Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
Montgomery County food-facility health permits run about $272.66–$1,458.64 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $100–$750. Confirm the exact amount with Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County (PHDMC), Office of Environmental Health 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 - Dayton & Montgomery County (PHDMC), Office of Environmental Health issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 1.1% change in establishments since 2022 (1,059 → 1,071).
The average foodservice wage here is $563 above the Ohio average ($20,628); Ohio has about 24,162 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 from PHDMC 2026 Fee Schedule (as of 12/1/2025); Late/penalty fee ~25% added if renewed late; Non-commercial (non-profit) fees roughly half; Vending FSO $31.86; temporary commercial $60/event
Turnaround: OAC 3701-21-03 requires action within 30 days; typically 10-15 business days
Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County inspects under the Ohio Uniform Food Safety Code; no letter grade, reports posted online.
Mobile plan review handled via separate application; PHDMC contacts applicant with plan-review fee before review; City of Dayton requires its own Mobile Food Vendor Permit in addition to the county license
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 $524.16–$2,483.64 for Montgomery 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 Ohio Plumbing Code (based on 2021 IPC), 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 Ohio Plumbing Code, with FOG discharge limits enforced by the local 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 Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County (PHDMC), Office of Environmental Health (contact above).
Hood fire suppression (Ohio Fire Code (based on 2021 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 kitchen hood suppression follows NFPA 96 as adopted in the Ohio Fire Code and is inspected by the local fire authority. See do I need a hood? and the hood CFM calculator.
Backflow prevention: Restaurants must install a testable backflow preventer (typically an RPZ) that is tested annually and reported to the local water utility. A certified backflow assembly (often an RPZ) on the water service, tested annually, is standard — confirm with your water utility.
| Category | Annual fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| market/grocery with deli (RFE) | risk-level based (Level 1-4, under/over 25,000 sq ft) | Retail Food Establishments licensed under the same commercial/non-commercial FSO & RFE risk-level schedule as restaurants; totals are local+state (CPI-adjusted) per the 2026 Schedule of General Fees |
| temporary/special-event | $275.00 / $151.50 | Temporary FSO/FE per event: commercial $247 local + $28 state = $275.00; non-commercial $123.50 + $28 = $151.50 |
| vending | — | 'Vending FSO' is a listed line on the 2026 Schedule of General Fees; exact dollar amount not cleanly extractable from the PDF |
| caterer | — | No separate caterer license; classified within FSO/RFE risk levels |
| bakery | — | No separate bakery license; folded into FSO/RFE risk levels |
| commissary/central kitchen | — | No separate commissary line; licensed as FSO/RFE |
| food processing/wholesale | — | State-regulated by Ohio Dept of Agriculture, not the county |
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 Montgomery 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 →