Houston
Houston Health Department
In short
Houston Health Department issues 9 permits we publish for Houston, last verified 2026-08-22. 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 Service Manager's Certification | Houston Health Department | $33.56 replacement certificate | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-22 |
| Temporary Food Dealer Permitonly if it applies to you | Houston Health Department | $80.56–$805.68 per day, or for a 10+ day event | up to 21 consecutive days, tied to a single event | 2026-08-22 |
| Pre-Operational Inspectiononly if it applies to you | Houston Health Department | $114.13–$228.28 one-time | one-time | 2026-08-22 |
| Food Service Establishment Grease Interceptor Feeonly if it applies to you | Houston Health Department | $123.54 per establishment | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-22 |
| Biological Pretreatment Service Permit and Registrationonly if it applies to you | Houston Health Department | $335.70 per permit | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-22 |
| Certified Farmers Market Licenseonly if it applies to you | Houston Health Department | $201.41–$335.69 by vendor count | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-22 |
| Food Dealer Permit | Houston Health Department | $201.41–$1,074.24 by employee count | one year from the date of issuance | 2026-08-22 |
| Food Handler Certification | Houston Health Department | $13.42 per person | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-22 |
| Food Establishment Plan Review | Houston Health Department | $33.56–$939.96 one-time, by project valuation | one-time | 2026-08-22 |
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 Manager's Certification
Sec. 20-53(a) makes it unlawful to operate a food establishment unless the person in charge holds a valid, current food service manager's certification, and Sec. 20-53(b) extends the same rule to any food preparation area. Narrow exceptions exist for premises not preparing food at the time, retail food stores selling only unbroken sealed packages, and restricted bars or warehouses. The City-Wide Fee Schedule publishes only the $33.56 replacement-certificate fee; the certification fee itself is not listed there.
Temporary Food Dealer Permit
$80.56 per day, or $805.68 for an event of 10 or more consecutive days. Sec. 20-18 defines a temporary food service establishment as one operating at a fixed location for not more than 21 consecutive days in conjunction with a single event or celebration — past that, it is not a temporary permit. An applicant may be exempted from the food service manager certification requirement if the health officer is satisfied (Sec. 20-53(c)).
Pre-Operational Inspection
$114.13 where the premises is unoccupied, $228.28 where it is occupied. The occupied rate is double, so scheduling this before you take occupancy is worth $114.15.
Food Service Establishment Grease Interceptor Fee
Charged to food service establishments under the Sec. 47-423 interceptor requirement. Separate from the industrial waste permit and from the sewer volume charges a high-strength discharger pays.
Biological Pretreatment Service Permit and Registration
$335.70 to permit and register a biological pretreatment service, with a $13.42 monthly report processing fee (Sec. 47-478(b)). This falls on the service provider dosing a grease interceptor, not on every restaurant — confirm who holds the permit before budgeting for it.
Certified Farmers Market License
$201.41 for 1-9 vendors, $335.69 for 10 or more. A replacement license is $33.56 (Sec. 20-193(b)). This licenses the market itself — individual vendors are permitted separately.
Food Dealer Permit
Banded by employee count: 1-9 employees $295.41; 10-25 $469.98; 26-50 $671.40; 51-100 $872.82; 101 or more $1,074.24. A non-profit food dealer pays $201.41. A technology and administrative fee of $13.42 is charged on top (Sec. 20-38(b)(1a)), and applying late for a renewal adds a special investigative fee of $67.13 (Sec. 20-38(b)(4)). Sec. 20-20(a) requires the health officer to inspect each food establishment at least once every 12 months, and low risk establishments at least once every 24 months. Sec. 20-38 requires the fee to be paid "for one complete year from the date of issuance", and the Health Department states that food dealer permits expire one year from the date of issue, with a renewal invoice posted 30-45 days before expiry.
Food Handler Certification
$13.42 per person. Sec. 20-53(f) requires every food employee other than a certified food service manager to complete a food handler training course within 60 days of employment — so this is a recurring cost tied to staff turnover, not a one-off at opening.
Food Establishment Plan Review
Banded by project valuation: $0-$7,000 $33.56; $7,001-$150,000 $201.41; $151,000-$200,000 $268.56; $201,000-$300,000 $402.84; $301,000-$500,000 $537.12; $501,000-$1,000,000 $671.40; $1,000,000-$5,000,000 $805.68; more than $5,000,000 $939.96. Each band has a published double fee, charged at twice the figure above — the schedule lists it for work that proceeds without review. A $13.42 construction/remodelling technology and administrative fee also applies.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Houston
- Phone
- (832) 393-5100
- Website
- www.houstontx.gov/health/
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.
- City of Houston SB 577 Ordinance Submission — Chapter 20 provisionsCity of Houston (via Texas DSHS Local Ordinance and Fee Schedule Registry) · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
- City-Wide Fee ScheduleCity of Houston, Finance Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
- Frequently Asked Questions About Food PermitsHouston Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
- Houston Code of Ordinances Sec. 20-38 — Fees; transfer of medallionCity of Houston (Code of Ordinances) · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
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The full permit list for this jurisdiction
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Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.