Clark County
Clark County Public Health, Environmental Public Health
In short
Clark County Public Health, Environmental Public Health issues 9 permits we publish for Clark County, last verified 2026-10-06. 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 Annual Permit | Clark County Public Health, Environmental Public Health | By menu complexity and the business's gross revenue in the previous calendar year: Level 1 (low complexity) $470 ($0-$500K), $512 ($501K-$1M), $601 ($1M+); Level 2 (medium complexity) $1,128, $1,223, $1,401; Level 3 (high complexity) $2,357, $2,635, $2,908. HACCP permit add-on $767. Plan review is charged separately. | annual | 2026-10-06 |
| Food Worker Card — In-Person Testing Fee | Clark County Public Health, Environmental Public Health | $10 per in-person test at Clark County Public Health (2026 fee schedule) | per test; the card itself is a Washington State-approved food worker card (WAC 246-217) | 2026-10-06 |
| Food Establishment Plan Review | Clark County Public Health, Environmental Public Health | New construction $1,350; remodel, modification or change of ownership: Level 1 $1,224, Level 2 $1,477, Level 3 $1,688. | one-time per project | 2026-10-06 |
| Mobile Food Unit Permit and Plan Review | Clark County Public Health, Environmental Public Health | Plan review (new unit or change of ownership) $1,113, one-time; annual permit Level 1 $470, Level 2 $1,221, Level 3 $1,957. A reciprocity application carries no plan review fee, but the annual permit fee still applies. | annual permit; plan review one-time per new unit or change of ownership | 2026-10-06 |
| Temporary Event Food Permitonly if it applies to you | Clark County Public Health, Environmental Public Health | 1-3 consecutive days: Level 1 $147, Level 2/3 $283; 4-21 consecutive days $519; late fee $157 when the application is submitted less than 14 days before the event. | per event (up to 21 consecutive days) | 2026-10-06 |
| Multiple Event and Caterer Food Permitsonly if it applies to you | Clark County Public Health, Environmental Public Health | Multiple event annual permit: Level 1 $399, Level 2 $979, Level 3 $1,764, samples only $357. Caterer annual permit $1,150. Plan review for multiple event vendors and caterers: full operation and sales $872, sampling only $614. | annual; plan review one-time | 2026-10-06 |
| Pool and Spa Plan Review and Facility Permitonly if it applies to you | Clark County Public Health, Environmental Public Health | Plan review $1,753 per pool or spa; facility permit $1,219 (year-round or seasonal); each additional pool or spa $228; follow-up inspection $459. | facility permit annual (year-round or seasonal); plan review one-time per project | 2026-10-06 |
| On-Site Septic System Plan Review and Permitonly if it applies to you | Clark County Public Health, Environmental Public Health | Plan review and permit: conventional gravity system $632; alternative system $718; large system over 1,000 gallons per day $1,506; repair of a failure under 1,000 gallons per day $804 (site, plan and permit). | one-time per system installation or repair | 2026-10-06 |
| On-Site Septic System Annual Operating Permitonly if it applies to you | Clark County Public Health, Environmental Public Health | $13.87 a year per property with an on-site septic system (2026 fee schedule, effective January 1, 2026) | annual | 2026-10-06 |
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 Annual Permit
A restaurant, coffee shop or other food business in a permanent structure needs an annual food establishment permit from Clark County Public Health, and the fee sheet says a business must obtain both an approved plan review and an annual permit before opening. The amounts are from the 2026 fee schedule, effective January 1, 2026, as published in the county's 2026 Environmental Public Health fee schedule and repeated in the Food Safety Program 2026 Fee Schedule. The fee depends on two things. The first is menu complexity: Level 1 covers pre-packaged foods and very limited preparation, and the fee sheet names espresso stands and most baked goods as examples; Level 2 is a limited menu with proteins bought fully cooked and no cooling; Level 3 covers cooking raw proteins, cooking and cooling, and names bars, grills, restaurants and coffee stands preparing egg sandwiches. The second is the business's gross revenue in the previous calendar year ($0-$500K, $501K-$1M, $1M and over). A Level 1 permit runs $470 to $601, Level 2 $1,128 to $1,401 and Level 3 $2,357 to $2,908; a HACCP permit add-on for special processes costs $767. A grocery store is permitted under a separate grocery category on the same schedule. A mandatory follow-up inspection, triggered by 40 or more red critical points, is billed separately. Contact CCPH Food Safety at 564.397.8482.
