Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
Fort Bend County food-facility health permits run about $100–$550 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $150–$550. Confirm the exact amount with Fort Bend County Health & Human 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 Fort Bend County Health & Human 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.
▲ 7.9% change in establishments since 2022 (1,411 → 1,522).
The average foodservice wage here is $884 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.
Late fee $75; Replacement permit $50. Temporary Food: Single Event $75, Multiple Event $150
Turnaround: no turnaround published; a plan-review application is valid one year from submittal (covers application, Authorization to Construct, completion, and permitting)
Texas (TFER) demerit-based inspection: score = 100 minus demerits, fail above 30 demerits; administered by the local health authority, reports public.
Effective July 1, 2026 Texas moved mobile-food permitting to state DSHS under HB 2844; the county's $258 mobile line is explicitly marked 'Until July 1, 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 $508–$1,976 for Fort Bend 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 Fort Bend County Health & Human Services - 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| commissary / central kitchen (Category A) | $400 | Food Establishment Category A: any place where unpackaged TCS or non-TCS food is processed/prepared, OR a commercial kitchen provided for use by multiple food establishments (i.e., commissary/shared kitchen); Full-service restaurants also fall in Category A; From Exhibit A of the May 23, 2023 Order Setting Fees; a Sept 23, 2025 order may update amounts |
| market/grocery - prepackaged/limited (Category B) | $200 | Category B: any place where only prepackaged TCS foods are sold and/or limited non-TCS foods (e.g., citrus garnishes, crushed-ice syrup drinks) are served/sold; convenience/grocery limited retail |
| farmers' market vendor (Category C) | $100 | Category C: a farmer or food producer operating at a Department-approved farmers' market (market must be 51%+ farmers/producers) |
| food sample / cottage food (Category D) | $200 | Category D (Food Sample Permit): annual permit for a state-licensed food manufacturer or cottage food operation providing samples or selling prepackaged TCS foods at an approved Fort Bend temporary event |
| roadside food vendor | $200 | Exhibit A fee |
| educational institutions / schools | $250 | Exhibit A fee |
| mobile unit park | $300 | Permit for a park/lot hosting mobile food units |
| commissary servicing area | $300 | Servicing area supporting mobile food units |
| temporary/special-event food establishment | $75 (timely application) / $150 (untimely or on-site issuance) | Temporary Food Establishment permit |
| conditional 30-day permit | $240 | Optional permit issued to a business during a change of ownership |
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 Fort Bend 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 →