Albuquerque
City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department, Consumer Health Protection Division
In short
City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department, Consumer Health Protection Division issues 5 permits we publish for Albuquerque, last verified 2026-09-11. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temporary Food Service Establishment Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department, Consumer Health Protection Division | $25 flat, per event/location | one-time — valid at a single location for the duration of a single event, not to exceed 14 consecutive days | 2026-09-11 |
| Food Service Establishment Permit | City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department, Consumer Health Protection Division | No fee | annual — one calendar year from the Anniversary Date (the first day of the calendar month the original permit was issued) | 2026-09-11 |
| Mobile Food Unit (MFU) Permit | City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department, Consumer Health Protection Division | 0.25 × the Appendix C Food Establishment Primary Permit fee for the unit's class (A-D, by the most complex food preparation it offers) and risk category (1-4): Class A, risk 1: 0.25 × $200 = $50; A/2: 0.25 × $600 = $150; B/2: 0.25 × $700 = $175; B/3: 0.25 × $800 = $200; C/3: 0.25 × $900 = $225; C/4: 0.25 × $1,000 = $250; D/4: 0.25 × $1,100 = $275. The 0.25 multiplier for Mobile Food Establishments is required by ROA 1994 § 9-6-10(B)(1). | annual — one calendar year from the Anniversary Date; renewed when the annual fee is paid | 2026-09-11 |
| Market Food Establishment Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department, Consumer Health Protection Division | $30–$50 $50 for the full April 1-March 31 season, or $30 for a late-season permit valid October 1-March 31 | seasonal — April 1 through March 31 (or October 1 through March 31 for the late-season option) | 2026-09-11 |
| Food Establishment Permit — Childcare Centeronly if it applies to you | City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department, Consumer Health Protection Division | No fee | annual, on the same Anniversary Date structure as the general Food Establishment Permit | 2026-09-11 |
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
Temporary Food Service Establishment Permit
Applications must be submitted at least one week before the event. Per the 2024 Rules (Part 18(K)(1)), a Temporary Food Establishment Permit is not required at all for a private event where the food distributed is limited to non-TCS food, is provided by an already-permitted Food Establishment, or the event has 25 or fewer participants.
Food Service Establishment Permit
The base annual fee is banded by one of four Food Establishment Classes (A-D, by food-preparation complexity) or six Retail Food Establishment Classes, but the City's own Rules document states that fee table 'is codified in the FSO and must go through City Council' to change — meaning it lives in the ordinance text itself rather than a separate published fee schedule. That ordinance text is published in the City's code on codelibrary.amlegal.com; no amount is published in this record for these permit classes, so contact the City Environmental Health Department for the current fee for a given class. Applicants must submit a signed pre-inspection application, City business license, and NM tax registration certificate at least five working days before opening; a provisional permit valid 30 days issues after a passing pre-opening inspection, converting to the full annual permit once fees are paid. The 2024 Rules independently require, at the city level, at least one Certified Food Protection Manager per establishment and a Food Handler Card for food employees within 30 days of hire — the same substantive requirements New Mexico's own state food code imposes, but imposed here as the City's own rule rather than merely inherited from the state.
Mobile Food Unit (MFU) Permit
The fee comes from the Food Service and Retail Ordinance's own fee tables. Section 9-6-10(A) sets permit fees 'at the rates in the following Appendices attached to this Article,' and Appendix C of the enacted ordinance prices a Food Establishment primary permit by class and risk category, from $200 (Class A, prepackaged food only, risk category 1) to $1,100 (Class D, special processes, risk category 4). The 2024 Rules define a Mobile Food Establishment, including push carts, trailers and smokers, as 'a specific type of Food Establishment that is vehicle mounted,' so a mobile unit is classed on that same table. Section 9-6-10(B)(1), added by Council Bill O-24-46 (passed October 7, 2024), then applies a 0.25 multiplier to Mobile Food Establishment permit fees, giving $50 to $275 a year; a Class C unit (advanced food preparation) at risk category 3, for example, pays 0.25 × $900 = $225. The fee-comparison table in the bill that created the ordinance lists the pre-ordinance mobile food fee as $120.00 at every risk level. The Article 6 text on codelibrary.amlegal.com cites the appendices but does not include them; they are published with the enacted ordinance in the City Council's legislative record, and the Environmental Health Department's own ordinance page states that the fee tables are codified in the ordinance and change only through City Council. The City's 'Mobile Food: A Guide to Permitting' handout describes the process without stating a price. For short stays, Appendix E lists a separate Temporary Mobile Food Establishment permit at $100, valid up to 30 days from issuance (2024 Rules, Part 7(B)(1)). Beyond the fee, the operator must register the City Business License under the commissary's address, hold a current Commissary agreement, pass a Fire Marshal inspection (with NFPA 17/96-compliant Type 1 hood suppression required for any grease-producing equipment), and report to the commissary every day of operation.
