Warwick

City of Warwick Police Department, Licensing Division

In short

City of Warwick Police Department, Licensing Division issues 5 permits we publish for Warwick, 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

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Permit	Issuing agency	Fee	Renews	Last checked
Victualer License (First Class and Second Class)only if it applies to you	City of Warwick Police Department, Licensing Division	Set by victualer class in Code of Ordinances §18-2(a). A 'First class victualer' license carries 'No fee with liquor license,' expiring 12/1. A 'Second class victualer' license is priced by the hours it authorizes: $100.00 for Midnight, $150.00 for 2:00 a.m., and $250.00 for 24 hours, each expiring 2/1. A separate 'Midnight to 5:00 a.m. permit' is listed at $100.00, expiring 12/16.	annual, with the expiration date fixed by class — 12/1 for a First class victualer, 2/1 for a Second class victualer, and 12/16 for the separate Midnight to 5:00 a.m. permit	2026-09-12
General Business Licensing — City of Warwick Board of Public Safety structure (retail, veterinary, fitness)only if it applies to you	City of Warwick Police Department, Licensing Division	No fee	not applicable	2026-09-12
Mobile Food/Peddler License (food peddler, truck caterer, or general peddler)only if it applies to you	City of Warwick Police Department, Licensing Division	Set by peddler category in Code of Ordinances §18-2(a), with every mobile-food category priced at $200.00: 'Food peddler/hot dog' at $200.00 'plus state hawker's and health license' (expiring 5/1); 'Truck caterer' at $200.00 (expiring 11/30); 'Peddler (general)' at $200.00 (expiring 5/1); and 'Fruit peddler,' 'Ice cream peddler' and 'Frozen lemonade' each at $200.00 (expiring 5/1). 'Canvassers' are $200.00 per year, and a one-off 'Food—Special event' license is $50.00, daily.	annual — §18-2(a) fixes the expiration date by category (5/1 for a food peddler/hot dog, general peddler, fruit peddler, ice cream peddler or frozen lemonade license; 11/30 for a truck caterer), while the City's OpenGov Food Truck/Cart/Trailer (MOBILE) application states that license 'will expire on the date that the State issued license expires'	2026-09-12
Massage Parlor Licenseonly if it applies to you	City of Warwick Police Department, Licensing Division	$100 per license year	one year from issue	2026-09-12
Auto Repair Shop Licensing — City of Warwick positiononly if it applies to you	City of Warwick Police Department, Licensing Division	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

Victualer License (First Class and Second Class)

Warwick does layer its own local victualer license on top of the state food-safety credential, and §18-2(a) prices it. Under §18-2(a), a First class victualer pays no separate fee where a liquor license is held, while a Second class victualer — the class an ordinary restaurant or coffee shop without a liquor license falls into — pays $100.00, $150.00, or $250.00 according to whether the license runs to midnight, to 2:00 a.m., or around the clock. Rhode Island's own Division of Municipal Finance compilation independently reports $100.00 annual in its 'Victualing' column for Warwick, agreeing with the ordinance's own Second class/Midnight figure. Separately and in addition, the Rhode Island Department of Health, Center for Food Protection, remains the food-safety licensing authority reaching the same establishment (recorded on the Rhode Island state page, banded $160.00-$240.00/year by seating count); the Department of Health's Food Protection Center page describes that licensing as statewide, with no separate Warwick health department layer. Section 18-2(c) provides that a business operating without a valid Board of Public Safety license 'shall be immediately closed and prohibited from operating' until licensed, and is separately subject to municipal court prosecution. The City's OpenGov portal carries matching 'Second Class Victualer,' 'Second Class Victualer 24 Hours,' and 'Midnight to 5AM' application types, each with a 'License Fee' line plus an advertisement fee and a technology fee whose amounts are quoted only inside the application flow.

General Business Licensing — City of Warwick Board of Public Safety structure (retail, veterinary, fitness)

The City's published pages set no fee for a general business license for a retail store, veterinary practice or fitness studio. The City Clerk's Office page covers vital records, land recordings and dog licenses, and refers trade-name certificates to the Rhode Island Secretary of State. The City's Board of Public Safety page states that this three-member board 'acts as the licensing authority for the City of Warwick,' and the Police Department's Licensing Division processes license and permit requests by appointment only; the City's Businesses and Building Department Forms pages route a 'Business License Application' to that Police Department page. The Licensing Division page lists Concealed Carry, Weapons Carry and Raffle applications and names no license category for an ordinary retail store, veterinary practice or fitness studio. For these three industries the City-level steps recorded on this page are the Building Permit, Zoning Certificate and Zoning Board of Review process, alongside any Rhode Island state credential that applies to the trade.

