Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
Deschutes County food-facility health permits run about $1,071–$1,588 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $372–$865. Confirm the exact amount with Deschutes County Health Services, 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 Deschutes County Health Services, 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.
▲ 3.5% change in establishments since 2022 (604 → 625).
The average foodservice wage here is $3,910 above the Oregon average ($26,591); Oregon has about 11,223 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.
Deschutes County Fee Schedule FY2026 (adopted, dated 11-01-2025); County-adopted annual license fee tiered by seating; Licenses run calendar year; $150 penalty if paid 30+ days after Dec 31 expiration, plus $150 each additional month; (Board-adopted fee-schedule PDF; live re-fetch limited 2026-08-10, figures carried from the FY2026 schedule.)
Oregon 100-point sanitation score (pass at 70); Deschutes posts scores online.
Four mobile classes (Class IV = full mobile kitchen); FY2026 fee schedule
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 $1,831–$3,296 for Deschutes 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 Oregon plumbing specialty 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 Deschutes County Health Services, 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. Commercial hood suppression must meet NFPA 96 and the Oregon 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Commissary / central preparation kitchen | $433 (annual license); plan review $433 | Deschutes County Fee Schedule FY2026 (Commissary / Base of Operation) |
| Bar / limited food service | $879 (Limited service license, annual) | FY2026 fee schedule; 'Limited service' foodservice license |
| Temporary / seasonal event | Temporary Restaurant License: for-profit $218, benevolent/non-profit $70; temporary at event (no license) $347; re-check fee $146 | FY2026 fee schedule; seasonal/intermittent temporary licenses also offered (for-profit $218 if applied 7+ days ahead, $259 if less) |
| Pushcart / mobile vending | Covered by Mobile Unit Annual Operating License: Class I $388, Class II $455, Class III $648, Class IV $843 | Carts/pushcarts fall into the mobile unit class structure (per OAR 333-162-0020) |
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 Deschutes 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 →