Food Worker Card — In-Person Testing Fee
Clark County Public Health's food worker page states that anyone with a job preparing or serving food or beverages in Clark County is required to have a Washington State approved food worker card, and cites WAC 246-217. The card can be earned online through foodworkercard.wa.gov, which the page names as the only site approved for online testing in Washington State, with that site's own payment. The $10 recorded here is the county's charge for its in-person option: a 30-minute training video and test at Clark County Public Health, by appointment only on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30am to 12:00pm, paid by cash, debit or credit card. The $10 'Food Worker Card' fee is listed in the Food Safety Program 2026 Fee Schedule, the food section of the county's 2026 fee schedule, effective January 1, 2026. Bring photo identification to the test.
Food Establishment Plan Review
Clark County Public Health reviews the plans of a food establishment before it opens, and the fee sheet states that a business must obtain both an approved plan review and an annual permit before opening or operating. Under the 2026 fee schedule, effective January 1, 2026, as published in the county's Environmental Public Health fee schedule and the Food Safety Program 2026 Fee Schedule, new construction costs $1,350. New construction covers a new building or an existing building that has not previously prepared or sold food, and the fee sheet says this includes the ghost kitchen concept. A remodel, modification or change of ownership costs $1,224 at Level 1, $1,477 at Level 2 and $1,688 at Level 3. The fee sheet defines this category as significant structure, equipment or food preparation changes (including an increase in complexity level), an ownership change that removes all original owners, or a pre-existing food establishment that is reopening. Variance reviews and HACCP plan reviews for special processes such as curing, smoking or reduced oxygen packaging are priced separately on the same schedule.
Mobile Food Unit Permit and Plan Review
A food truck, trailer or other readily moveable food unit needs plan review and an annual mobile unit permit from Clark County Public Health. Under the 2026 fee schedule, effective January 1, 2026, as published in the county's Environmental Public Health fee schedule and the Food Safety Program 2026 Fee Schedule, plan review for a new unit or a change of ownership costs $1,113 and the annual permit costs $470 at Level 1, $1,221 at Level 2 and $1,957 at Level 3. The fee sheet says plan review in this category also covers non-permanent structures such as stationary coffee kiosks. For a unit already permitted elsewhere, the fee sheet prints two separate lines: under plan review, 'Mobile Unit Reciprocity (application required) No fee', and under the annual permit, 'NOTE: All mobile units applying for reciprocity will be subject to a permit fee.' A reciprocity unit therefore pays no plan review fee but does pay the annual permit fee for its level. The fee sheet requires an annual commissary agreement with a permitted kitchen unless the unit meets every criterion for commissary exemption, and states that Washington State Labor & Industries approval must be obtained prior to operating.
Temporary Event Food Permit
A vendor serving food at a scheduled event or celebration, such as a fair or community festival, needs a temporary event permit from Clark County Public Health. Under the 2026 fee schedule, effective January 1, 2026, as published in the county's Environmental Public Health fee schedule and the Food Safety Program 2026 Fee Schedule, an event of one to three consecutive days costs $147 at Level 1 and $283 at Level 2 or 3, and an event of four to 21 consecutive days costs $519. Applying less than 14 days before the event adds a $157 late fee. The fee sheet describes the permit as a fixed menu at a single location, with preparation completed in an approved kitchen or on site, an approved food establishment used for storage, warewashing and water supply, and no cooling of food at the event. A vendor that works many events through the year uses the multiple event permit instead (recorded separately).
