Restaurants and food trucks.
Hillsborough County food-facility health permits run about $126–$357 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Confirm the exact amount with FL DBPR Division of Hotels & Restaurants (state); Hillsborough County Tax Collector (Business Tax); City of Tampa (municipal BTR) 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 FL DBPR Division of Hotels & Restaurants (state); Hillsborough County Tax Collector (Business Tax); City of Tampa (municipal BTR) issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 0.7% change in establishments since 2022 (2,728 → 2,748).
The average foodservice wage here is $459 above the Florida average ($25,544); Florida has about 44,608 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.
State-issued; fees verified on the official DBPR Food Service Fees page 2026-08-10. Hillsborough County Business Tax Receipt and City of Tampa BTR also required
Turnaround: Prior to construction/opening; no fixed published turnaround
State DBPR Division of Hotels & Restaurants inspects; outcome is met-standards / warning / emergency closure with violations listed, no letter grade; searchable statewide online database.
State MFDV license tied to vehicle; Layered local requirements: county + city BTR, commissary paperwork, propane/fire checks, per-location vending/zoning approval (esp; Ybor City)
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 $60–$704 for Hillsborough 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.
Check the health-inspection history and violation scores for any food establishment in Hillsborough County and Florida. Florida DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants runs a statewide restaurant inspection report search.
Florida inspection lookup →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.
A code-compliant kitchen in Hillsborough County needs more than the health permit — these approvals are handled by separate offices. Confirm current requirements with each.
| Building / plans | City of Tampa – Construction Services Division · 813-274-3100 |
| Fire marshal | Tampa Fire Rescue – Fire Prevention Division · 813-274-7011 |
| Zoning / planning | City of Tampa – Zoning (Development & Growth Management) · 813-274-3100 |
| Sewer / grease | City of Tampa Wastewater Department – Grease Ordinance / FOG Program · 813-898-1420 |
| Business license | City of Tampa – Business Tax Receipt (city) + Hillsborough County Tax Collector (county BTR) · 813-274-8751 |
Under Florida Building Code, Plumbing, 8th Edition (2023), 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 Florida Building Code Plumbing, with FOG permits from the local utility/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 FL DBPR Division of Hotels & Restaurants (state); Hillsborough County Tax Collector (Business Tax); City of Tampa (municipal BTR) (contact above).
Hood fire suppression (Florida Fire Prevention Code, 8th Edition (NFPA 1 & NFPA 101, 2021)): 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 the Florida Fire Prevention Code, enforced by the local fire marshal. See do I need a hood? and the hood CFM calculator.
Backflow prevention: Annual RPZ backflow testing is required by the local 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 |
|---|---|---|
| caterer | $263/yr | DBPR statewide caterer license; any licensed food service establishment may also cater without a separate license |
| theme-park/entertainment-complex food cart | $262-$357/yr | Tiered by number of carts: 1-5 $262, 6-10 $273, 11-15 $294, 16-20 $315, 21-25 $336, 26+ $357 |
| vending machine | $21/yr | Per machine dispensing prepared/potentially hazardous food |
| temporary/special-event food vendor | 1-3 day $91; 4-30 day $105; annual $456 | DBPR temporary event vendor 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 Hillsborough 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 →