Restaurants and food trucks.
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 Columbus Public Health — Food Protection Program (240 Parsons Ave); Franklin County Public Health for balance of county issues the health permit.
Cities with their own health department: Columbus. Food businesses inside these cities apply to the city health department (with its own fees and rules), not Franklin County. Confirm which authority covers your exact address.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 1.2% change in establishments since 2022 (3,022 → 3,059).
The average foodservice wage here is $2,418 above the Ohio average ($20,628); Ohio has about 24,162 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.
Ohio FSO/RFE licenses are priced by risk level (Class 1-4) and size (<25,000 vs >=25,000 sq ft), set annually by each board of health via cost analysis (OAC 3701-21-02.1/02.2); columbus.gov blocks automated retrieval (HTTP 403); Fee schedule PDF (blocked): https://www.columbus.gov/files/sharedassets/city/v/2/public-health/2024-food-program-fee-schedule.pdf; Secondary range cited by industry guides: ~$135-$500+ depending on class
Turnaround: Submit plans >=45 days before target opening; mobile license review up to ~30 days
Franklin County (Columbus) Public Health inspects under the Ohio Uniform Food Safety Code; no letter grade, inspection reports posted online.
Columbus Public Health issues MFSO licenses for Franklin-County-based trucks; Secondary guide figures: risk-tiered ~$150-$300/yr, large-metro MFSO ~$300-$500+; Requires plan review, menu, equipment layout, commissary letter, and pre-operational inspection
Fees/payment and forms are on the department site; application steps vary by concept — see the checklist below.
U.S. Census 2023 population; County Business Patterns 2022 (NAICS 722).
A code-compliant kitchen in Franklin County needs more than the health permit — these approvals are handled by separate offices. Confirm current requirements with each.
Under Ohio Plumbing Code (based on 2021 IPC), 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 Ohio Plumbing Code, with FOG discharge limits enforced by the local sewer authority.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with Columbus Public Health — Food Protection Program (240 Parsons Ave); Franklin County Public Health for balance of county (contact above).
Hood fire suppression (Ohio Fire Code (based on 2021 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 kitchen hood suppression follows NFPA 96 as adopted in the Ohio Fire Code and is 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 |
|---|---|---|
| temporary/seasonal/special-event | — | Temporary FSO/RFE license, event-specific (apply >=5 days prior), Columbus Public Health |
| pushcart/limited operation | — | Vending FSO and pushcart mobile categories exist (Concession, Pushcart, Knockdown, Catering-type truck); Fees in blocked PDF |
| caterer | — | Ohio risk-level FSO/RFE scheme; catering handled as a catering-type mobile unit or catering FSO by risk level, not a standalone category; No separate bakery/grocery-deli/bar license |
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 Franklin 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 →