Racine County
Racine County Public Health Division, Environmental Health (Human Services Department)
In short
Racine County Public Health Division, Environmental Health (Human Services Department) issues 8 permits we publish for Racine County, last verified 2026-10-07. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tattoo and Body-Piercing Establishment Licenseonly if it applies to you | Racine County Public Health Division, Environmental Health (Human Services Department) | $140–$375 license fee per establishment per license year: tattoo establishment $243 (+ $335 pre-license inspection); body piercing establishment $243 (+ $335); combined tattooing and body piercing $375 (+ $527); transient tattoo and/or body piercing establishment $140 | annual; expires June 30, and a license first issued between April 1 and June 30 expires June 30 of the following year (Wis. Admin. Code SPS 221.04(2)(a)) | 2026-10-07 |
| Retail Food Establishment License — Serving Meals | Racine County Public Health Division, Environmental Health (Human Services Department) | $237–$864 license fee per establishment per license year, by complexity: Prepackaged (TCS) $237; Simple $375; Moderate $644; Complex $864. A new establishment also pays a pre-license inspection fee ($167 / $298 / $372 / $447) and a plan review fee ($54 / $72 / $214 / $250) | annual; expires June 30 each year, and a license issued for a new establishment on or after March 30 and before July 1 expires June 30 of the following year (Wis. Stat. § 97.30(2)(a)) | 2026-10-07 |
| Mobile Service Base License — Base Without Food Processingonly if it applies to you | Racine County Public Health Division, Environmental Health (Human Services Department) | $237 license fee per service base per license year; a new service base also pays a $167 pre-license inspection fee and a $72 plan review fee | annual; expires June 30 each year (Wis. Stat. § 97.30(2)(a)) | 2026-10-07 |
| Retail Food Establishment License — Not Serving Mealsonly if it applies to you | Racine County Public Health Division, Environmental Health (Human Services Department) | $151–$1,246 license fee per establishment per license year, by complexity: Prepackaged (TCS) $151; Simple Non-TCS $237; Simple TCS $439; Moderate $644; Complex $1,246. A new establishment also pays a pre-license inspection fee ($127 / $150 / $298 / $372 / $521) and, except for Prepackaged, a plan review fee ($72 / $72 / $214 / $285) | annual; expires June 30 each year, and a license issued for a new establishment on or after March 30 and before July 1 expires June 30 of the following year (Wis. Stat. § 97.30(2)(a)) | 2026-10-07 |
| Mobile Retail Food Establishment License | Racine County Public Health Division, Environmental Health (Human Services Department) | $151–$1,246 license fee per mobile unit per license year. Serving meals, mobile: Prepackaged (TCS) $237, Simple $375, Moderate $644, Complex $864. Not serving meals, mobile: Prepackaged (TCS) $151, Simple Non-TCS $237, Simple TCS $439, Moderate $644, Complex $1,246. Pre-license inspection and plan review fees apply as for fixed establishments | annual; expires June 30 each year, and a license issued for a new establishment on or after March 30 and before July 1 expires June 30 of the following year (Wis. Stat. § 97.30(2)(a)) | 2026-10-07 |
| Transient Retail Food Establishment License (special events)only if it applies to you | Racine County Public Health Division, Environmental Health (Human Services Department) | $127–$230 per transient license: non-TCS food $127; TCS food $230; prepackaged TCS food only $127 | per transient operation at a special event, for no more than 14 consecutive days, or with an occasional sales promotion | 2026-10-07 |
| Inspection Fee — Mobile or Transient Unit Licensed by Another Jurisdictiononly if it applies to you | Racine County Public Health Division, Environmental Health (Human Services Department) | $52 per inspection | per inspection | 2026-10-07 |
| Recreational Water License (public pool or water attraction)only if it applies to you | Racine County Public Health Division, Environmental Health (Human Services Department) | $452–$661 license fee per pool per license year: Simple $452; Simple with features $503; Moderate $527; Moderate with features $578; Complex $610; Complex with features $661. A new pool also pays a pre-license inspection fee ($292-$416) and a plan review fee ($143-$161) | annual; expires June 30, and a license first issued between April 1 and June 30 expires June 30 of the following year (Wis. Stat. § 97.67(4)) | 2026-10-07 |
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
Tattoo and Body-Piercing Establishment License
A salon or studio offering tattooing or body piercing anywhere in Racine County outside the City of Racine needs an establishment license from the Racine County Public Health Division, which licenses tattoo and body-piercing establishments as the State's agent under County Code § 21-13 and Wis. Stat. § 463.16; the State rules are Wis. Admin. Code SPS 221, administered by the Department of Safety and Professional Services. Per the Division's April 2026 - March 2027 Environmental Health fee schedule (posted April 13, 2026), a tattoo establishment or a body piercing establishment is $243 with a $335 pre-license inspection fee, a combined tattooing and body piercing establishment is $375 with a $527 pre-license inspection fee, and a transient establishment is $140. The schedule also lists $199 where a tattooist or body piercer works without a practitioner's license, $199 where one works without bloodborne pathogen training (County Code § 21-17 requires that training every year), and $942 for operating without a permit plus the pre-license inspection and permit fees. The '2026 Fee' column of the county's Proposed Fee Schedule for the 2027 fiscal year matches; a roughly 2% increase is proposed for 2027 and has not been adopted. Licenses expire June 30 under SPS 221.04(2)(a). A salon offering only hair, nail or skin services, without tattooing or piercing, needs no body-art license. Contact the Division at 262-898-4460.
