Harris County
Harris County Public Health, Environmental Public Health Division, Food Safety Program
In short
Harris County Public Health, Environmental Public Health Division, Food Safety Program issues 6 permits we publish for Harris County, last verified 2026-09-27. 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 Establishment Permit | Harris County Public Health, Environmental Public Health Division, Food Safety Program | Annual permit fee by category, per the Commissioners Court's Rules for Regulation of Food Establishments, effective January 1, 2025: Category A $383.25; Category B $173.25; Category D, Food Sample Permit (product sampling/demonstration) $278.25; Category E, high-frequency recurring venue, $262.50; Transitional Permit (short-term, covering an ownership or format change) $210.00. Category C, Farmers' Market Vendor, $100.00, is recorded as its own requirement below because it reaches a narrower set of businesses. | annual, under the Rules for Regulation of Food Establishments effective January 1, 2025; the published rules do not itemize a renewal cadence beyond 'annual' | 2026-09-27 |
| Roadside Food Vendor Permitonly if it applies to you | Harris County Public Health, Environmental Public Health Division, Food Safety Program | $141.75 per year (2025 fee schedule) | annual, under the Rules for Regulation of Food Establishments effective January 1, 2025 | 2026-09-27 |
| Veterinary Clinic Licensing — State Board License Applies (Harris County)only if it applies to you | Harris County Public Health, Environmental Public Health Division, Food Safety Program | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-27 |
| Farmers' Market Vendor Permit (Category C)only if it applies to you | Harris County Public Health, Environmental Public Health Division, Food Safety Program | $100 per year (2025 fee schedule) | at least 1 year, per Texas Health and Safety Code §437.0065's statutory minimum for a farmers'-market food permit | 2026-09-27 |
| Temporary Food Establishment Permitonly if it applies to you | Harris County Public Health, Environmental Public Health Division, Food Safety Program | $84–$168 per event: $84.00 if applied for on time, $168.00 if applied for late (2025 fee schedule) | per event | 2026-09-27 |
| Food Establishment Plan Review | Harris County Public Health, Environmental Public Health Division, Food Safety Program | $157.50 one-time per project (2025 fee schedule) | one-time per project | 2026-09-27 |
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 Establishment Permit
Every fixed-location food establishment reached by HCPH's jurisdiction — unincorporated Harris County plus a number of smaller cities that contract with HCPH rather than running their own health department, not the City of Houston — needs this annual permit. HCPH's own page describes covering roughly 8,400 retail food establishments across that combined area. This fee table is read directly from the Commissioners Court's December 10, 2024 agenda item, '2024 Rules for Regulation of Food Establishments,' effective January 1, 2025. Daycare and school food service is regulated by the state, with HCPH inspection only upon request, so it is not a mandatory HCPH permit trigger for the childcare industry. Alcohol service or sales is licensed separately by the state TABC, with a Harris County local fee recorded below.
Roadside Food Vendor Permit
$141.75 a year for a roadside vendor, where all food sold must be prepared and packaged at a separately permitted food establishment rather than on the vendor's own unit. This is a distinct fee-schedule line from the annual Mobile Food Unit food-safety permit that HB 2844 transferred to Texas DSHS effective July 1, 2026; that transfer is stated only for the 'Mobile Food Unit' category by name, so this Roadside Food Vendor category is published here as a live Harris County requirement pending any contrary guidance from HCPH.
Veterinary Clinic Licensing — State Board License Applies (Harris County)
No fee applies. Harris County Engineering's Permits A to Z page lists no distinct business permit for operating a veterinary clinic beyond the generic Certificate of Compliance, building and Fire Code permits that apply to any commercial occupancy in unincorporated Harris County. Veterinary licensing itself is a Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners function, recorded at the state layer. This is separate from Harris County Public Health's pet licensing and rabies registration program, which is an obligation on individual pet owners, not on the veterinary business, and whose enforcement scope (unincorporated-only versus countywide) is not stated in the sources cited here; contact Harris County Public Health for it.
Farmers' Market Vendor Permit (Category C)
$100.00 is the statutory ceiling under §437.0065 for a farmers'-market vendor permit, and Harris County's own Category C fee sits exactly at that cap. One permit covers sales at every qualifying farmers' market, farm stand or farm within HCPH's jurisdiction. This is a distinct, separately-priced category from the general Food Establishment Permit above and from the annual Mobile Food Unit food-safety permit that transferred to Texas DSHS effective July 1, 2026 — nothing about that transfer is stated to affect this category.
Temporary Food Establishment Permit
Covers a vendor selling food at a single temporary event or location within HCPH's jurisdiction — unincorporated Harris County plus contract cities, not Houston. Applying on time costs $84.00; applying late costs $168.00. This category is separate from, and unaffected by, HB 2844's July 1, 2026 transfer of the annual Mobile Food Unit permit to Texas DSHS.
Food Establishment Plan Review
$157.50 for HCPH's review of construction, remodel or change-of-ownership plans before a permanent food establishment opens or reopens, required ahead of the Food Establishment Permit application above. A re-inspection after a failed inspection is charged separately at $157.50 and an expedited review at $500.00, per the same fee schedule.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Harris County
- Phone
- 713-439-6000
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 for Regulation of Food Establishments, adopted December 10, 2024, effective January 1, 2025 (Section XII, fee schedule)Harris County Commissioners Court · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
- Food Permits (permit types and scope — unincorporated Harris County plus contract cities, not Houston)Harris County Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
- Permits (Engineering's own list of the permits it administers, and the Certificate of Compliance unincorporated-area scope statement)Harris County Engineering Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
Other offices serving Harris County
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
Texas jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.