foodservicenerd
Local permits & fees

Sumner County, TN — Commercial Kitchen Permits

Tennessee Department of Health - Sumner County Health Department, Environmental Health (state-administered; Sumner is not a contract/metro county) · department site →
Fees change often — always confirm the current amount with the department before you budget.

Restaurant / food-facility permit

Food Service Establishment permit (Tennessee Food Safety Act; T.C.A. 68-14-713)
$210/yr (0-50 seats); $360/yr (51+ seats)

Fees are STATE-SET by statute (T.C.A. 68-14-713) and applied uniformly by the TN Dept. of Health in state-administered counties like Sumner. Permit year is July 1-June 30. Delinquency (30+ days) adds a penalty of one-half the permit fee. Only Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison and Shelby operate as contract counties with their own schedules - Sumner uses the state fees.

Plan review — required

null - Tennessee requires plan review of new construction/extensive remodeling by the Dept. of Health, but T.C.A. 68-14-713 does not itemize a separate plan-review fee and no separate dollar amount is published for Sumner County.

Plan-review details & forms →

Food truck / mobile permit

Mobile food unit permit (permitted as a food service establishment)
null - the statutory fee schedule (T.C.A. 68-14-713) does not itemize a mobile/food-truck fee; mobile units are permitted as food service establishments, which would fall under the 0-50 seat rate of $210/yr. No mobile-specific figure is published.

Mobile units operate from a permitted commissary/base of operation. Fee treated as the base food service establishment permit; the $210 (0-50 seats) figure is the applicable published statutory amount but is not explicitly labeled 'mobile.'

How to apply

Forms & applications

Watch out for

  • Administering authority: the STATE (TN Dept. of Health) runs Sumner County's environmental health; fees are set by state statute, not the county. Nashville metro; county seat Gallatin.
  • Statutory fee schedule (T.C.A. 68-14-713): standard 0-50 seats $210, 51+ seats $360; school food service $80; auxiliary food service $100; child care center food service $50 (0-50 seats)/$80 (51+); temporary food service establishment $30; farmers market food unit $300.
  • Retail grocery/food stores in Tennessee are regulated separately by the TN Dept. of Agriculture, not the Dept. of Health.

Other food-service permits in this jurisdiction

CategoryAnnual feeNotes
Temporary / seasonal event$30 (Temporary Food Service Establishment)State-set fee, T.C.A. 68-14-713, administered by TN Dept. of Health in Sumner County.
Commissary / central preparation kitchen$100 (Auxiliary food service operation)Auxiliary/support food operations are set at $100 by T.C.A. 68-14-713. Farmers market food units are $300; school food service $80.
Tennessee statewide rules
Who licenses you, reciprocity, and the state regime.
What equipment you need
Build a tailored equipment checklist for your concept.
Permits & plan review, explained
The stack of approvals before you open.
Sources: law.justia.com · www.tn.gov · sharetngov.tnsosfiles.com · observed 2026-08-07