Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
Dane County food-facility health permits run about $266.76–$1,457.35 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $562.50–$1,200. Confirm the exact amount with Public Health Madison & Dane County - 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 Public Health Madison & Dane County - 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.
▲ 2.2% change in establishments since 2022 (1,295 → 1,324).
The average foodservice wage here is $2,148 above the Wisconsin average ($20,340); Wisconsin has about 13,939 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.
Not a flat fee; scaled by anticipated gross annual food & drink sales (7 tiers) and food-handling complexity (Prepackaged TCS / Simple / Moderate / Complex); Verified from the official PHMDC Food License Fees sheet (eff; May 4, 2026); City of Madison Clerk's Office (608-266-4601) collects applications/fees; PHMDC does inspections/plan review
Public Health Madison & Dane County inspects under the Wisconsin Food Code; no letter grade. Inspection reports posted online.
WI licenses a mobile as a Retail Food Establishment (scaled by sales/complexity) plus a mobile Service Base; Holders of a statewide DATCP mobile license are exempt from PHMDC licensing but may incur a $50 Transient Operator inspection fee; Verified from PHMDC Food License Fees sheet (eff; May 4, 2026)
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 $16.30–$4,356.01 for Dane 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 Wisconsin Plumbing Code (SPS 382), 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 under the Wisconsin plumbing code, with FOG limits set by the municipal sewer utility.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with Public Health Madison & Dane County - Environmental Health Division (contact above).
Hood fire suppression (Wisconsin adopts the IFC via SPS 314): 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 as adopted through Wisconsin's fire and building codes, inspected by the local fire authority. See do I need a hood? and the hood CFM calculator.
Backflow prevention: Restaurants must install a testable backflow preventer (typically an RPZ) that is tested annually and reported to the local water utility. 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 | Retail Food Establishment; Not Serving Meals new-license fee: $835.56 (sales <=$10k, prepackaged) up to $2,753.25 (sales >$5M, complex); e.g; mid-tier ($100,001-$250,000, moderate) $1,471.66 | Groceries/markets license as 'Retail Food Establishment; Not Serving Meals'; complexity tier rises with on-site handling such as a deli; New-license fee = our annual + state annual + pre-inspection; Verified PHMDC sheet eff; May 4, 2026 |
| temporary/seasonal/special-event | Transient Food Establishment new-license (our + state): Prepackaged TCS only $111.60; Non-TCS $150.90; TCS $199.30. Transient Operator Inspection Fee (operator licensed by state or another WI municipality) $50 | Wisconsin 'Transient' = mobile/temporary operator moving among events/locations; Verified PHMDC sheet eff; May 4, 2026 |
| commissary/central kitchen | $423.06 new license (Mobile Retail Food Establishment Service Base; No Food Preparation or Processing; $266.76 our + $6.30 state + $150 pre-inspection) | The commissary/service-base category is the 'Service Base; No Processing' license supporting mobile units; Verified PHMDC sheet eff; May 4, 2026 |
| micro market | Single micro market $40.00 new license ($34.40 our + $5.60 state); 2+ at same location $60.00 | Unattended micro-market license; Verified PHMDC sheet eff; May 4, 2026 |
| school | School; Satellite $149.00; School; Production $360.00 (our fee; DATCP/DPI MOU) | Verified PHMDC sheet eff; May 4, 2026 |
| bakery | — | No separate bakery category; a bakery licenses as a Retail Food Establishment (Serving Meals or Not Serving Meals) at the applicable sales/complexity tier |
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 Dane 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 →