Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
King County food-facility health permits run about $441–$1,386 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $35–$1,008. Confirm the exact amount with Public Health - Seattle & King County (Environmental Health, Food & Facilities Program) 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 Public Health - Seattle & King County (Environmental Health, Food & Facilities Program) issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 0.6% change in establishments since 2022 (6,332 → 6,372).
The average foodservice wage here is $4,491 above the Washington average ($30,672); Washington has about 17,386 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 set by risk category (complexity of food handling); Bakery no-seating $567/$630; Grocery no-seating $441/$819; Nonprofit institution $441/$693/$1,260. Verified against official 2026 fee PDF
Turnaround: Must be approved BEFORE any construction begins; one preoperational inspection included; fees non-refundable
King County posts a required window rating sign — Excellent / Good / Okay / Needs to Improve — plus an online ratings search.
Mobile units also require a mobile food plan review before operating; changes to mobile units billed at $504 + $252/hr after 2 hrs
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 $1,106–$3,402 for King 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.
A code-compliant kitchen in King County needs more than the health permit — these approvals are handled by separate offices. Confirm current requirements with each.
| Building / plans | Seattle Dept. of Construction & Inspections (SDCI) · 206-684-8600 |
| Fire marshal | Seattle Fire Department - Fire Marshal's Office / Fire Prevention |
| Zoning / planning | SDCI - Land Use / Zoning · 206-684-8600 |
| Sewer / grease | Seattle Public Utilities - side sewer & FOG/grease |
| Business license | City of Seattle Business License Tax Certificate (License & Tax Administration) · 206-684-8484 |
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 state plumbing 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 Public Health - Seattle & King County (Environmental Health, Food & Facilities Program) (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. Type I hood fire suppression must meet NFPA 96 and the state 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 | — | Catering and Home-Based Food Business permit; fee on separate service-fees page (not published here) |
| commissary/central kitchen | — | Commercial Commissary Kitchens permit; fee not published on page |
| bar/tavern | — | Beverage-Related Business (wine, beer, and distillery tasting rooms); fee not published |
| temporary/seasonal/special-event | — | Temporary Event Food Business (<21 days at one location); Farmers Market permit also offered; fee not published |
| market/grocery with deli | — | Micro-Market (Unattended Retail) permit; fee not 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 King 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 →