Elkhart County

Elkhart County Health Department — Environmental Health

In short

Elkhart County Health Department — Environmental Health issues 6 permits we publish for Elkhart County, last verified 2026-10-15. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.

What this agency issues

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Permit	Issuing agency	Fee	Renews	Last checked
Food Service License (Elkhart County Health Department)only if it applies to you	Elkhart County Health Department — Environmental Health	The amount is set in the Elkhart County Health Department Fee Schedule (County Code 112.11(B): "All fees shall be charged in accordance with the Health Department Fee Schedule, as amended periodically"); the Health Department's food page states that a new fee schedule went into effect April 1, 2026 and links the fee ordinance. Contact Environmental Health at 574-971-4600 for the current amount. Operating without a valid license brings a license fee with late fee equal to three times the appropriate license fee (County Code 112.12).	one year, April 1 to March 31, renewed annually; partial-year licenses are not issued (County Code 112.04(C))	2026-10-15
Swimming Pool License (Elkhart County Health Department)only if it applies to you	Elkhart County Health Department — Environmental Health	The license and pool plan review fees are set in the Elkhart County Health Department Fee Schedule (County Code 114.13, 114.18); contact Environmental Health at 574-971-4600 for the current amount. Operating after May 1 without a valid license brings a license fee with civil penalty equal to three times the license fee (County Code 114.14).	one year, May 1 to April 30, renewed annually (County Code 114.04(A))	2026-10-15
Food Service Plan Review (Elkhart County Health Department)only if it applies to you	Elkhart County Health Department — Environmental Health	The amount is set in the Elkhart County Health Department Fee Schedule (County Code 112.11(B): "All fees shall be charged in accordance with the Health Department Fee Schedule, as amended periodically"); the Health Department's food page states that a new fee schedule went into effect April 1, 2026 and links the fee ordinance. Contact Environmental Health at 574-971-4600 for the current amount. A late fee set in the same schedule applies when construction or remodelling begins before plans are submitted (County Code 112.19).	one-time review before construction, major remodelling or conversion, followed by pre-operational inspection	2026-10-15
Mobile Retail Food Establishment License (Elkhart County Health Department)only if it applies to you	Elkhart County Health Department — Environmental Health	The amount is set in the Elkhart County Health Department Fee Schedule (County Code 112.11(B): "All fees shall be charged in accordance with the Health Department Fee Schedule, as amended periodically"); the Health Department's food page states that a new fee schedule went into effect April 1, 2026 and links the fee ordinance. Contact Environmental Health at 574-971-4600 for the current amount.	county mobile licenses issued before January 1, 2027 are valid through December 31, 2026; from January 1, 2027 the statewide mobile retail food establishment license under HEA 1577 (P.L. 235-2025) applies	2026-10-15
Temporary Food Service License and Event Coordinator Application (Elkhart County Health Department)only if it applies to you	Elkhart County Health Department — Environmental Health	The amount is set in the Elkhart County Health Department Fee Schedule (County Code 112.11(B): "All fees shall be charged in accordance with the Health Department Fee Schedule, as amended periodically"); the Health Department's food page states that a new fee schedule went into effect April 1, 2026 and links the fee ordinance. Contact Environmental Health at 574-971-4600 for the current amount. The food page states that temporary license fees must be paid in advance, by card over the phone or by cash or check at the office, that "Payments MUST be processed 2 days prior to the start date of an event", and that checks are payable to the Elkhart County Treasurer.	no more than 14 consecutive days at a fixed location for a single event or celebration (County Code 112.04(C))	2026-10-15
Onsite Sewage (Septic) System Permit — Commercial (Elkhart County Health Department)only if it applies to you	Elkhart County Health Department — Environmental Health	The permit fee is set in the Elkhart County Health Department Fee Schedule; the Health Department's septic page states that the system drawing is submitted "with the appropriate application and fee". Contact Environmental Health at 574-971-4600 for the current amount.	per system installation, repair or replacement	2026-10-15

