Austin
Austin Fire Department
In short
Austin Fire Department issues 8 permits we publish for Austin, last verified 2026-08-21. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Flame Annual Permitonly if it applies to you | Austin Fire Department | $300 per year | annual | 2026-08-21 |
| Public Assembly Permitonly if it applies to you | Austin Fire Department | $488 per year | annual | 2026-08-21 |
| Fire Alarm System Inspectiononly if it applies to you | Austin Fire Department | $296–$518 by device count | one-time | 2026-08-21 |
| Fire Sprinkler System Inspectiononly if it applies to you | Austin Fire Department | $296–$518 by sprinkler head count | one-time | 2026-08-21 |
| Mobile Food Vendor Fire Inspection | Austin Fire Department | $222 per unit; $592 if inspected on site | annual | 2026-08-21 |
| Kitchen Hood (UMC Type I) Extinguishing System Test | Austin Fire Department | $370 per system, plus $148 for each additional system | annual | 2026-08-21 |
| Temporary Change of Use Permitonly if it applies to you | Austin Fire Department | $525 per event, inspection fees payable separately in advance | one-time | 2026-08-21 |
| Fire Protection System Permitonly if it applies to you | Austin Fire Department | $30 per system, per year | annual | 2026-08-21 |
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
Open Flame Annual Permit
The schedule states this is required to use open flame or candles in connection with assembly areas and the dining areas of restaurants or drinking establishments. Table candles, a flambe service or a gas fire feature on a patio all put a venue inside it. $300 every year, and it is the kind of permit a restaurant discovers only when an inspector asks for it.
Public Assembly Permit
An annual permit required for buildings with an occupant load above 49 where alcohol is more than 51 per cent of sales — in practice, a bar rather than a restaurant with a bar. $488 a year, on top of the TABC Mixed Beverage Permit and any city Alcoholic Beverage Waiver. A reinspection after safety findings is $150 per hour with a two-hour minimum.
Fire Alarm System Inspection
Priced by how many devices the system has: $296 for 1 to 10, $370 for 11 to 25, $444 for 26 to 100, and $518 for 101 to 200, with $0.50 per device beyond 200. Plan review is charged separately and is much cheaper — $63, $125, $188 and $250 across the same bands. Continuations, partial and failed inspections are $148 an hour after the first trip, and a resubmittal is $63 for up to 25 devices or $188 from 26 to 200.
Fire Sprinkler System Inspection
Priced by head count on exactly the same ladder as the alarm system: $296 for 1 to 10 heads, $370 for 11 to 25, $444 for 26 to 100, $518 for 101 to 200, plus $0.50 per head above 200. Plan review is $63 to $250 across the same bands. A fire pump test, where the building has one, is a further $655 with $296 for each additional pump, and a hydrant flow test and report is $560.
Mobile Food Vendor Fire Inspection
The Austin Fire Department inspects the use, storage, handling and transportation of fuel on a mobile unit for $222. Having the inspection done on site rather than at a fire facility costs $592 — nearly three times as much, which is worth knowing before booking one. This sits alongside the state DSHS mobile food unit permit and is a separate charge from a separate agency.
Kitchen Hood (UMC Type I) Extinguishing System Test
Any commercial kitchen with a Type I hood over the cooking line needs this test, which makes it one of the least avoidable fire costs a restaurant carries and one almost no permit guide lists. The first system is $370 and each additional system is $148. If the inspection fails or is left partial, every return trip after the first is charged at $148 per hour as a Technical Subsequent Inspection Fee, and cancelling a booked inspection with less than 48 hours notice costs $296.
Temporary Change of Use Permit
Issued by the Austin Fire Department for hosting public events of more than 49 people in a structure that is not a public assembly space — the permit a restaurant, gallery or shop needs to run a one-off ticketed event. The AFD FY26 schedule prices it at $525.00, with inspection fees payable separately and in advance. Circulating guidance puts this permit at $100.00, but that figure appears nowhere in the fee schedule of the department that issues it. A related AFD Temporary Occupancy Load Adjustment is $375.00 and a Temporary Use Permit is $300.00. Note that city fees paid by credit card carry a 2.35 per cent processing charge with a $2.00 minimum.
Fire Protection System Permit
An annual $30 per system permit confirming every fixed fire protection system has been inspected by a third party. Cheap, easy to forget, and late reports are surcharged on a sliding scale through the TCE database: $15 after 30 days, $25 after 60 days and $35 after 90 days.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Austin
- Phone
- Not verified — use the website
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.
- FY26 Approved Fee Schedule — Austin Fire Department, effective 1 October 2025City of Austin Fire Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
Other offices serving Austin
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
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