Multiple Event and Caterer Food Permits
A food booth that works scheduled events through the year, a pop-up, or a caterer needs an annual permit and a plan review from Clark County Public Health. Under the 2026 fee schedule, effective January 1, 2026, as published in the county's Environmental Public Health fee schedule and the Food Safety Program 2026 Fee Schedule, the multiple event permit costs $399 at Level 1, $979 at Level 2 and $1,764 at Level 3, or $357 for a vendor offering only free samples. The caterer permit costs $1,150 a year. Plan review for this group costs $872 for full operation and sales, or $614 for sampling only. The fee sheet defines a caterer as a person contracted to prepare food in an approved food establishment for final cooking or service at another location, and states that point of sale at a public event requires an additional permit. It requires an annual commissary agreement with a permitted kitchen for multiple event vendors, and for caterers unless they have their own permitted kitchen. A permanent food establishment may cater private events within its approved complexity level under its own annual permit.
Pool and Spa Plan Review and Facility Permit
A gym, fitness studio or other business that operates a pool or spa open to members or the public needs Clark County Public Health plan review before construction and a facility permit to operate. Under the 2026 Environmental Public Health fee schedule, effective January 1, 2026, plan review costs $1,753, the facility permit costs $1,219 whether the pool is open year-round or seasonally, each additional pool or spa at the same facility adds $228, and a follow-up inspection costs $459. Change-of-ownership and remodel plan reviews are priced separately on the same schedule. A studio without a pool or spa has no pool permit. Contact Clark County Public Health environmental services at 564.397.8428.
On-Site Septic System Plan Review and Permit
A business on a property that is not served by public sewer and installs or repairs an on-site septic system needs plan review and a permit from Clark County Public Health. Under the 2026 Environmental Public Health fee schedule, effective January 1, 2026, plan review and permit cost $632 for a conventional gravity system, $718 for an alternative system and $1,506 for a large system over 1,000 gallons per day; repair of a failing system under 1,000 gallons per day costs $804 for site, plan and permit. A soil and site evaluation is priced separately on the same schedule. Clark County Code 24.17.040 adopts the state on-site sewage rules, WAC 246-272A, by reference. Clark County Code 24.17.020(2) states that the chapter 'is not intended to preempt local municipalities from regulating on-site septic systems so long as the regulation meets or exceeds the standards set by this chapter and Chapter 246-272A WAC.' A business on a public sewer has no septic permit. Contact Clark County Public Health environmental services at 564.397.8428.
On-Site Septic System Annual Operating Permit
Every property with an on-site septic system in Clark County pays an annual operating permit fee to Clark County Public Health: the county's OSS page states that 'All properties with an OSS pay an annual OSS operating permit fee.' The 2026 Environmental Public Health fee schedule, effective January 1, 2026, sets the Septic Operating Permit at $13.87. A business that owns or leases a building on septic should expect this charge to reach the property owner each year. The same OSS page explains that an owner who is more than one year past the system's required inspection date as of December 31 receives a separate non-compliance fee on the following year's Clark County property tax bill, under Clark County Code 24.17.180(d); that charge applies only while the system is out of compliance, so keeping inspections current avoids it. A business on a public sewer has no septic operating permit.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Clark County
- Phone
- 564.397.8482 (food safety); 564.397.8428 (environmental services)
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.
- 2026 Environmental Public Health fee schedule ('Fee schedule effective Jan. 1, 2026')Clark County Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-06
- Clark County Code 24.17.020, On-site sewage systems — purpose (amended by Ord. 2025-03-12)Clark County (Code Publishing Company) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-06
- Clark County Code 24.17.040, Adoption by reference (WAC 246-272A) and repealerClark County (Code Publishing Company) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-06
- Clark County Public Health, Food Safety Program 2026 Fee Schedule (updated Feb. 2026)Clark County Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-06
- Food Worker Testing and Manager CertificationClark County Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-06
- OSS non-compliance fee (states 'All properties with an OSS pay an annual OSS operating permit fee')Clark County Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-06
Other offices serving Clark County
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
Washington jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.