Minnesota — statewide
Minnesota Department of Health, Food, Pools and Lodging Services
In short
Minnesota Department of Health, Food, Pools and Lodging Services issues 2 permits we publish for Minnesota — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certified Food Protection Manageronly if it applies to you | Minnesota Department of Health, Food, Pools and Lodging Services | $45 certification or renewal, plus a $5 technology fee | 3 years | 2026-09-03 |
| Food and Beverage Establishment License | Minnesota Department of Health, Food, Pools and Lodging Services | $300 base plus a category fee of $185 low risk, $430 medium or $670 high, plus a $50 statewide hospitality fee and a $5 technology fee — or a delegated county's own schedule | annual | 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
Certified Food Protection Manager
Minnesota is unusual in issuing its own certificate rather than merely accepting a third party's: you pass an accredited exam privately, then apply to the health department, pay fifty dollars in total and receive a state certificate with its own effective date and a three-year life. Renewal needs at least four hours of approved continuing education taken inside the certificate's valid dates, with a six-month grace window to file afterwards, and an initial application must be made within six months of passing the exam. Paper applications stopped being accepted in April 2025. The exemptions are real: low-risk establishments, special event stands, vehicles, portable structures and carts, and premises whose preparation is limited to packaging non-hazardous food, cutting raw meat for the customer to cook, or heating hot dogs, popcorn, nachos, pretzels and frozen pizza. The owner need not be the certified manager.
Food and Beverage Establishment License
The fee is additive rather than banded: every establishment pays the $300 base, then its highest applicable category fee, then the statewide hospitality fee and a technology fee, and then add-ons for a second food service area, a private well or sewer, a hazard analysis plan, sleeping rooms, pools and spas. A food cart, mobile unit or seasonal stand pays $150 instead of a category fee; a special event stand pays a flat $75. Licenses opened after 1 October pay half. But who licenses you depends on where you are: a county or city holding a delegation agreement issues and prices in the health department's place, and Hennepin County's six-tier schedule — $100, $215 and $405 at the lower tiers, on a license year running 1 February to 31 January — resembles the state's not at all. The one constant is the $50 statewide hospitality fee, which is owed to the state by 1 July whoever issued the license. Groceries, processors and wholesalers are a different regime again, licensed by the agriculture department on a scale banded by gross sales and risk from $90 to several thousand.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Minnesota — statewide
- Phone
- (651) 201-4500
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.
- Hennepin County — 2026 food, beverage and lodging license fees, issued under delegationHennepin County Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Minnesota Department of Health — food, pool and lodging licensing, and how the type of food and the location decide which agency licenses youMinnesota Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Minnesota Department of Health — how to become a certified food protection manager, and the three-year termMinnesota Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Minnesota Department of Health — plan review and license fees, effective 1 July 2025Minnesota Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Minnesota Rules 4626.0033 — the certified food protection manager requirement and its exemptionsMinnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Minnesota Statutes section 157.16 — food and beverage establishment license fees, the category bands and the statewide hospitality feeMinnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
Other Minnesota statewide offices
- Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, Construction Codes and Licensing Division
- Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services Division
- Minnesota Board of Barber Examiners
- Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners
- Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine
- Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families
- Minnesota Department of Revenue, Business Registration
Minnesota jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.