Washington
District of Columbia Department of Health, Food Safety and Hygiene Inspection Services Division
In short
District of Columbia Department of Health, Food Safety and Hygiene Inspection Services Division issues 3 permits we publish for Washington, last verified 2026-09-03. 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 Establishment Plan Review | District of Columbia Department of Health, Food Safety and Hygiene Inspection Services Division | $70–$300 per submission, banded by capacity or floor area | one-time per submission | 2026-09-03 |
| Certified Food Protection Manager Identification Card | District of Columbia Department of Health, Food Safety and Hygiene Inspection Services Division | $35 per card, valid three years | 3 years from the date of the examination | 2026-09-03 |
| Mobile Food Vendor Health Inspection Certificate | District of Columbia Department of Health, Food Safety and Hygiene Inspection Services Division | $100 per certificate, valid six months | 6 months | 2026-09-03 |
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 Establishment Plan Review
Due at least thirty calendar days before you begin construction, remodelling or conversion — and the plans, the application and the fee all have to arrive together, so this sets your earliest possible opening date. Type A, for a capacity of 25 or under or 3,000 square feet, is $100; Type B, 26 to 75 or 3,001 to 10,000 square feet, is $200; Type C, above 76 or above 10,001 square feet, is $300. Replacing equipment in an existing kitchen is $70. Special event stands and mobile carts do not have to submit plans at all. Reopening after a closure costs $100 for a re-inspection in business hours and $400 out of them, so scheduling matters. This is the current schedule DC Health links from its own food establishments page; it is stamped April 2019, and its re-inspection figures are republished on a live DC Health page, but no newer food fee schedule exists on any official DC site.
Certified Food Protection Manager Identification Card
$35 to the District for the card, on top of whatever the accredited exam provider charges — the District does not set that price. What DC requires is a certified manager, not a food handler card for every worker: the phrase "food handler" does not appear in the District's food code at all. The obligation that bites is presence, not paperwork. A certified person in charge must be at the establishment during all hours of operation, which for a seven-day operation usually means certifying more than one person. Replacing a lost card is $15. A business selling only pre-packaged, non-hazardous food is exempt. Ordinary employees still have to be trained in food safety and allergy awareness for their own duties, but they need no card and pay no fee.
Mobile Food Vendor Health Inspection Certificate
$100 and it lasts only six months, so a food truck pays this twice a year — $200 annually, against $99 for two years of the Basic Business License. Renewal is the same $100 and a replacement certificate is $15. This is the health side; the trading side is a separate Vending Business License from DLCP. Note the District's own distinction: a Mobile Delicatessen is not a vending business at all but a fixed-location license, so the name of what you are running decides which regime you are in.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Washington
- Phone
- Not verified — use the website
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.
- DC Health — Certified Food Protection Manager identification card, $35 and valid three years from the date of the examinationDistrict of Columbia Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- DC Health Food Safety and Hygiene Inspection Services Division — list of fees for services and goods (revised 18 April 2019)District of Columbia Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
Other offices serving Washington
- District of Columbia Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, Business Licensing Division
- District of Columbia Department of Buildings
- District of Columbia Department of Health, Animal Facility Licensing
- District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Division of Early Learning
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
District of Columbia jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.