Restaurants and food trucks.
Pinellas County food-facility health permits run about $262–$357 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Confirm the exact amount with Florida Dept. of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR), Division of Hotels & Restaurants (statewide licensing); Florida Dept. of Health in Pinellas County handles local environmental health matters 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 Florida Dept. of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR), Division of Hotels & Restaurants (statewide licensing); Florida Dept. of Health in Pinellas County handles local environmental health matters issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 1.6% change in establishments since 2022 (2,308 → 2,346).
The average foodservice wage here is $751 below 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.
Statewide DBPR fee per FAC 61C-1.008(4)(b); identical in all FL counties; License year varies by district; renewed annually; Non-seating establishments have separate tier
Turnaround: Online apps process within a few business days; plan review must be approved before opening inspection
State DBPR Division of Hotels & Restaurants inspects; outcome is met-standards / warning / emergency closure with violations listed, no letter grade; searchable statewide online database.
Statewide DBPR license (FAC 61C-1.008); plan review required unless buying an approved unit or owned similar business within 2 yrs; Apply for license + plan review together, 30+ days before opening
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 $312–$704 for Pinellas 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 Pinellas 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 Pinellas County needs more than the health permit — these approvals are handled by separate offices. Confirm current requirements with each.
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 Florida Dept. of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR), Division of Hotels & Restaurants (statewide licensing); Florida Dept. of Health in Pinellas County handles local environmental health matters (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 (Div; of Hotels & Restaurants) full-year fee; $136.50 half-year; +$50 new-license application fee; +$10 HEP fee (not prorated); Any licensed public food service establishment may also cater without a separate license |
| theme-park cart | $262/yr (1-5 carts) | DBPR Theme Park Food Cart license; $136 half-year for 1-5 carts, rising to $357/yr for 26+ carts; For carts operating within a theme park/entertainment complex |
| vending (food) machine | $21/yr | DBPR license for vending machines dispensing prepared/potentially hazardous food; $15.50 half-year |
| temporary/special-event vendor | $91 (1-3 days) / $105 (4-30 days) / $456 annual | DBPR Temporary Food Service Event vendor license; annual covers multiple events; Temporary licensees may not cater |
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 Pinellas 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 →