Restaurants and food trucks.
Ellis County food-facility health permits run about $125–$773 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Confirm the exact amount with Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS), Retail Food Establishments program (state jurisdiction). Ellis County has no county food-permit program; some cities (e.g., Waxahachie) administer temporary-event permits locally through their Building/Community Services departments. 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 Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS), Retail Food Establishments program (state jurisdiction). Ellis County has no county food-permit program; some cities (e.g., Waxahachie) administer temporary-event permits locally through their Building/Community Services departments. issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 7.0% change in establishments since 2022 (315 → 337).
The average foodservice wage here is $2,271 below the Texas average ($23,083); Texas has about 60,229 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.
DSHS state-jurisdiction fee, uniform statewide; Fees apply to initial applications, renewals, and change of ownership; Inspection-only application (schools/non-profits) $150 per inspection; Re-verified 2026-08-10 against the DSHS retail food permits fee page
Texas (TFER) demerit-based inspection: score = 100 minus demerits, fail above 30 demerits; administered by the local/DSHS health authority, reports public.
As of July 1, 2026 all Texas mobile food units are licensed by DSHS under the statewide MFV system (HB 2844); Prior DSHS mobile permit was $258/unit; Fees re-verified 2026-08-10 against the DSHS Mobile Food Vendors page (application fee + pre-licensing fee both due at submission; application fees include a Texas Online fee)
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 $300–$150,876 for Ellis 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 2015 UPC and 2015 IPC (state-adopted minimum; municipality selects), food establishments here must control fats, oils & grease (FOG) with a grease interceptor or trap, and typically register with the local sewer/wastewater authority. Restaurants must install an approved grease interceptor under the state-adopted plumbing code, with discharge governed by the local sewer authority's FOG program.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with Texas Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS), Retail Food Establishments program (state jurisdiction). Ellis County has no county food-permit program; some cities (e.g., Waxahachie) administer temporary-event permits locally through their Building/Community Services departments. (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. Commercial kitchen hood suppression must meet NFPA 96 and the locally adopted International Fire Code, enforced by the local fire marshal (no single mandatory statewide edition). See do I need a hood? and the hood CFM calculator.
Backflow prevention: Backflow prevention assemblies (typically an RPZ) require annual testing by a certified tester through the local water utility's cross-connection control program. A certified backflow assembly (often an RPZ) on the water service, tested annually, is standard — confirm with your water utility.
| Category | Annual fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary / seasonal event | Single-event permit $52 (one booth, one event, max 14 consecutive days); Multiple-event permit $200 (one booth, multiple events over 2 years) | DSHS state schedule; apply at least 30 days ahead; City of Waxahachie administers temporary permits locally (apply 5 days ahead; fee not published) |
| Pushcart / mobile vending | MFV Type I $309; Type II $618 + $400 pre-licensing inspection; Type III $876 + $500 pre-licensing inspection | New statewide DSHS Mobile Food Vendor licensing effective July 1, 2026 (HB 2844) |
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 Ellis 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 →