Michigan — statewide
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
In short
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development issues 4 permits we publish for Michigan — statewide, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Business License — Michigan state positiononly if it applies to you | Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development | No fee | not applicable at state level | 2026-09-03 |
| Food Service Establishment License | Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development | $338–$1,333 a year, set by the local health department; the state's embedded share is $30 | annual — expires 30 April | 2026-09-03 |
| Retail Food Establishment Licenseonly if it applies to you | Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development | $73–$471 a year, by establishment type | annual — the license year runs 1 May to 30 April | 2026-09-03 |
| Certified Food Safety Manageronly if it applies to you | Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development | No fee | certificates are typically valid five years, set by the certifying provider | 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
General Business License — Michigan state position
The state's own eleven-step guide, the Michigan Business Roadmap, names no general business license: its licensing step points to professional licenses and to the state license search for specific activities, and notes that 'The Corporations Division does not issue licenses' — so there is no state fee for a general business license. That is not the same as needing nothing locally: some Michigan cities do impose one, Detroit among them, where a separate city business license follows the food service license. The state itself tells filers to check with their county and local government.
Food Service Establishment License
The agriculture department does not license restaurants and says so: food service establishments, including restaurants, cafes, bars, catering kitchens, food trucks and temporary units, are licensed by local health departments. Its own application form tells you to contact the local health department for the fee. The state's part is a small embedded component the local schedule collects — $30 on a fixed or mobile license, $44 on a temporary one — and the rest is the county's. The counties do not even measure the same thing: Detroit, Oakland and Macomb band by seats while Washtenaw bands by floor area, so a sixty-seat restaurant pays $398 in Oakland and $898 in Washtenaw. Every license expires on 30 April. The state steps back in only where a business also serves unpackaged food with customer seating inside a retail store, which becomes an extended retail food establishment licensed by the state at $471.
Retail Food Establishment License
This is the state license that does exist, and it is not the restaurant one. A retail food establishment, a limited wholesale processor or a food warehouse pays $186; an extended retail food establishment — a shop serving unpackaged food with seating — pays $471; a mobile food establishment or its commissary pays $192; a temporary establishment $73; a transitory food unit $159 plus a first-year $197 plan review and a $90 inspection. Widely republished figures of $135 are out of date. One oddity is recorded rather than explained: every published amount runs exactly $3 above the figure in the statute, and while the law permits a convenience fee, no source confirms that is what the $3 is. Licenses do not transfer to a new owner or a new location.
Certified Food Safety Manager
No state fee — Michigan neither teaches the course nor issues the certificate, and the cost and length vary by provider. What the law does require is that a food service establishment, an extended retail food establishment or a food service operation inside a grocery employs at least one managerial food safety manager certified under an accredited programme. The rule adds that the certified manager must be a full-time employee but need not be present during all opening hours. Temporary establishments, vending locations and low-risk establishments are exempt. Ninety days are allowed to replace a departed manager or after a change of ownership, but a newly licensed establishment needs one from its first day. There is no statewide food handler card; local health departments may register individuals, and none of the six largest jurisdictions checked does.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Michigan — statewide
- Phone
- (800) 292-3939
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.
- City of Detroit Health Department — food service license fee schedule, effective 1 January 2026City of Detroit · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Michigan Administrative Code regulation 570 — food establishment manager certificationMichigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development — licensing, confirming not every business needs a state licenseMichigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Michigan LARA — business roadmap, confirming the Corporations Division issues no licensesMichigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Michigan MDARD — food establishment license fees and scheduleMichigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Michigan MDARD — food service establishments, confirming they are licensed by local health departments and not by MDARDMichigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Michigan MDARD — new business information packet, covering food safety manager certification cost and termMichigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Washtenaw County Health Department — environmental health applications, forms and fees, effective 1 January 2026Washtenaw County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
Other Michigan statewide offices
- Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Professional Licensing
- Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Corporations, Securities and Commercial Licensing Bureau
- Michigan Department of State, Business Licensing Section
- Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Construction Codes
- Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential, Child Care Licensing Bureau
- Michigan Department of Treasury
Michigan jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.