Market Food Establishment Permit
A real, confirmed, and cheaper alternative to the standalone Food Establishment or Mobile Food Unit Permit for a vendor operating only at markets across the City — one permit covers any market citywide, though participation in a specific market is still at that market coordinator's discretion. A commissary is required unless the vendor sells only whole, uncut raw produce. The application's own questionnaire cites ROA 1994 §13-1-1 through 13-1-10 as the business-registration authority — a narrower section range than the §§13-1-1 to 13-1-18 the current Business License Ordinance page cites, suggesting this form has not been updated to reflect the ordinance's later sections.
Food Establishment Permit — Childcare Center
A Family Child Care Home or Adult Day Care Home serving six or fewer persons is fully exempt from needing any EHD permit at all (Part 18(E)(1)). A larger Childcare Center that does need a permit qualifies for a 0.25 multiplier discount off the standard Primary Permit Fee, alongside non-profits, mobile food units and microbusinesses (Part 9(B)(5)) — but the base Primary Permit Fee table itself is not published in any accessible primary source (see the Food Service Establishment Permit record above), so no confirmed dollar figure, discounted or otherwise, is asserted here. This is additional to, and separate from, the New Mexico ECECD Child Care License recorded at the state layer and the City's own Business License (which is fee-exempt for a state-licensed daycare, recorded separately above) — it is easy to miss because it is filed with the Environmental Health Department rather than either of those.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Albuquerque
- Phone
- (505) 768-2738
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.
- 2024 Rules of the Albuquerque Food Service and Retail Ordinance (effective 8/29/2024) — permit classes and terms (Parts 6-8), fee mechanics including the 0.25 multiplier for mobile food units, non-profits, daycare and microbusinesses (Part 9), and childcare-specific provisions (Part 18(E)-(F))City of Albuquerque, Environmental Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
- Council Bill F/S O-24-15, Enactment No. O-2024-012 (Food Service and Retail Ordinance), signed enacted copy — includes the fee appendices C through F (Appendix C, Primary Permit Fees, prices a Food Establishment permit from $200 to $1,100 by class and risk category) and the bill's fee-comparison table listing Mobile Food Establishment risk categories 1-4 at a $120.00 prior fee and $200/$700/$900/$1,100 proposed primary feesCity of Albuquerque City Council (Legistar legislative record) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Council Bill O-24-46, Enactment No. O-2024-033 — amending §§ 9-6-10 and 9-6-15 of the Food Service and Retail Ordinance on permit fees and on administration and interpretation, adding the 0.25 multiplier as § 9-6-10(B); passed October 7, 2024 (7 for, 1 against), approved by the Mayor October 15, 2024City of Albuquerque City Council, published by American Legal Publishing · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Food Service and Retail Ordinance overview — passed May 6, 2024, effective August 1, 2024, codified as ROA 1994 Chapter 9, Article 6; states permit fee tables are codified in the ordinance itself and changeable only by City CouncilCity of Albuquerque, Environmental Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
- Market Food Establishment Permit Application — states a $50 annual (April 1-March 31) and $30 late-season (October 1-March 31) fee, and cites ROA 1994 §13-1-1 through 13-1-10 for the business-registration prerequisiteCity of Albuquerque, Environmental Health Department, Consumer Health Protection Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
- Mobile Food: A Guide to Permitting in Albuquerque — the full MFU permitting process (commissary agreement, business registration under the commissary address, Fire Marshal inspection, hood-suppression rules), with no dollar figure stated anywhere in the documentCity of Albuquerque, Environmental Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
- O-24-15 Appendices C through F — Appendix C Primary Permit Fees (Food Establishment: Class A risk 1 $200, A/2 $600, B/2 $700, B/3 $800, C/3 $900, C/4 $1,000, D/4 $1,100), Appendix D Secondary Permit Fees, Appendix E Standalone Permit Fees (including Temporary Mobile Food Establishment $100), Appendix F Administrative FeesCity of Albuquerque City Council (Legistar legislative record) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Restaurant Permitting — administering division, adoption of the 2022 FDA Food Code, provisional-permit process, and the one-calendar-year term from the Anniversary DateCity of Albuquerque, Environmental Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
- ROA 1994 § 9-6-10, Permit and Administrative Fees (Code of Ordinances, 2026 S-95) — fees are paid "at the rates in the following Appendices attached to this Article" (C Primary Permits, D Secondary Permits, E Standalone Permits, F Administrative Fees), and under subsection (B) Mobile Food Establishments, 501(c) non-profits, adult and child daycare establishments and microbusinesses "shall have a 0.25 multiplier applied to their permit fees" (Ord. 2024-012; Am. Ord. 2024-033)City of Albuquerque, published by American Legal Publishing · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Temporary Food Service Establishment Permit Application — states a flat $25 fee and the 14-consecutive-day limit at a fixed locationCity of Albuquerque, Environmental Health Department, Consumer Health Protection Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-11
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