Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
Marion County food-facility health permits run about $335–$770 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Confirm the exact amount with Marion County Health & Human Services, Environmental Health Services (licenses food service facilities under ORS Chapter 624; fees set by ORS 624.490) 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 Marion County Health & Human Services, Environmental Health Services (licenses food service facilities under ORS Chapter 624; fees set by ORS 624.490) issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 1.9% change in establishments since 2022 (783 → 798).
The average foodservice wage here is $2,763 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.
Fees are set statewide by ORS 624.490 and collected by Marion County Environmental Health; A formal plan review must be completed before an annual restaurant license is issued
Oregon 100-point sanitation score (pass at 70); Marion posts scores online.
A Mobile Unit Plan Review Packet is required for new units; Out-of-county units submit a copy of their existing Oregon mobile license plus the $25 inspection fee
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 $360–$1,025 for Marion 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 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 Marion County Health & Human Services, Environmental Health Services (licenses food service facilities under ORS Chapter 624; fees set by ORS 624.490) (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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bar / limited food service | $335 (limited service restaurant, ORS 624.490) | Bars serving limited food are licensed as limited service restaurants; alcohol licensing is separate through OLCC |
| Commissary / central preparation kitchen | $350 (commissary, ORS 624.490) | Statewide statutory fee collected by Marion County Environmental Health |
| Pushcart / mobile vending | $255 (each mobile unit, ORS 624.490); $25 inspection fee for a unit already licensed in another Oregon county | Mobile Unit Plan Review Packet required for new units |
| Grocery / market with deli | retail food stores/grocery in Oregon are licensed by the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), not the county health authority | See the ODA Food Safety license fee schedule; a deli preparing food to order may fall under an ORS 624 restaurant license instead |
| Bakery / food processing | retail and wholesale bakeries and packaged-food processors are licensed by the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), not Marion County | County ORS 624 licensing covers restaurants/food service, not ODA-regulated food manufacturing |
| Temporary / seasonal event | the intermittent/seasonal temporary restaurant fee is set under ORS 624.490 but no fixed amount is published; single-event temporary restaurants run by benevolent organizations are exempt from license and inspection fees (ORS 624.106) | Marion County provides a Temporary Restaurant Application; confirm the current fee with Environmental Health |
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 Marion 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 →