Local permits & fees

Tippecanoe County, IN — Commercial Kitchen Permits

Tippecanoe County Health Department (Foods & Environmental Division) · department site →

Fees change often — always confirm the current amount with the department before you budget.

Restaurant / food-facility permit

Food Service Establishment annual permit

Annual fee by employee count: 1-5 employees $225.00; 6-9 employees $275.00; 10-40 employees $400.00; 41+ employees $525.00; Bed and Breakfast $100.00; Non-profit exempt (Rev. 1/2025)

Two part-time employees = one full-time. New establishment or change-of-ownership adds a $75.00 processing fee. Late fee = 125% of renewal fee.

Plan review — required

null - Plan review is required for new establishments (a plan review fee is referenced on the New Food Establishments page) but the dollar amount is not published online; contact the Tippecanoe County Health Department

Plan-review details & forms →

Food truck / mobile permit

Mobile Food Service Establishment permit

null - the mobile permit fee amount is not published on official Tippecanoe County Health Department fee documents; a 2024 local news report cited $150/year for in-county mobile vendors and $25 for out-of-county visiting mobile vendors (not confirmed by an official fee schedule)

Separate Mobile Food Service Establishment application; unverified news figures noted above.

How to apply

Forms & applications

Watch out for

Rare employee-count fee tier structure rather than risk-based or square-footage.
Non-profit food establishments are fully exempt from the annual fee.
Governed by Tippecanoe County Ordinance 2007-19-CM; state food code 410 IAC 7-26.

Other food-service permits in this jurisdiction

Category	Annual fee	Notes
Temporary / seasonal event	null - Temporary Food Establishment permit fee is not published online (permit term not to exceed 14 consecutive days per Ordinance 2007-19-CM)	Separate application/permit required for each stand, booth, or cart; apply/pay >=72 hours before the event.
Commissary / central preparation kitchen	null - a Commissary/Shared Kitchen Agreement is required for mobile operators but no separate commissary fee is published; the operator's own establishment fee follows the employee-count schedule	Commissary/Shared Kitchen Agreement form exists in the applications library.

Indiana 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: www.tippecanoe.in.gov · www.tippecanoe.in.gov · www.tippecanoe.in.gov · observed 2026-08-10