Retail Food Establishment License — Serving Meals
A restaurant or coffee shop that serves meals anywhere in Racine County outside the City of Racine needs a retail food establishment license from the Racine County Public Health Division, which issues it as the State's agent under County Code § 21-13 and Wis. Stat. § 97.41. Inside the City of Racine the City of Racine Public Health Department licenses food businesses instead. Per the Division's April 2026 - March 2027 Environmental Health fee schedule (posted April 13, 2026, and linked as 'License and Inspection Fees' from the Division's License and Applications page), the license fee is $237 for Prepackaged (TCS), $375 Simple, $644 Moderate and $864 Complex; a new establishment also pays a pre-license inspection fee of $167, $298, $372 or $447 and a plan review fee of $54, $72, $214 or $250 for the same tiers. The same figures appear in the '2026 Fee' column of the county's Proposed Fee Schedule for the 2027 fiscal year; that proposal would raise most license and pre-license fees by roughly 2% and has not been adopted. County Code § 21-18(c) sets these fees through the annual budget process or the board of health. The schedule also lists $942 for operating a food establishment without a permit (plus the pre-license inspection and permit fees), $190 for operating without a Certified Restaurant Manager when one is required, a $125 late fee and a $25 NSF fee. Licenses expire June 30 under Wis. Stat. § 97.30(2)(a). Contact the Division at 262-898-4460.
Mobile Service Base License — Base Without Food Processing
The Racine County Public Health Division's mobile fact sheet states that each mobile food establishment 'shall have a licensed service base of operations'. Where that base does no food processing and sits in the Division's jurisdiction (all of Racine County except the City of Racine), it is licensed as a Mobile Service Base - No Food Processing. Per the Division's April 2026 - March 2027 Environmental Health fee schedule (posted April 13, 2026), the license is $237, with a $167 pre-license inspection fee and a $72 plan review fee for a new base; the '2026 Fee' column of the county's Proposed Fee Schedule for the 2027 fiscal year shows the same amounts, and a roughly 2% increase proposed for 2027 has not been adopted. A base that processes food is licensed in the matching retail food establishment tier instead. The license expires June 30 under Wis. Stat. § 97.30(2)(a). Contact the Division at 262-898-4460.
Retail Food Establishment License — Not Serving Meals
A store or retail-only coffee counter that sells food without serving meals, anywhere in Racine County outside the City of Racine, needs a retail food establishment license (not serving meals) from the Racine County Public Health Division, issued as the State's agent under County Code § 21-13 and Wis. Stat. § 97.41. Per the Division's April 2026 - March 2027 Environmental Health fee schedule (posted April 13, 2026), the license fee is $151 for Prepackaged (TCS), $237 for Simple Non-TCS, $439 for Simple TCS, $644 for Moderate and $1,246 for Complex. A new establishment also pays a pre-license inspection fee of $127, $150, $298, $372 or $521 for those tiers, and a plan review fee of $72, $72, $214 or $285 for the Simple Non-TCS, Simple TCS, Moderate and Complex tiers (the schedule shows no plan review fee for Prepackaged). The '2026 Fee' column of the county's Proposed Fee Schedule for the 2027 fiscal year shows the same amounts; the proposal would raise most of them by roughly 2% and has not been adopted. Operating without a permit carries a $942 fee plus the pre-license inspection and permit fees. Licenses expire June 30 under Wis. Stat. § 97.30(2)(a). Inside the City of Racine the City's own health department licenses food sales instead. Contact the Division at 262-898-4460.
Mobile Retail Food Establishment License
A food truck or other mobile retail food establishment based in Racine County outside the City of Racine is licensed by the Racine County Public Health Division as the State's agent (County Code § 21-13). The Division's April 2026 - March 2027 Environmental Health fee schedule (posted April 13, 2026) prices mobile units on the same tiers as fixed establishments: serving meals, mobile, $237 Prepackaged (TCS), $375 Simple, $644 Moderate, $864 Complex, with pre-license inspection fees of $167 / $298 / $372 / $447 and plan review fees of $54 / $72 / $214 / $250; not serving meals, mobile, $151 Prepackaged (TCS), $237 Simple Non-TCS, $439 Simple TCS, $644 Moderate, $1,246 Complex. The '2026 Fee' column of the county's Proposed Fee Schedule for the 2027 fiscal year matches; a roughly 2% increase is proposed for 2027 and has not been adopted. The Division's mobile fact sheet states that each mobile establishment 'shall have a licensed service base of operations' (see the separate service base license). Licenses expire June 30 under Wis. Stat. § 97.30(2)(a). Operating without a permit carries a $942 fee plus the pre-license inspection and permit fees. Contact the Division at 262-898-4460.
