foodservice wage here is $558 above the Nevada average ($27,346); Nevada has about 7,337 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.
Annual food establishment permit; SNHD Environmental Health Fee Schedule (Effective 07/01/2026) sets a fixed base plus a per-seat unit rate ($3.72); Banquet/special kitchens are priced by square footage ($768 <1,000 sf up to $1,799 >=10,000 sf); New permit cost = plan review + annual permit fee
Turnaround: Applications submitted electronically via the SNHD EH Portal, processed in order received
Southern Nevada Health District assigns A (0-10 demerits), B, or C by demerit count; grade placard posted and results online.
Annual SNHD mobile food permit plus a one-time plan review (FPR); Amounts from SNHD EH Fee Schedule eff; 07/01/2026. All mobile vendors must operate from an approved commissary that holds a valid SNHD food establishment permit; In the City of Las Vegas, a city business license (LVMC 6.55) is also required
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 $197.97–$3,739 for Clark 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.
A code-compliant kitchen in Clark County needs more than the health permit — these approvals are handled by separate offices. Confirm current requirements with each.
| Building / plans | Clark County Department of Building & Fire Prevention · 702-455-3000 |
| Fire marshal | Clark County Fire Department (Fire Prevention) · 702-455-7311 |
| Zoning / planning | Clark County Comprehensive Planning (Current Planning / zoning) · 702-455-4314 |
| Sewer / grease | Clark County Water Reclamation District (CCWRD) - Pretreatment / FOG |
| Business license | Clark County Business License Department · 702-455-4252 |
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 locally 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 Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD), Environmental Health Division (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 |
|---|---|---|
| commissary/central kitchen | $312 (<1,000 sf) / $574 (1,000-2,999) / $956 (3,000-4,999) / $1,107 (5,000-9,999) / $1,286 (>=10,000 sf); PE 1320-1324 | Commissary annual permit by square footage (SNHD EH Fee Schedule eff; 07/01/2026); Required as support kitchen for mobile/itinerant operations |
| caterer | $290/yr (PE 1090) + FPR Caterer $547 plan review | Annual caterer permit plus one-time plan review (SNHD EH Fee Schedule eff; 07/01/2026) |
| annual itinerant | Low Risk $717/yr (PE 1092); High Risk $1,076/yr (PE 1093) | Annual itinerant food establishment permit; requires an approved support kitchen/commissary |
| market/grocery with deli | Market $312 (<1,000 sf) to $1,286 (>=10,000 sf); PE 1300-1304 | Retail food market annual permit by square footage (SNHD EH Fee Schedule eff; 07/01/2026) |
| bakery | Retail Bakery Sales $312-$1,286 by sq ft (PE 1073-1077); wholesale Bakery processing $574-$2,573 by sq ft (PE 1215-1219) | Annual permit by square footage (SNHD EH Fee Schedule eff; 07/01/2026) |
| seasonal food facility | $138 (0-4 mo) / $207 (<=5 mo) / $276 (<=6 mo) / $345 (<=7 mo) / $412 (<=8 mo); PE 1098-1102 | Seasonal permit priced by months of operation |
| temporary/seasonal/special-event | Temporary Food Establishment $179.83 (1-5 days) / $219.79 (6-10 days) / $272.38 (11-14 days); Event Coordinator 5-10 vendors $200, 11-59 $399, 60+ $399; Annual Event Coordinator $1,595 | SNHD EH Fee Schedule eff; 07/01/2026. Late fee 50% if submitted 2-7 days before event, 100% if 1 business day before; Event coordinator permit required for 5+ permitted vendors |
| vending machine | $102.90/yr (PE 1340) | Per vending machine annual permit |
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 Clark 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 →