Providence
City of Providence Board of Licenses
In short
City of Providence Board of Licenses issues 6 permits we publish for Providence, last verified 2026-09-12. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food Dispensing (Victualing) License | City of Providence Board of Licenses | $100–$110 annual | annual (exact renewal cycle not stated in the published fee compilation) | 2026-09-12 |
| Sidewalk Dining / Outdoor Dining Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Providence Board of Licenses | $250 annual, seasonal | annual, seasonal | 2026-09-12 |
| Mobile Food Establishment (MFE) Permit | City of Providence Board of Licenses | $75 per permit; renewed at the same $75.00 rate on the same schedule as the holder's State MFE Registration | annual, expiring on the same date as the holder's State MFE Registration (RIGL § 5-11.1-7) | 2026-09-12 |
| Auto Repair Shop License | City of Providence Board of Licenses | $200 annual | annual | 2026-09-12 |
| Child Care Facility — State License Applies (Providence)only if it applies to you | City of Providence Board of Licenses | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-12 |
| General Business License (not found; activity-specific structure instead)only if it applies to you | City of Providence Board of Licenses | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-12 |
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 Dispensing (Victualing) License
A local license layered on top of the Rhode Island Department of Health's own statewide Food Establishment License (recorded at the state layer, banded $160.00-$240.00/year for a restaurant by seating count). The Board of Licenses' own 'About the Board' page names food dispensing directly as one of its license categories. The State of Rhode Island Division of Municipal Finance's 2024 fee compilation prints two adjacent figures for Providence under two related columns: 'Victualing' at $100.00 and 'Tavern, Cookshop, etc.' at $110.00, reflecting Rhode Island's historical multi-category food-licensing vocabulary. The single current figure would be codified in Providence's Code of Ordinances, Chapter 14 (Licenses), so this record shows the $100.00-$110.00 range from the compilation; confirm the exact amount with the Board of Licenses.
Sidewalk Dining / Outdoor Dining Permit
Permits a restaurant or coffee shop to place seating on public sidewalk space or another outdoor area adjoining its premises. The State of Rhode Island Division of Municipal Finance's own 2024 fee compilation prices this permit for Providence at $250.00/year, explicitly marked 'seasonal,' distinct from the Food Dispensing/Victualing license and the general Board of Licenses licensing structure listed separately.
Mobile Food Establishment (MFE) Permit
A food truck, food cart, or similar mobile unit must hold three separate credentials to operate in Providence: a State MFE Registration (RI Department of Business Regulation), a Mobile Food Service License (Rhode Island Department of Health), and this City-specific Providence MFE Permit itself, confirmed directly on the City's own dedicated Mobile Food Establishment Permitting document. The City regulates the number of permits granted, location (Providence Ordinance 14-171 sets buffers and prohibited locations), hours (prohibited 2:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m., with further buffers near restaurants, institutional dining, vendor markets, and entertainment venues), and noise (Ordinance §§ 16-91 to 16-109). A Fire Safety Permit from the State Fire Marshal is separately required if the unit carries a generator, propane/CNG, commercial cooking equipment, or a fire suppression system. This is distinct from the Food Dispensing/Victualing license recorded above, which applies to a fixed-premises restaurant or coffee shop rather than a mobile unit.
Auto Repair Shop License
An industry-specific local license: the Board of Licenses' own current page names motor vehicle repair directly as one of its license categories, and the State of Rhode Island Division of Municipal Finance's own 2024 fee compilation prices Providence's 'Auto Repair Shop' license at $200.00/year, distinct from the state's own separate Automobile Body Repair Shop License ($300.00/year, RI Department of Business Regulation, recorded at the state layer) that applies specifically to collision/body work.
Child Care Facility — State License Applies (Providence)
The Board of Licenses' own named license categories show no Providence-specific childcare license, and the Division of Municipal Finance's compiled fee table's only 'day care' column is a 'Pet Day Care Facility' animal-boarding category, unrelated to human childcare, so this record carries no fee beyond the general commercial process. A childcare business here follows the same Building Permit, Zoning Certificate, and Fire Prevention Bureau inspection process listed separately for any other commercial use, on top of Rhode Island's own state Child Care License (Department of Human Services, Office of Child Care Licensing, recorded at the state layer).
General Business License (not found; activity-specific structure instead)
No fee applies. Providence's Board of Licenses issues roughly 30 activity-specific license categories rather than one general business license, confirmed directly on the Board's own current 'About the Board' page — Hackney (taxi), Food dispensing, Peddlers, Motor vehicle repair, Nightlife operations, and Liquor licenses among the categories it names. None of these categories reaches an ordinary retail store, a veterinary practice, a fitness studio, or a hair/nail salon. The Division of Municipal Finance's own compiled fee table does show a narrow $200.00/year 'Antique' (second-hand store) license and a separate $100.00/year general 'Secondhand' dealer license for Providence, but both reach only a resale/antique-dealer subset of retail, not an ordinary retail store, so neither is recorded as a general retail requirement here. Each of these four industries' real Providence-specific obligations are instead the Building Permit, Certificate of Occupancy, Zoning Certificate, Sign Permit, and Fire Prevention Bureau inspection recorded elsewhere in this file, layered on top of any relevant Rhode Island state-layer credential (veterinary practitioner licensure has no separate facility permit; Rhode Island has no statewide fitness-industry license at all; a salon holds the state's own Barbering or Hairdressing Shop License).
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Providence
- Phone
- (401) 680-5000
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.
- About the Board — the Board of Licenses' own current page naming its ~30 license categories, including Food dispensing and Motor vehicle repairCity of Providence Board of Licenses · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
- City & Town License and Permit Fees - 2024 — statewide compilation, including Providence's Auto Repair Shop, Victualing/Tavern-Cookshop, Secondhand, and Sidewalk Dining/Outdoor Dining fee linesState of Rhode Island, Division of Municipal Finance · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- City of Providence Mobile Food Establishment Permitting (effective April 5, 2019) — the $75.00 Providence MFE Permit feeCity of Providence Board of Licenses · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
Other offices serving Providence
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
Rhode Island jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.