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 License (Elkhart County Health Department)

Elkhart County Code 112.04(A), part of the Elkhart County Food Service Ordinance (Ord. 2005-322), provides that "No person shall operate a food service in the county without a valid food service license issued by the Health Officer". The applicant files a written application on the Health Officer's forms naming each owner, partner, member or officer, and the Health Officer inspects the food service before approving it (112.05). A separate license is needed for each food service, although several food services under one roof and one ownership (other than in a retail mall) need only one (112.05(D)). Under 112.04(C) the license runs from April 1 to March 31 of the next year and is renewed annually, the renewal period opens on February 1, partial-year licenses are not issued, and licenses do not transfer to a new licensee or location. The license must be posted where the public can see it. Fees are charged before the license is issued under the Health Department Fee Schedule (112.11); the Health Department's food page states that a new fee schedule went into effect April 1, 2026, and Environmental Health (574-971-4600, envhealth@elkhartcounty.com) gives the current amount. Under 112.12 anyone found operating without a valid license pays a license fee with late fee equal to three times the license fee before a license is issued. The county adopts 410 IAC 7-24 and the state food handler certification rule as part of its code (112.02).

Swimming Pool License (Elkhart County Health Department)

A fitness studio or club in Elkhart County that operates a swimming pool needs an Elkhart County Health Department license for it; a studio without a pool has no pool license. Elkhart County Code 114.04(A) provides that "No person shall operate a swimming pool in the county without a valid license", issued for one year from May 1 to April 30 and renewed annually. Before licensure the person in charge must pass a Health Department proficiency exam with a score of 80% or higher (114.04(B)); a replacement person in charge must take the exam within one week of taking over and pass within three weeks, or the pool closes (114.04(C)). The application names the person in charge and the days and hours of operation, and the Health Officer inspects before approving it; several pools at one facility under one ownership need only one license (114.05). Before construction, rehabilitation or alteration of a pool, the plans stamped with the State Plan Release and a plan review fee go to the Health Officer (114.18). Fees are set in the Health Department Fee Schedule (114.13), and operating after May 1 without a license costs three times the license fee (114.14). The county adopts 410 IAC 6-2.1 and 675 IAC 20 (114.02). Contact Environmental Health at 574-971-4600.

Food Service Plan Review (Elkhart County Health Department)

Under Elkhart County Code 112.19, before beginning the construction or major remodelling of a food service, or converting an existing structure to one, the operator submits a plan review fee under the Health Department Fee Schedule together with plans and specifications showing the layout, arrangement, mechanical plans, construction materials of work areas and the type and model of fixed and non-fixed equipment. No food service may be built, extensively remodelled or converted except under plans the Health Officer has approved, and starting without approval may bring a stop work order. A food service that begins construction or remodelling before submitting plans pays a late fee in the amount set by the Health Department Fee Schedule, together with the plan review fee. Under 112.20 the Health Officer inspects during construction and before operations begin. The Health Department's food page says written plans must be submitted before constructing or remodelling and before operating as a food establishment in Elkhart County, and offers separate plan review applications for a new or remodelled facility, a shared kitchen with an already licensed facility, a change of owner only, and mobile retail food establishments. Contact Environmental Health at 574-971-4600 for the current fee.

Mobile Retail Food Establishment License (Elkhart County Health Department)

A mobile food establishment operating in Elkhart County is licensed by the Elkhart County Health Department under the Food Service Ordinance. Under County Code 112.04(A) a mobile operator whose commissary is not located and licensed in the county must prove the commissary's licensure, and a commissary in a jurisdiction that does not require an individual license is not acceptable. Under 112.04(D) and (E) the licensee's name, address and telephone number go on each unit in letters at least two inches high, the county mobile food license sticker goes on the outside of the vehicle visible from front and rear, and the operator keeps the Health Department supplied with the make, model, colour, plate number and sticker number of each licensed vehicle. The Health Department's food page states: "Beginning January 1, 2027, mobile food establishments will be required to obtain a statewide mobile license. Any new mobile licenses issued before then will only be valid through December 31, 2026." Indiana House Enrolled Act 1577 (2025), Public Law 235-2025, directs the Indiana Department of Health to establish a statewide mobile retail food establishment license and its fees, and from January 1, 2027 local health departments receive the applications, collect the annual license and inspection fees, issue the licenses and conduct semiannual inspections. Contact Environmental Health at 574-971-4600 for the current county fee.

