Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
Santa Clara County food-facility health permits run about $664–$2,839 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $563–$4,365. Confirm the exact amount with County of Santa Clara Dept. of Environmental Health (DEH), Retail Food Program 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 Santa Clara Dept. of Environmental Health (DEH), Retail Food Program issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 1.3% change in establishments since 2022 (4,756 → 4,820).
The average foodservice wage here is $4,495 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.
Risk category (1-3) assigned by DEH; Small businesses (<=25 employees) may qualify for fee relief
Turnaround: Up to 20 business days after payment; unpaid plans discarded after 10 days
Santa Clara posts green (Pass) / yellow (Conditional Pass) / red (Closure) placards plus a compliance score; results on SCCDineOut.
Non-transferable, annual renewal + inspection; new-to-CA MFF requires plan review first
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 $1,443–$9,317 for Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara County needs more than the health permit — these approvals are handled by separate offices. Confirm current requirements with each.
| Building / plans | Santa Clara County Dept. of Planning & Development - Building Division (unincorporated) · 408-299-5700 |
| Fire marshal | Santa Clara County Fire Marshal's Office (Planning & Development) / County Fire Dept · 408-299-5700 |
| Zoning / planning | Santa Clara County Dept. of Planning & Development - Planning (unincorporated) · 408-299-5700 |
| Sewer / grease | Local sanitation district (varies by area) / SCC Environmental Health grease-waste pumper program |
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 Santa Clara Dept. of Environmental Health (DEH), Retail Food Program (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 | $648 | Caterer / Kitchen Rental Food Prep Op Risk Cat 1 $648 (FP18); Risk Cat 2 $930 (FP19); Catering Op at Host Facility: out-of-county $282 (FP53), in-county $0 (FP54) |
| Commissary / shared kitchen | $563 | Commissary / Approved Facility $563 (FP30); Facilities Held in Common (shared) $566 (FP29) |
| Bakery | — | No standalone bakery permit; permitted as Food Prep/Food Service Operation by risk category, or No Food Prep |
| Bar / tavern | — | No standalone bar/tavern permit; permitted as Food Prep/Food Service Operation by risk category |
| Market / grocery (no food prep) | $735 | No Food Prep <5,000 sq ft $735 (FP06); 5,000-20,000 $1,001 (FP07); >20,000 $1,104 (FP08) |
| Temporary / special event | $121 | Temporary/special event (TST OPS) Cat 1 $121, Cat 2 $225, Cat 3 $282 (TE07-09; annual versions TE11-13 same fees); coordinator permit 2-10 booths $451, 11-20 $705, 21-40 $986, >40 $1,408 (TE03-TE40); Certified Farmers Mkt market-mgr permit 1-20 producers $1,246, >20 $1,306 (FP02-03) |
| Limited food service | $410 | Limited Food Service Cat 1 $410 (FP75), Cat 2 $423 (FP76), Cat 3 $451 (FP77) |
| Satellite / other | $282 | Satellite Food Service no prep $282 (FP81), prep RC1 $372 (FP82), prep RC2 $616 (FP83); Food Bank $493 (FP32); Charitable Feeding Operation $423 (FP33) |
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 Santa Clara 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 →