Restaurants, commercial kitchens, 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 Salt Lake County Health Department - Food Protection Bureau issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 5.1% change in establishments since 2022 (2,380 → 2,502).
The average foodservice wage here is $2,140 above the Utah average ($21,152); Utah has about 6,174 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.
Exact restaurant permit fee NOT published on the county food-protection pages; fee is calculated by the Food Protection Bureau at the time of application; Contact Bureau at (385) 468-3845 / 788 East Woodoak Lane, Murray UT
Turnaround: Plan review must be completed before building/modifying the facility; fee calculated at submission (amount not published)
No letter grades or posted scores; risk-based rating with full inspection history posted online.
Before applying, operator must attend a mobile food service class and complete a Commissary Agreement and Restroom Agreement, then complete plan review before building the unit; Utah uses standardized statewide mobile tiers with cross-county reciprocity
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 $350–$755 for Salt Lake 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 Salt Lake County needs more than the health permit — these approvals are handled by separate offices. Confirm current requirements with each.
Under 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. 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 Salt Lake County Health Department - Food Protection Bureau (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 state fire code enforced by local fire officials. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| temporary/seasonal/special-event | $70 low-risk single day / $105 high-risk single day | Temporary Food Establishment permit; booth operating >45 days/yr requires an approved commissary |
| commissary/central kitchen | — | Required for all mobile food units and temporary booths >45 days; must be a health-dept-approved food establishment (restaurant/school/church kitchen); No separate flat fee published |
| caterer | — | No standalone caterer category; caterers hold a food service permit and each event vendor obtains its own temporary permit |
| market/grocery with deli | — | Grocery stores, butchers, bakeries and food manufacturing/processing are NOT regulated by SLCoHD; jurisdiction of Utah Dept of Agriculture & Food |
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 Salt Lake 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 →