Commercial Compliance Hub
Check requirements

10 permits · verified 2026-09-28

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

In short

A food truck in Houston County Al, AL has 4 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 6 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Alabama Secretary of State, Business Services charges $200 one-time filing for the certificate of formation (llc). 5 of the 10 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-28 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a food truck in Houston County Al

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Food Service Establishment Health PermitHouston County Board of Health / Houston County Health Department, Environmental Health DivisionAla. Code §45-35-170 (Act 88-286) authorizes the Houston County Board of Health to designate which health-department services carry a fee and to set the dollar amount of each one, following a public hearing; no person may be denied a service for inability to pay, and a sliding fee scale based on ability to pay is expressly authorized. The Board's own published Environmental Health and food-service-sanitation materials describe the 100-point inspection scoring system and the categories of establishment covered — restaurants, mobile food units, bakeries, bars and daycare kitchens — but do not print the resulting dollar fee for a food-service establishment permit.annual, consistent with the Environmental Health Division's ongoing permitting and inspection program2026-09-28
Food Establishment PermitAlabama Department of Public Health, Division of Food, Milk and Lodging$50–$650 a year, set by the county health department, not by the stateannual — expiring when the privilege licenses expire, or on a date the health officer sets2026-09-03
Certified Food Protection Manageronly if it applies to youAlabama Department of Public Health, Division of Food, Milk and LodgingNo fee5 years for a certification; 12 months for attendance without certification2026-09-03

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

Local permits that apply to every type of business in Houston County Al

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
General County Business Privilege LicenseHouston County Probate Office, License Department (Judge of Probate Patrick H. Davenport)Varies — formula on the Houston County Al pageannual; license year runs through September 30, renews each October, with penalties and interest applying after November 12026-09-28

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

AL registrations that apply to every type of business

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
State and County Business Privilege Licenseonly if it applies to youAlabama Department of Revenue, Business and License Tax DivisionVaries — formula on the AL pageannual — 1 October to 30 September, delinquent 1 November2026-09-03
Certificate of Formation (LLC)only if it applies to youAlabama Secretary of State, Business Services$200 one-time filingperpetual — Alabama abolished the annual report in 20242026-09-03
Certificate of Incorporationonly if it applies to youAlabama Secretary of State, Business Services$200 one-time filingperpetual — Alabama abolished the annual report in 20242026-09-03
Corporation Annual Report (abolished)only if it applies to youAlabama Secretary of State, Business ServicesNo feenot applicable — the filing no longer exists2026-09-03
Business Privilege Taxonly if it applies to youAlabama Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax DivisionVaries — formula on the AL pageannual — due when the matching federal return is due2026-09-03
Sales Tax LicenseAlabama Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax DivisionNo feeannual — renew online between 1 November and 31 December2026-09-03

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

How much does it actually cost to permit a food truck in Houston County Al?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 10 records listed for a food truck in Houston County Al, AL, 4 apply to every business of this type and 6 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

5 of the 10 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 3 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

Food Service Establishment Health Permit: Ala. Code §45-35-170 (Act 88-286) authorizes the Houston County Board of Health to designate which health-department services carry a fee and to set the dollar amount of each one, following a public hearing; no person may be denied a service for inability to pay, and a sliding fee scale based on ability to pay is expressly authorized. The Board's own published Environmental Health and food-service-sanitation materials describe the 100-point inspection scoring system and the categories of establishment covered — restaurants, mobile food units, bakeries, bars and daycare kitchens — but do not print the resulting dollar fee for a food-service establishment permit.

Food Establishment Permit: $50–$650 a year, set by the county health department, not by the state

The other 3 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Houston County Al permits page and the AL state page.

Which offices issue these permits in Houston County Al?

Permits for a food truck in Houston County Al, AL come from 6 separate offices: Houston County Board of Health / Houston County Health Department, Environmental Health Division, Houston County Probate Office, License Department (Judge of Probate Patrick H. Davenport), Alabama Department of Revenue, Business and License Tax Division, Alabama Secretary of State, Business Services, Alabama Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Division, Alabama Department of Public Health, Division of Food, Milk and Lodging. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

What does a food truck need in Houston County Al that other businesses do not?

Food Service Establishment Health Permit

A restaurant, coffee shop, food truck or daycare kitchen that prepares or serves food in Houston County needs this permit from the Houston County Health Department's Environmental Health Division, 1781 E. Cottonwood Rd., Dothan. Unlike a plain Alabama Department of Public Health field office, the Houston County Board of Health holds genuine local fee-setting authority under Ala. Code §45-35-170 — the same category of local act found in Baldwin, Jefferson, Limestone, Mobile, Montgomery and Morgan counties — subject to a public hearing before any fee is set, with no one denied service for inability to pay and a sliding fee scale expressly authorized. The Division permits and inspects more than 700 establishments on a 100-point scale, reinspecting monthly any establishment scoring below 85, and requires plan review before construction or remodeling of a food establishment. Call the Health Department, 334-678-2815, to confirm the current dollar fee before budgeting, since none is printed on the Department's own published pages.

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 Houston County Al

  • 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.

The other 1 local permit in the tables apply to every type of business in Houston County Al, AL; what each one involves is set out on the Houston County Al permits page. The 6 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across AL and are covered on the AL state page.

How does a food truck compare with other businesses in Houston County Al?

A food truck and a coffee shop in Houston County Al, AL need exactly the same 3 permits beyond the ones every business needs.

Permits particular to each business type in Houston County Al, AL, compared with a food truck
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a food truckOnly a food truck needsOnly it needs
Coffee shops3300
Restaurants4301
Childcare centres2121
Auto repair shops2032
Contractors and trades3033
Fitness studios0030
Retail stores2032
Salons and barbers1031
Veterinary clinics2032

Sources

Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits shared with other businesses are listed with their explanations on the restaurants page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Houston County Al permits page and the AL state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. ADPH Houston County, Food Service Sanitation program — 100-point inspection scale, monthly reinspection below 85, plan review requirementAlabama Department of Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
  2. Code of Alabama §45-35-170, Fees for services (Houston County Board of Health, Act 88-286) — full text: fee-setting authority, public hearing requirement, no denial for inability to pay, sliding fee scalelaw.justia.com (Code of Alabama mirror) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-28
  3. Alabama Administrative Code chapter 420-1-5 — the exhaustive list of fees the health department collects at state level, which contains no food establishment feeAlabama Department of Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
  4. Alabama Administrative Code chapter 420-3-22 — food establishment sanitation, permits issued by the county health officerAlabama Department of Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
  5. Russell County Health Department — environmental fee schedule, revised 27 March 2025, an example of a state-run county's food permit feesAlabama Department of Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
  6. Mobile County Health Department — board of health fee schedule, 5 December 2025, an independent county department's food permit feesMobile County Health Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03

Related

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.