Transient Retail Food Establishment License (special events)
A restaurant or vendor that sells food at a fixed spot during a special event in Racine County outside the City of Racine needs a transient retail food license from the Racine County Public Health Division, issued as the State's agent. The Division's transient fact sheet describes a transient retail food establishment as one that 'operates at a fixed location in conjunction with a special event and sells or serves food for a period of no more than 14 consecutive days or in conjunction with an occasional sales promotion'. Per the Division's April 2026 - March 2027 Environmental Health fee schedule (posted April 13, 2026), the fee is $127 for non-TCS food, $230 for TCS (time/temperature control for safety) food and $127 for prepackaged TCS food only. The '2026 Fee' column of the county's Proposed Fee Schedule for the 2027 fiscal year shows the same amounts; a roughly 2% increase is proposed for 2027 and has not been adopted. Events inside the City of Racine are licensed by the City of Racine Public Health Department instead. Contact the Division at 262-898-4460.
Inspection Fee — Mobile or Transient Unit Licensed by Another Jurisdiction
County Code § 21-16 provides that a valid food establishment permit issued by the State of Wisconsin or any other competent health department for a mobile food establishment 'will be honored by the Racine County Public Health Division', but the unit 'may be required to be inspected' and 'shall pay an inspection fee for this inspection'. Per the Division's April 2026 - March 2027 Environmental Health fee schedule (posted April 13, 2026), the line 'Transient or Mobile Food Estab. w/ license from another jurisdiction-Inspection Fee' is $52. This applies to food trucks licensed elsewhere that operate in the Division's jurisdiction, which is all of Racine County except the City of Racine. It is an inspection fee, not a second license. Contact the Division at 262-898-4460.
Recreational Water License (public pool or water attraction)
A fitness studio or gym with a pool, spa or water attraction open to members or the public, anywhere in Racine County outside the City of Racine, needs a recreational water license from the Racine County Public Health Division, which licenses public swimming pools and water attractions as the State's agent (County Code § 21-13). A studio without a pool or water attraction has no pool license. Per the Division's April 2026 - March 2027 Environmental Health fee schedule (posted April 13, 2026), the license fee is $452 Simple, $503 Simple with pool features, $527 Moderate, $578 Moderate with features, $610 Complex and $661 Complex with features; pre-license inspection fees are $292, $343, $292, $343, $365 and $416, and plan review fees $143 for the Simple and Moderate tiers and $161 for Complex. Operating a pool or water attraction without a permit carries a $942 fee plus the pre-license inspection and permit fees. The '2026 Fee' column of the county's Proposed Fee Schedule for the 2027 fiscal year matches; a roughly 2% increase is proposed for 2027 and has not been adopted. Under Wis. Stat. § 97.67(4) the license expires June 30. Contact the Division at 262-898-4460.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Racine County
- Phone
- 262-898-4460
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.
- April 2026 - March 2027 Racine County Public Health Division - Environmental Health Fees (posted April 13, 2026)Racine County Public Health Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-07
- Environmental Health — License and Applications (links the 'License and Inspection Fees' schedule)Racine County Public Health Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-07
- Local Health Departments — Racine County (Racine County Public Health Division and City of Racine Public Health Department)Wisconsin Department of Health Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-07
- Mobile retail food establishment fact sheet (licensed service base of operations requirement)Racine County Public Health Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-07
- Proposed Fee Schedule for 2027 fiscal year ('2026 Fee' and '2027 Fee' columns; posted September 22, 2026)Racine County · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-07
- Racine County Code ch. 21, Public Health (§§ 21-1, 21-7, 21-13, 21-15, 21-16, 21-17, 21-18; Ord. No. 2021-71), Municode Supp. 33Racine County (Municode) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-07
- Transient retail food establishment fact sheet (special events, no more than 14 consecutive days)Racine County Public Health Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-07
- Wis. Admin. Code SPS 221.04, Tattooing and body-piercing establishment and practitioner licenses (expiry, SPS 221.04(2)(a))Wisconsin State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-07
- Wis. Stat. § 97.67, Recreational licenses and fees (public swimming pools; license expiry, § 97.67(4))Wisconsin State Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-07
- Wis. Stat. §97.30 — retail food establishments; micro market fees (sub. (3s)); fee paid to agent (sub. (4)(b))Wisconsin Legislature · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-07
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