Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
Snohomish County food-facility health permits run about $440–$915 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $1,000. Confirm the exact amount with Snohomish County Health Department (SnoHD), Food & Living Environment - Food Safety 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 Snohomish County Health Department (SnoHD), Food & Living Environment - Food Safety issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 1.9% change in establishments since 2022 (1,654 → 1,686).
The average foodservice wage here is $626 below the Washington average ($30,672); Washington has about 17,386 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.
After the pre-operational inspection is passed, an invoice for the annual permit fee is emailed (payable online, in person, or by mail); Fees set by Board of Health fee ordinance
Turnaround: ~12 weeks for first review (plans reviewed first-come, first-served regardless of type); Board of Health approved partial fee credits when waits exceed 12 weeks
Explicitly no letter grades or smiley icons; narrative inspection reports posted online (QR poster required at facility).
Mobile Food Unit Plan Review Guide required; Long permit backlogs prompted a Board of Health relief measure crediting temporary application fees toward the annual permit when approval exceeds 12 weeks
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 $1,880–$2,915 for Snohomish 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.
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 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 Snohomish County Health Department (SnoHD), Food & Living Environment - Food Safety (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 state 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 | $500 / $745 / $1,025 | Caterer by risk: low $500, medium $745, high $1,025. Catering Endorsement (added to an existing food service permit) +$250 |
| Bakery | $500 | Bakery permit $500 |
| Commissary / central kitchen | $780 | Central/commissary kitchens permitted as food service establishments; School Food Service Central Kitchen $780 (Satellite Kitchen $495, School Kitchen $590); Standalone commissary permitted by risk under the food service establishment categories |
| Temporary / special event | $110; $275 | Temporary Food permit by risk: low $110, medium/high up to $275 |
| Limited operation / demonstrator | $75; $150 | Food Demonstrator Permits $75-$150 (limited sampling/demo operations); Low Risk fixed establishment $500 |
| Market / grocery with deli | — | Grocery/retail store food service (deli) permitted by SnoHD as a food service establishment (priced by seats/risk); grocery retail itself licensed by WA Dept; of Agriculture; No standalone grocery-deli line on the fee schedule |
| Food processing / wholesale | — | Food processing/wholesale licensed by the WA State Dept; of Agriculture, not Snohomish Health Department; no county fee |
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 Snohomish 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 →