Louisiana — statewide
Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health, Retail Food Program
In short
Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health, Retail Food Program issues 2 permits we publish for Louisiana — statewide, last verified 2026-09-04. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Food Establishment Permit | Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health, Retail Food Program | $150 for a first permit; a second through fifth costs $112.50 each, and a sixth or later $75 each | annual | 2026-09-04 |
| Food Safety Certificate | Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health, Retail Food Program | $25 for the state certificate; a duplicate is $12.50 | 5 years, and it cannot be renewed — the course and exam must be retaken from scratch | 2026-09-04 |
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
Retail Food Establishment Permit
This figure is genuinely contested between two official sources, and both are recorded here rather than one being picked silently. The governing statute prices a first permit at $150, falling to $112.50 for the second through fifth and $75 for the sixth and beyond. The health department's own published fee handout instead shows $100, $75 and $50 for the same three bands — every figure on the handout sits at exactly two-thirds of the statutory amount, which reads as an unrevised document rather than a genuine second schedule. Statute is recorded as controlling here; confirm the figure actually being charged with the Retail Food Program directly before budgeting for it. A day care centre's attached kitchen is priced separately and far lower, from $37.50 for a small facility up to $150 for the largest, and a temporary or special event permit is a flat $25.
Food Safety Certificate
The statute and the health department's own current guidance agree exactly on both figures here, which is unusually clean for Louisiana research. Only one person per establishment needs to hold it — an owner, a manager or an employee — obtained by completing an eight-hour food safety manager course and a proctored exam through an accredited provider, then applying to the state for the $25 certificate itself, which must be displayed on the premises. There is no renewal path at all: five years after the exam date the certificate simply lapses, and the holder must sit the course and the exam again rather than paying a renewal fee.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Louisiana — statewide
- Phone
- (225) 342-7522
- Website
- ldh.la.gov/page/retail-food
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.
- Louisiana Department of Health — food safety certificate frequently asked questions, confirming the $25 fee and five-year termLouisiana Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Louisiana Department of Health — retail food permit fee schedule handout, whose figures sit at two-thirds of the statutory amountsLouisiana Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Louisiana Revised Statutes section 40:31.37 — retail food establishment permit feesState of Louisiana · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Louisiana Revised Statutes section 40:5.5 — the food safety certificate, its $25 cap and five-year non-renewable termState of Louisiana · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
Other Louisiana statewide offices
- Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors
- Louisiana Secretary of State, Commercial Division
- Louisiana Board of Barber Examiners
- Louisiana Board of Veterinary Medicine
- Louisiana Department of Education, Early Childhood Division
- Louisiana Department of Revenue, Central Registration Section
- Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission
- Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology
- Louisiana State Police, Transportation and Environmental Safety Section
Louisiana jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.