Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
San Diego County food-facility health permits run about $587–$2,087 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $197–$3,407. Confirm the exact amount with County of San Diego Dept. of Environmental Health and Quality (DEHQ), Food, Water & Housing Division 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 County of San Diego Dept. of Environmental Health and Quality (DEHQ), Food, Water & Housing Division 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 (7,639 → 7,761).
The average foodservice wage here is $430 above the California average ($28,902); California has about 88,778 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.
Tier is driven by number of employees, not square footage; revised annually by ordinance; Verified against the DEHQ Food Fee Schedule (Rev; 7/29/2026, effective July 10, 2026)
San Diego County requires an A/B/C grade card in the window (not the green/yellow/red placard used by other CA counties).
Requires a Mobile Food Plan Check before permitting; an approved commissary/mobile support unit is required
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 $970–$6,308 for San Diego 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 San Diego County needs more than the health permit — these approvals are handled by separate offices. Confirm current requirements with each.
| Building / plans | City of San Diego Development Services Dept. · 619-446-5000 |
| Fire marshal | San Diego Fire-Rescue Dept. - Fire Prevention Bureau |
| Zoning / planning | City of San Diego Development Services - Zoning · 619-446-5000 |
| Sewer / grease | City of San Diego Public Utilities Dept. - Food Establishment Wastewater Discharge (FEWD) / grease |
| Business license | City of San Diego Business Tax Certificate (Office of the City Treasurer) · 619-615-1500 |
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 California 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 County of San Diego Dept. of Environmental Health and Quality (DEHQ), Food, Water & Housing Division (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. Type I hood fire suppression must meet NFPA 96 and the California 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Caterer | $715 | Full-Service Catering / Direct Sales Catering $715 (6FA28); Host Facility (Direct Sales Catering) $208 (6FA07); Eff; 7/10/2026 |
| Commissary | $481 | Commissary: Vending Machine or Prepackaged Food $481 (6FB12); Multiple Kitchen Complex Operation $356 (6FAMULTKIT); Eff; 7/10/2026 |
| Bakery | — | No standalone bakery permit; permitted as a Retail Food Processing Facility ($763, 6FA08) or restaurant |
| Bar / tavern | — | No standalone bar/tavern permit; permitted as a restaurant by employee count |
| Market / grocery with deli | $946 | Retail Market with Deli 1-10 employees $946, 11 or more employees $1,267 (6FA55, includes up to 3 prep areas; each prep area over 3 adds $562); Prepackaged Retail Market $255 (6FA50); Eff; 7/10/2026 |
| Temporary / special event | $360 | Temp Event Prepackaged Foods 1-4 days $360 / annual $251; Temp Event Unpackaged Foods 1-4 days $685 / annual $479; Temp Event Organizer 1-4 days $664; Certified Farmers Market without temp food facilities $792. Eff; 7/10/2026 |
| Low risk / restricted / limited | $587 | Low Risk Food Facility / Restricted Food Service Facility $587 (6FA05); Satellite Food Service Operation $150 (6FASAT); Eff; 7/10/2026 |
| Food processing / wholesale | $763 | Retail Food Processing Facility $763 (6FA08); Wholesale Food Warehouse 1-19,999 sq ft $612, 20,000+ sq ft $763 (6FA10); Eff; 7/10/2026 |
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 San Diego 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 →