What permits do you need to open a food truck in Calhoun County Al?

Delicatessen / Off-Premises Food License (Ala. Code §40-12-91)

ALDOR's Quick Reference Guide (October 2022) lists Food Truck first under §40-12-91 (delicatessen: cooked food sold for consumption other than on the premises), with §40-12-69, §40-12-151 and §40-12-153 added by menu, and asks for an authorization letter and a copy of the commissary's food permit. The ALDOR Handbook of Privilege and Store Licenses (October 2022) prints the §91 license at $16, the combined state and county total, and states that a certificate from the Health Department is required before it is issued in all cases. In Calhoun County it is bought from the Commissioner of Licenses (1702 Noble St., Suite 107, Anniston; 256-241-2900), which under Ala. Code §45-8-200.05 issues all licenses except marriage licenses. A food truck also needs its health permit from the Calhoun County Health Department and any license the city of operation requires.

Food Service Establishment Health Permit

A restaurant, coffee shop, food truck or childcare facility that prepares or serves food in Calhoun County needs an annual food service permit from the Calhoun County Health Department, which operates as a plain Alabama Department of Public Health field office under the agency's Northeastern District, not as an independently run county health department like Jefferson's or Mobile's. Inspections use ADPH's standard 100-point scoring: an establishment scoring 85 or above is reinspected within 120 days, and one scoring below 85 is reinspected within 60 days; permits expire every September 30. The department has never published a dollar fee for this permit on its own site, and Wayback Machine's archive index confirms no fee-schedule page has ever existed for Calhoun at that address, unlike some neighboring ADPH-district counties that do publish their own schedules. Call the department's Environmental Services line, (256) 237-4324, to get the figure currently charged before applying. A separate site, calhouncountyhealth.net, appears in general searches for a Calhoun County health department but belongs to Calhoun County, Illinois, and has no connection to this Alabama county or its permit.

Food Establishment Permit

There is no state food permit fee at all — the health department's own rule listing every fee it collects at state level covers lead contractors, milk plants and cluster wastewater, and the word food does not appear in it. The permit comes from the county health officer and the price is the county's. That split is fiscal rather than regulatory: all sixty-seven counties enforce the same state rule, but the state runs sixty-five of the county health departments while Jefferson and Mobile elect their own health officers, hire their own staff and set their own fees, which run several times higher. Russell County charges $75 to $350 by priority category, with a mobile unit at $50 and a temporary at $10 a day; Chilton charges $50 to $100 by seats or floor area; Jefferson charges $250 to $650 by level; Mobile charges $410 or $615 by square footage. Ask your own county rather than working from a statewide figure, because none exists. A restaurant must also produce the health certificate before the county will issue its privilege license.

Shared with other businesses in Calhoun County Al

• Sandwich Shop / Stand License (Ala. Code §40-12-153) — Calhoun County Commissioner of Licenses, $8.50 a year, combined state and county total under Ala. Code §40-12-153 (October 2022 ALDOR Handbook), sandwich shops, barbecue stands and hamburger or hot dog stands, annual, October 1 to September 30; due October 1 and delinquent November 1, with a 15 percent penalty plus interest; a new business starting after April 1 pays half the year's amount. Also required for coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Soft Drink / Coffee Dispensing License (Ala. Code §40-12-69) — Calhoun County Commissioner of Licenses, Combined state and county total under Ala. Code §40-12-69(b) for soft drinks or coffee sold from taps or other dispensing devices, by city population (October 2022 ALDOR Handbook): 25,000 or more $38.50; 15,000 to under 25,000 $31, which covers Anniston (21,564) and Oxford (17,553 in Calhoun County plus 4,516 in Talladega County on ALDOR's Census 2020 by City list); 5,000 to under 15,000 $23.50, which covers Jacksonville (14,385); 'less than 5,000 and in unincorporated places' $16, which covers Piedmont, Weaver, Ohatchee, Hobson City and every unincorporated location. Selling soft drinks only in bottles, cans or other sealed containers falls under §40-12-69(a) at $4.75; the (b) license also covers sealed-container sales., annual, October 1 to September 30; due October 1 and delinquent November 1, with a 15 percent penalty plus interest; a new business starting after April 1 pays half the year's amount. Also required for coffee shops, restaurants, retail stores, fitness studios and childcare centres; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• Certified Food Protection Manager — Alabama Department of Public Health, Division of Food, Milk and Lodging, No fee, 5 years for a certification; 12 months for attendance without certification. Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.