Restaurants and food trucks.
Hidalgo County food-facility health permits run about $100–$250 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $100. Confirm the exact amount with Hidalgo County Health & Human Services Department - Environmental Health Division (McAllen/Edinburg area) 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 Hidalgo County Health & Human Services Department - Environmental Health Division (McAllen/Edinburg area) 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 (1,184 → 1,226).
The average foodservice wage here is $3,751 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.
Updated fee schedule approved by Commissioners Court Dec 10, 2025, effective Feb 9, 2026. Uses employee-count tiers (amounts sit below DSHS SB 1008 caps); Standard inspection $100; re-inspection $100; late fee $50; amendment $100; permit replacement $25; temporary food $25 (standard) / $50 (late/on-site); Applies in unincorporated areas and cities without their own health program; McAllen city establishments may fall under the city
Turnaround: not published
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 DSHS under HB 2844. Separate Mobile Food Vendor application packets (English/Spanish) available from the county
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 $400–$1,226 for Hidalgo 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 Hidalgo County Health & Human Services Department - Environmental Health Division (McAllen/Edinburg area) (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 |
|---|---|---|
| roadside food vendor | $100/yr | HCHD Food Establishment Fee Schedule effective Feb 9, 2026 |
| educational institution / school | $200/yr | Includes two (2) inspections per year |
| temporary/special-event food establishment | $25 (application) / $50 (late or on-site) | Single event; operates no more than three (3) consecutive days |
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 Hidalgo 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 →