Mobile County
Mobile County Health Department
In short
Mobile County Health Department issues 6 permits we publish for Mobile County, last verified 2026-09-28. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food Service Establishment Permit (restaurant) | Mobile County Health Department | $410–$1,380 annual permit fee by square footage (2026 MCHD Schedule of Fees): up to 1,000 sq ft $410.00; over 1,000 sq ft $615.00; multiplex $1,380.00; plan review is billed separately at the same figures | annual, renewed yearly under MCHD's Schedule of Fees | 2026-09-28 |
| Limited Food Service Permit (coffee-shop) | Mobile County Health Department | $480 a year (2026 MCHD Schedule of Fees), Limited Food Service category | annual, renewed yearly under MCHD's Schedule of Fees | 2026-09-28 |
| Swimming Pool or Spa Annual Operating Permit (fitness-studio)only if it applies to you | Mobile County Health Department | Annual Permit Fee (flat) $340.00; Wading Pool $270.00; Spa & Whirlpool $410.00; Plan Review $550.00 (0-99,999 gallons), $685.00 (100,000-199,999 gallons), or $825.00 (200,000+ gallons) — 2026 MCHD Schedule of Fees. | annual, per pool or spa, under MCHD's Schedule of Fees | 2026-09-28 |
| Limited Retail Food Service Permit (retail-store)only if it applies to you | Mobile County Health Department | $270 a year (2026 MCHD Schedule of Fees), Limited Retail Food Service category | annual, renewed yearly under MCHD's Schedule of Fees | 2026-09-28 |
| Commissary / Mobile Unit Permit (food-truck) | Mobile County Health Department | $240–$550 MCHD 2026 Schedule of Fees, by operating duration: 0-3 days $240.00; 4-14 days $270.00; more than 14 days $550.00 | tied to the mobile unit's operating duration (0-3 days, 4-14 days, or more than 14 days), per MCHD's fee schedule | 2026-09-28 |
| Day Care Center Health & Safety Permit (childcare) | Mobile County Health Department | Plan Review $270.00-$480.00 depending on square footage and whether a kitchen is included; Permit Fee (With Kitchen) $270.00 for 0-100 children or $410.00 for 101+ children; Sanitation Certification $340.00-$480.00 depending on occupancy tier (2026 MCHD Schedule of Fees). | annual permit; plan review and sanitation certification apply at initial licensure or when the facility changes | 2026-09-28 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Food Service Establishment Permit (restaurant)
A restaurant anywhere in Mobile County needs an annual food service establishment permit from the Mobile County Health Department, which is a distinctly-governed county health department under the Mobile County Board of Health rather than simply an Alabama Dept. of Public Health district branch — Mobile County does not appear in ADPH's district roster. The 2026 fee schedule prices the permit by square footage: $410.00 up to 1,000 sq ft, $615.00 over 1,000 sq ft, and $1,380.00 for a multiplex facility. Plan review before construction, remodel or change of ownership is billed separately at the same dollar figures. The sanitation standard MCHD enforces is state regulation (Alabama Admin. Code 420-3-22), but MCHD's dollar fee schedule is locally set and, per the schedule's own note, authorized by the Mobile County Commission, and increases automatically every 3 years by CPI. This permit applies countywide — inside the City of Mobile, the county's other municipalities, and the unincorporated area alike — because MCHD is the countywide food-safety regulator, separate from and in addition to the general Business Privilege License recorded above.
Limited Food Service Permit (coffee-shop)
A coffee shop or similar limited-menu establishment in Mobile County — one preparing a narrower range of food and drink than a full-service restaurant — pays MCHD's Limited Food Service annual permit fee of $480.00 under the 2026 Schedule of Fees, countywide. A coffee shop whose menu expands into fuller food preparation (grilling, cooking with cooling, or hot-holding) moves instead into the standard Food Service Establishment Permit's square-footage-based fee tiers listed separately. This permit is issued by the Mobile County Health Department under the same countywide Board of Health authority as the standard restaurant permit, and applies in addition to the general Business Privilege License. Plan review before construction or remodel is billed separately from this annual figure.
