Restaurants, commercial kitchens, 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 Jackson County Health & Human Services, Environmental Public Health (Medford) issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 3.1% change in establishments since 2022 (546 → 563).
The average foodservice wage here is $2,178 below the Oregon average ($26,591); Oregon has about 11,223 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.
Jackson County Environmental Public Health licenses and inspects restaurants, mobile units, caterers, coffee stands, taphouses, bed & breakfasts and temporary food service; A December 2022 county internal-audit report noted Jackson's food fees run higher than several neighboring counties
Oregon 100-point sanitation score (pass at 70); results posted online.
Mobile units are defined in OAR 333-162-0000; Oregon classifies mobile units Class I-IV by food-handling; A commissary/base of operations is required
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).
Under UPC, food establishments here must control fats, oils & grease (FOG) with a grease interceptor or trap, and typically register with the local sewer/wastewater authority. A grease interceptor sized to the Oregon plumbing specialty code is required, with a municipal sewer-authority FOG discharge permit.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with Jackson County Health & Human Services, Environmental Public Health (Medford) (contact above).
Hood fire suppression (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 hood suppression must meet NFPA 96 and the Oregon fire code enforced by the local fire authority. See do I need a hood? and the hood CFM calculator.
Backflow prevention: An approved backflow preventer with a certified annual test is required by the local water purveyor. 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 | Jackson County licenses caterers but does not publish the fee online; call Environmental Public Health at 541-774-8206 | Caterer is a licensed food service class in Jackson County |
| Commissary / central preparation kitchen | commissary/base-of-operation fee is not published online; call 541-774-8206 | Required for mobile units; fee quoted by phone |
| Temporary / seasonal event | Temporary restaurant: Benevolent (non-profit) $77; Non-benevolent (for-profit) $256; Jackson County Fair $387; rush processing (received <4 days before the event) adds $50 | Seasonal/intermittent temporary licenses also offered; those amounts are quoted by phone |
| Pushcart / mobile vending | mobile unit license fee (Class I-IV per OAR 333-162-0020) is not published online; call 541-774-8206 | Mobile units are defined in OAR 333-162-0000; commissary required |
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 Jackson County with its neighbors.
This is a typical sequence — confirm the exact sequence with your authority having jurisdiction.