What permits do you need to open a restaurant in Fresno County?

Conditional Use Permit — Classified (Bars and Alcoholic Beverage Drinking Places)

This Conditional Use Permit applies only in the UNINCORPORATED AREA of Fresno County and only to the specific zoning-classified use 'Bars and Alcoholic Beverage Drinking Places.' The county's own Zoning Ordinance, Division 6, Chapter 812.2, Table 2-6, shows that ordinary on-site and off-site alcohol sales — a restaurant serving beer or wine, a liquor store's off-site sales — are a permitted use by right in the C-1 and C-2 commercial zones and do not themselves trigger this CUP; the CUP requirement, under Chapter 842.5 and standard 834.4.080, attaches specifically to a business operating as a bar or drinking place. Because 'Bars and Alcoholic Beverage Drinking Places' is a classified (individually listed) use in the zone table rather than an unclassified one, its fee is the Classified CUP tier: $5,142.45 for FY2026-27, set under the county's Master Schedule of Fees, Charges, and Recovered Costs, Ord. #24-005. This is a different, lower fee than the Unclassified CUP tier, and the two are listed as separate records because they apply to different categories of use.

Food Facility Permit — Restaurant

This permit reaches a restaurant or coffee shop anywhere in Fresno County, including inside any of the county's 15 incorporated cities, not only the unincorporated area — the county's own Environmental Health document portal states that facility records cover 'Fresno County, either in an unincorporated area or in one of the incorporated cities,' and a September 2026 news report of county Department of Public Health inspectors closing a restaurant physically located in the City of Clovis, an incorporated city, corroborates that this is real enforcement reach, not just page wording. The Environmental Health Division is the county's sole local health jurisdiction, so no incorporated city runs a competing food-permit program of its own. The annual fee depends on whether the facility has seating and its size: a seated restaurant with 1-50 seats pays $901, one with 51 or more seats pays $1,149; a restaurant without seating pays $635 for 1-500 square feet or $797 for 501 square feet or more. These figures come from the county's Master Schedule of Fees, Charges, and Recovered Costs, Section 900, adopted under Ord. #26-002 and effective April 1, 2026. This is distinct from Building/Zoning permitting, which does not reach inside the 15 incorporated cities.

Shared with other businesses in Fresno County

• Site Plan Review (Commercial/Non-Residential) — Fresno County Public Works and Planning Department, Development Services Division, $3,957.29 base (under 1 acre) plus $1,978.64 per acre over 1 acre, for FY2026-27., per project. Also required for retail stores, auto repair shops, fitness studios and salons and barbers; what it involves is set out on the auto repair shops page.
• Food Facility Permit — California Department of Public Health, Food and Drug Branch, No fee, set by the local enforcement agency. Also required for coffee shops, retail stores and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• Food Handler Card — California Department of Public Health, Food and Drug Branch, $15 statutory maximum for at least one accredited course, 3 years. Also required for coffee shops, retail stores and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.