Swimming Pool or Spa Annual Operating Permit (fitness-studio)
A fitness studio in Mobile County operating a swimming pool, spa or whirlpool on its premises — for example an aquatic fitness center — needs an annual water recreation facility permit from MCHD, countywide. The 2026 Schedule of Fees prices a standard pool or spa at $340.00 a year, a wading pool at $270.00, and a spa or whirlpool specifically at $410.00. New construction or renovation additionally draws a one-time plan review fee ranging from $550.00 (under 100,000 gallons) to $825.00 (200,000 gallons or more). An ordinary gym, yoga studio or CrossFit-style fitness studio without a pool, spa or whirlpool on premises does not trigger this permit.
Limited Retail Food Service Permit (retail-store)
A retail store in Mobile County that sells limited or prepared food items on-site — for example a market with a small prepared-food or deli counter — needs MCHD's Limited Retail Food Service permit, priced at $270.00 a year under the 2026 Schedule of Fees, countywide. An ordinary retail store selling only pre-packaged, shelf-stable goods with no on-site food preparation does not trigger this permit; it applies specifically where a retail location prepares or serves limited food to the public. This is issued by the same Mobile County Health Department that issues the restaurant and coffee-shop food permits recorded above, under the same countywide Board of Health authority, and applies in addition to the general Business Privilege License.
Commissary / Mobile Unit Permit (food-truck)
A food truck, trailer, cart or other mobile food unit operating in Mobile County needs a Commissary/Mobile Unit permit from MCHD, priced under the 2026 Schedule of Fees by operating duration: $240.00 for 0-3 days, $270.00 for 4-14 days, and $550.00 for more than 14 days. This applies countywide, and applies in addition to the general Business Privilege License. MCHD's fee schedule frames this permit by duration tier rather than as a single flat annual figure; a food truck operating on a continuing, year-round basis in Mobile County pays the more-than-14-day rate of $550.00 under the schedule's own duration table. The same fee schedule also carries a separate, gross-receipts-based Food Services Processors table ($410.00-$1,380.00) for food-processing businesses generally, so a year-round food-truck operator should confirm with MCHD directly which table applies to their specific operation. A commissary agreement (a base kitchen where the unit is cleaned, stocked and stored) is also required as a precondition of this permit.
Day Care Center Health & Safety Permit (childcare)
A day care center in Mobile County keeping more than 12 children for more than four hours a day needs this health and safety permit from the Mobile County Health Department, on top of the separate Alabama Dept. of Human Resources (DHR) child care license, which is the state's actual licensing credential, renewed every two years and covering staff-child ratios, background checks and similar standards. MCHD's role is the county's own local health and safety layer: the Mobile County Board of Health adopted its own day care safety rules effective January 1, 2008 — the first county in Alabama to do so — under its general Board of Health authority (Code of Alabama §22-3-1 et seq.), and those rules remain the operative basis for the current permit, plan review and sanitation certification fees under the 2026 Schedule of Fees. Alabama's 2018 statewide Child Care Safety Act separately extended state licensing and inspection to previously church/religious-exempt day cares everywhere in the state; before that 2018 law, Mobile County had also been one of the few counties inspecting those specific church-exempt facilities, a distinction the 2018 statewide law made largely moot — that history is background, not the current operative basis for this permit. The fee structure: plan review runs $270.00-$480.00 by square footage and kitchen inclusion, the annual permit fee (with kitchen) is $270.00 for facilities serving 0-100 children or $410.00 for 101+ children, and sanitation certification runs $340.00-$480.00 by occupancy tier.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Mobile County
- Phone
- Not verified — use the website
- Website
- mchd.org/permits/
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Mobile County Board of Health roster and statutory basis (Code of Alabama §22-3-1 et seq.)Mobile County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Mobile County Health Department — Schedule of Fees, dated January 7, 2026Mobile County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-08
- Mobile County Health Department pioneer in protecting daycare centers (09/15/2025) — the Board of Health's own daycare safety rules, effective January 1, 2008, and pre-2018 exempt-daycare inspection historyMobile County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
- Permits — index of MCHD permit typesMobile County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
Other offices serving Mobile County
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
Alabama jurisdictions
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