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Shelby County

Shelby County Health Department, Environmental Health & Food Safety Program

In short

Shelby County Health Department, Environmental Health & Food Safety Program issues 4 permits we publish for Shelby County, last verified 2026-10-08. 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
Food Service Establishment Permit (including child-care food service)Shelby County Health Department, Environmental Health & Food Safety Program$50–$360 a year — $210 for 0–50 seats, $360 for 51 or more seats; child-care food service $50 (0–50 seats) or $80 (51 or more); state-set fees collected by the Shelby County Health Departmentannual2026-10-08
Temporary Food Service Establishment (Event) Permitonly if it applies to youShelby County Health Department, Environmental Health & Food Safety Program$30 per event permit (eating/drinking, sampling, or alcohol products); state-set feeper event2026-10-08
Mobile Food Preparation Vehicle PermitShelby County Health Department, Environmental Health & Food Safety Program$360 a year per vehicle — combined: $150 county local permit (Shelby County Code § 8-682(b)) plus $210 state permitannual2026-10-08
Barbershop Sanitation Permit (outside the municipalities)only if it applies to youShelby County Health Department, Environmental Health & Food Safety Program$10 a year, as set by Shelby County Code § 8-107; due January 1 and paid by January 31calendar year2026-10-08

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 Service Establishment Permit (including child-care food service)

The Tennessee Department of Health's Environmental Health page names Shelby among the food 'Contract Counties' responsible for their own food establishment inspections, invoicing, permitting and enforcement, so the Shelby County Health Department issues this permit throughout the county, including inside Memphis and the other six cities. The fees are the state's: rule 1200-23-01-.09 (new rule filed March 16, 2026 and effective June 14, 2026) sets $210 a year for a food service establishment with 0 to 50 seats and $360 a year for 51 or more, and $50 (0 to 50 seats) or $80 (51 or more) for a child-care food service establishment. The Health Department's FAQ gives the same seat-band figures: 'For 50 seats or less it is $210 per year. For 51 seats or more is $360 per year.' A child-care centre that prepares food falls in the child-care category. The Health Department asks for plans and a menu before construction and inspects before opening. Contact the Environmental Health & Food Safety Program at 901-222-9158.

Temporary Food Service Establishment (Event) Permit

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-23-01-.09(1)(d), effective June 14, 2026, sets the temporary food service establishment fee at $30. The Shelby County Health Department's Temporary Event Booklet (dated October 26, 2021) and application form, both linked from its food program page, list $30.00 for eating and drinking, sampling, and alcohol products permits. The booklet says an application is filed at least two business days before an event with fewer than 10 food vendors; for an event with 10 or more food vendors, the event coordinator submits all vendor applications and fees 10 working days before the event, and permits are not issued on the day before or the day of the event. The Health Department issues these permits countywide as a Tennessee Department of Health food contract county.

Mobile Food Preparation Vehicle Permit

The Shelby County Health Department's current Mobile Unit Inspection Requirements sheet states: 'Local permit $150.00, State permit $210.00 total = ($360.00 annual permits fee).' The $150 local permit is set by Shelby County Code § 8-682(b) (Ord. No. 411, 2012), which requires 'a $150.00 application fee for each mobile food preparation vehicle' and allows annual renewal 'upon payment of a $150.00 renewal fee'. The $210 state permit equals the 0–50 seat food service fee in Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-23-01-.09(1)(a). The same sheet says any cooking generally requires two inspections a year, and prepackaged goods one. The Health Department's Mobile Food Units page lists the application documents: plans and menu, a business license or Department of Revenue registration, a lease, a wastewater disposal agreement, a floor plan and a notarized commissary agreement. The county code also sets parking and distance rules for vehicles on county streets.

Barbershop Sanitation Permit (outside the municipalities)

The county code sets this fee: Shelby County Code § 8-107 states that 'Every barbershop shall pay to the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department an annual permit fee of $10.00', due January 1 and paid by January 31, and that new barbershops 'shall secure a permit before they open'; permits are not transferable. Section 8-106 applies these sanitary standards to barbershops 'outside the corporate limits of all municipalities within the county', and § 8-115 exempts duly registered cosmetologists operating under state law. The department now operates as the Shelby County Health Department, whose food safety program page lists barbershops among its non-food inspections. The $10 amount is not published on any Health Department fee page; contact the Health Department at 901-222-9158 for the current charge. The state barber shop license is separate.

Contact

Jurisdiction
Shelby County
Phone
901-222-9158

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.

  1. FAQ — food service establishment permit feesShelby County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  2. Mobile Food UnitsShelby County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  3. Mobile Unit Inspection Requirements (local permit $150, state permit $210)Shelby County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  4. Shelby County Code, Chapter 8, Article IV — Barbershops (§§ 8-106, 8-107, 8-115)Shelby County Board of Commissioners (Municode) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  5. Shelby County Code, Chapter 8, Article XVI — Mobile Food Preparation Vehicles (§ 8-682)Shelby County Board of Commissioners (Municode) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  6. Shelby County Health Department — environmental health and food safety programme feesShelby County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
  7. Temporary Event Application FormShelby County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  8. Temporary Event Booklet (dated October 26, 2021)Shelby County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  9. Tennessee Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-23-01 — food service establishments, including the permit fee schedule effective 14 June 2026Tennessee Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
  10. Tennessee Department of Health — Environmental Health (food Contract Counties)Tennessee Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08

Other offices serving Shelby County

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

Industry permit lists that include this agency

Tennessee jurisdictions

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.