Restaurants 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 Prince George's County Health Department, Environmental Health (permits issued via Dept. of Permitting, Inspections & Enforcement / Momentum) issues the health permit.
About 1,454 food & drinking establishments operate here, serving a population of about 947,430. (U.S. Census 2023 estimate; County Business Patterns 2022, NAICS 722)
Permits issued by priority category: High Priority, Moderate Priority, and Low Priority Food Service Facility Permit (confirmed on Momentum food portal); Exact dollar amounts are published only in the DPIE Fee Schedule PDF (effective March 2, 2025), which is behind a Cloudflare block and could not be retrieved; New DPIE fees rose ~20% plus a 10% technology fee in 2025. Contact Food Protection Program 301-883-7690 for exact figures
Separate permit categories exist for Mobile Food Service Facility, Temporary Event, and Farmers' Market Vendor/Sampler; amounts in the (inaccessible) DPIE Fee Schedule
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 IPC (adopted via Maryland Building Performance Standards), 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 Maryland's adopted plumbing code, with FOG permits issued by the local sewer/wastewater authority.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with Prince George's County Health Department, Environmental Health (permits issued via Dept. of Permitting, Inspections & Enforcement / Momentum) (contact above).
Hood fire suppression (Maryland State Fire Prevention Code (NFPA 1 / NFPA 101)): 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 Maryland State Fire Prevention Code, enforced by the State Fire Marshal and local AHJ. See do I need a hood? and the hood CFM calculator.
Backflow prevention: Annual RPZ backflow assembly testing is required by the local water 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.
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 Prince George's County with its neighbors.
This is a typical sequence — confirm the exact sequence with your authority having jurisdiction.