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 Fulton County Board of Health, Environmental Health Services issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 1.4% change in establishments since 2022 (3,534 → 3,585).
The average foodservice wage here is $4,876 above the Georgia average ($22,101); Georgia has about 21,984 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.
Fee is set by facility Risk Type per the county EHS Fee Schedule (approved by BOC March 2022); see EHS-Fee-Schedule.pdf source
Turnaround: Minimum 6 weeks after submission
State DPH posts a 0-100 score and corresponding letter grade (A 90-100, B 80-89, C 70-79, U <70) displayed at the establishment plus available online.
Mobile unit permit fee set by risk type on same EHS fee schedule; a separate Fulton County Food Truck Administrative Use Permit (Planning/Zoning) may be fee-exempt or fee-required by case
Fees/payment and forms are on the department site; application steps vary by concept — see the checklist below.
Check the health-inspection history and violation scores for any food establishment in Fulton County and Georgia. Georgia DPH publishes food service inspection scores statewide in a searchable online portal.
Georgia inspection lookup →U.S. Census 2023 population; County Business Patterns 2022 (NAICS 722).
A code-compliant kitchen in Fulton County needs more than the health permit — these approvals are handled by separate offices. Confirm current requirements with each.
| Building / plans | City of Atlanta Office of Buildings (Dept. of City Planning) (principal city) · 404-330-6150 |
| Fire marshal | Atlanta Fire Rescue - Office of the Fire Marshal / Fire & Life Safety · 470-716-5173 |
| Zoning / planning | City of Atlanta Office of Zoning & Development · 404-330-6175 |
| Sewer / grease | City of Atlanta Dept. of Watershed Management - Grease Management Program · 404-546-1503 |
| Business license | City of Atlanta Business License / Occupation Tax (Office of Revenue) |
Under Georgia State Minimum Standard Plumbing Code (IPC 2018 base), 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 Georgia State Minimum Standard Plumbing Code, with local sewer-authority FOG permits.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with Fulton County Board of Health, Environmental Health Services (contact above).
Hood fire suppression (Georgia State Minimum Standard Fire Prevention Code (IFC 2018 base)): commercial cooking under a Type I hood needs a wet-chemical suppression system to NFPA 96, permitted and inspected by the local fire marshal. Kitchen hood suppression follows NFPA 96 under Georgia's fire code, enforced by the State Fire Marshal and local AHJ. See do I need a hood? and the hood CFM calculator.
Backflow prevention: Annual RPZ backflow testing is required by 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/special-event food service | 1-2 day $35; 3-14 day $50 | Fulton County Board of Health temporary food permit; late-application surcharges apply (up to $77.50/$100); One free 1-day permit per group every 6 months |
| pop-up food service | $150 | Assessment/Letter of Approval $150 per vendor and $150 per facilitator (Fee Schedule eff; 4/1/2022) |
| caterer | — | Georgia regulates catering as a food service establishment (GA DPH Ch; 511-6-1); no separate caterer permit/fee published |
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 Fulton 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 →