Temporary Food Service License and Event Coordinator Application (Elkhart County Health Department)

Under Elkhart County Code 112.04(A), any facility other than a licensed retail food service establishment at which food is prepared or displayed for service or sale to the public must obtain a temporary food service establishment license, and under 112.04(C) a temporary license covers a fixed location for no more than 14 consecutive days in conjunction with a single event or celebration. Under 112.04(B) no one may organise an event with temporary food establishments without first registering it with the Health Officer at least 30 days before the event, with a list of vendors and their food items. The Health Department's food page adds that vendors submit a Temporary Food Vendor Application at least 30 days before the event, obtained from the event coordinator, and that applications without coordinator approval are not processed; that from May 1, 2026 event coordinators planning to have food vendors must complete the coordinator's application with 30 days' notice, and "Fewer than 29 day's notice will accrue fees"; and that temporary establishments are inspected and licensed at the event. Fees are paid in advance and payments must be processed 2 days before the event starts. Under 112.12 a temporary establishment found operating without a license must immediately obtain one and pay three times the license fee, or close. Not-for-profit organisations operating fewer than 15 days a year are asked to register each event. Applications go to tempfood@elkhartcounty.com.

Onsite Sewage (Septic) System Permit — Commercial (Elkhart County Health Department)

A business site in Elkhart County that is not on a public sewer goes through the Elkhart County Health Department for its onsite sewage system; a site on a public sewer has no septic permit. The Health Department's septic page says installations must meet the commercial rule 410 IAC 6-10.1 and the Elkhart County Private Sewage System Ordinance 2012-153, and that all septic tanks, dosing chambers, aerobic treatment units and soil absorption fields require an Elkhart County Health Department permit before installation, by a registered installer. For commercial properties, soil borings must be done by a Registered Soil Scientist and sent to the Indiana State Department of Health for minimum requirements; a to-scale system drawing then goes to the state or to the county Health Department with the application and fee, and designs of 750 gallons per day or less are typically referred to the county for plan review without an engineer's or architect's stamp. County Code 151.06(C)(1) adds that plans for any commercial or industrial building permit must include a preliminary report from the Health Department's Environmental Health Division, based on a soil scientist's sample, on the sewage system best suited to the site. Applications are taken at 4230 Elkhart Rd, Goshen; contact Environmental Health at 574-971-4600 for the current fee.

Contact

Jurisdiction: Elkhart County
Phone: (574) 971-4600
Website: health.elkhartcounty.com/en/environmental-health/about-environmental-health/food-service-inspection/

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.

Elkhart County Code 112.04, License RequirementsElkhart County, Indiana (codified by American Legal Publishing) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-15
Elkhart County Code 151.06, Permits (Ord. 08-400; Ord. 2013-330)Elkhart County, Indiana (codified by American Legal Publishing) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-15
Elkhart County Code chapter 112, Food Service (Ord. 2005-322) — 2025 S-23Elkhart County, Indiana (codified by American Legal Publishing) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-15
Elkhart County Code chapter 114, Swimming Pools (Ord. 95-065; Ord. 95-482; Ord. 06-167)Elkhart County, Indiana (codified by American Legal Publishing) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-15
Food Protection Safety ProgramElkhart County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-15
House Bill 1577 (2025), Public Law 235-2025 — digest and actionsIndiana General Assembly · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-15
Septic Permits — Septic System Information and Installation GuidelinesElkhart County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-15

Other offices serving Elkhart County

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

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