Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
Cumberland County food-facility health permits run about $205–$300 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Confirm the exact amount with Maine DHHS, Maine CDC - Health Inspection Program (Division of Environmental & Community Health) 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 Maine DHHS, Maine CDC - Health Inspection Program (Division of Environmental & Community Health) 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 (973 → 980).
The average foodservice wage here is $1,319 above the Maine average ($30,558); Maine has about 3,424 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.
State-administered by the Maine CDC Health Inspection Program (fee schedule revised 02-02-2026); Cumberland County (Portland) has no county health department; Note: municipalities delegated by the state (Table 2) license eating places at a flat $100 regardless of size
Maine CDC Health Inspection Program inspects to the Maine Food Code; critical/non-critical violations shown in online reports, no letter grade.
Per the HIP fee schedule (rev 02-02-2026); A mobile base kitchen (commissary) is licensed separately at $100. Delegated municipalities charge a flat $100 for a mobile eating place
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 $305–$570 for Cumberland 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 Cumberland County and Maine. The Maine CDC Health Inspection Program licenses and inspects restaurants statewide and posts the last three years of results in this portal.
Maine 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 UPC 2021 (IAPMO, Maine Internal Plumbing Rules), 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 wherever grease-laden waste is produced, sized under the state plumbing code, with the FOG discharge permit issued by the local sewer/POTW authority.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with Maine DHHS, Maine CDC - Health Inspection Program (Division of Environmental & Community Health) (contact above).
Hood fire suppression (NFPA 101 (2018)): commercial cooking under a Type I hood needs a wet-chemical suppression system to NFPA 96, permitted and inspected by the local fire marshal. Commercial kitchen hood suppression follows NFPA 96 and is permitted and inspected by the Office of the State Fire Marshal. See do I need a hood? and the hood CFM calculator.
Backflow prevention: An annual RPZ/backflow assembly test is required under state cross-connection control rules and administered by the public water supplier. 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 | $270/yr (Catering); Eating & Catering combination $300/yr | Per the Maine CDC HIP fee schedule (rev 02-02-2026); Delegated municipalities charge a flat $100 |
| Commissary / central preparation kitchen | $300/yr (Eating Place; Commissary); $100/yr (Eating Place; Mobile Base Kitchen) | Maine breaks out both a full commissary ($300) and a mobile base kitchen ($100) |
| Bakery / food processing | not a distinct Maine CDC eating-place category; a retail bakery is licensed as an eating place (by seats/takeout), while wholesale food manufacturing is regulated by the Maine Dept of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry; Confirm applicable license | Maine CDC HIP does eating/lodging; food manufacturing is a separate DACF program |
| Bar / limited food service | $205/yr (Eating Place; Limited Menu) | A bar with limited food is licensed as a Limited Menu eating place; a full-menu bar uses the seating tiers ($220/$265/$300) |
| Grocery / market with deli | retail food stores (grocery/market) in Maine are licensed by the Dept of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry, not the Maine CDC HIP; an in-store deli/prep area may trigger a Maine CDC eating-place license; Confirm store license with DACF | Grocery/retail food = DACF jurisdiction in Maine |
| Temporary / seasonal event | $130 (Eating Place; Temporary, 1-4 days); $205 (5-14 days) | Non-profits need no license if fewer than 12 events/year |
| Pushcart / mobile vending | $270/yr (Eating Place; Mobile / Mobile Stick Built); $100/yr (Mobile Base Kitchen) | Delegated municipalities charge a flat $100 for a mobile eating place |
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 Cumberland 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 →