Mobile Food/Peddler License (food peddler, truck caterer, or general peddler)

Section 18-2(a) of the City's Code of Ordinances prices every mobile-food and peddler license the Board of Public Safety issues at $200.00, and the food line adds that the city license sits on top of a 'state hawker's and health license' rather than replacing it. Rhode Island's own state Food Establishment License separately prices a mobile food unit at $100.00/year (recorded on the Rhode Island state page), so a Warwick food truck carries both. The City's OpenGov licensing portal lists a 'Food Truck/Cart/Trailer (MOBILE)' application alongside 'Daily Vendor,' 'Fruit & Produce Peddler,' 'General Peddler (Goods & Services)' and 'General Peddler Badge' applications; the food-truck page states that the applicant 'must have a State issued MFE to apply for city license' and that the license 'will expire on the date that the State issued license expires,' which differs from the 5/1 expiration §18-2 prints for a food peddler. Neither portal page states a fee. Rhode Island's Division of Municipal Finance compilation, Municipal License and Permit Fees (August 2024), reports '$200.00 annual (general peddler no fixed place of business)' in its 'Misc. Peddler, Including Food' column for Warwick and $200.00 annual under 'Hawkers & Peddlers,' matching the ordinance.

Massage Parlor License

Section 18-2(a) prices 'Massage parlors' at $100.00 with the license running a year from issue rather than to a fixed calendar date. Rhode Island's Division of Municipal Finance compilation, Municipal License and Permit Fees (August 2024), reports $100.00 annual in its 'Massage Therapy' column for Warwick, agreeing with the ordinance. This license applies to a day spa or dedicated massage business; an ordinary hair/nail salon relies on Rhode Island's own state Barbering or Hairdressing Shop License ($170.00/year, recorded on the Rhode Island state page). Section 18-2(a) separately prices 'Permanent make-up' at $150.00 (expiring 12/31), a distinct category from massage.

Auto Repair Shop Licensing — City of Warwick position

The City publishes no auto-repair-specific local license fee. The Police Department's Licensing Division page lists Concealed Carry, Weapons Carry and Raffle applications, and neither it nor the City's Building Department or Businesses pages names an auto-repair-specific local license comparable to Cranston's Vehicle Repair Business License or Providence's Auto Repair Shop License. The State of Rhode Island's municipal fee compilation (August 2024) leaves the 'Auto Repair Shop' column blank for Warwick's row. A general auto-repair shop in Warwick follows the Building Permit, Zoning Certificate and Zoning Board of Review process recorded on this page, and Rhode Island's separate state Automobile Body Repair Shop License ($300.00/year, recorded on the Rhode Island state page) is the credential for collision/body work.

Contact

Jurisdiction: Warwick
Phone: (401) 468-4340
Website: warwickpd.com/index.php/police-divisions/licensing-division/licenses-permits

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.

Board of Public Safety — the City's own current page stating the Board 'acts as the licensing authority for the City of Warwick'City of Warwick · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
Businesses — the City's own current page routing 'Business License Application' to the Police Department Licensing DivisionCity of Warwick · 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 Clerk's Office — the department's own current page, listing vital records, land recordings, and dog licenses but no business-licensing functionCity of Warwick · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
Code of Ordinances, Part II, Chapter 18 (Fees), Sec. 18-2 — Miscellaneous license fees: the complete license-type/fee/expiration-date table, adopted by Ord. No. O-99-34 (7-14-99) and last amended by Ord. No. O-18-3, §I (3-20-18), together with subsection (b)'s nonprofit fee waivers, subsection (c)'s operating-without-a-license penalty, and subsection (d)'s consolidated non-profit event applicationCity of Warwick · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
Food Protection Center — the state health department's own current page describing statewide food establishment licensing, with no city-specific Warwick layer mentioned (retrieved via r.jina.ai text-extraction proxy after a direct HTTP 403)Rhode Island Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
Food Truck/Cart/Trailer (MOBILE) — the City's own OpenGov licensing application page: 'applicant must have a State issued MFE to apply for city license. This license will expire on the date that the State issued license expires.'City of Warwick (Board of Public Safety licensing portal) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
Licenses & Permits — the Warwick Police Department Licensing Division's own current page (Concealed Carry, Weapons Carry, and Raffle applications; appointment-only intake)City of Warwick Police Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
Licensing — the City's own OpenGov licensing category, listing the Food Truck/Cart/Trailer (MOBILE), Daily Vendor, Fruit & Produce Peddler, General Peddler (Goods & Services) and General Peddler Badge applications among its licence typesCity of Warwick (Board of Public Safety licensing portal) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18

Other offices serving Warwick

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

Business licenses in Warwick

Industry permit lists that include this agency

Rhode Island jurisdictions

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