14 permits · verified 2026-09-10
What permits do you need to open a restaurant in Davenport?
In short
A restaurant in Davenport, IA has 6 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 8 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. City of Davenport, Finance Department, Revenue Division charges $20 per tent for the tent permit. 3 of the 14 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-10 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.
Permits particular to a restaurant in Davenport
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tent Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Davenport, Finance Department, Revenue Division | $20 per tent | one-time, per event/installation | 2026-09-10 |
| Food Establishment License | Scott County Health Department | Food Service Establishment (restaurants, bars, take-out, catering, concession stands): $0 for schools; $150 for annual gross sales of $1-$100,000; $300 for $100,001-$500,000; $400 for $500,001 and up. Retail Food Establishment (grocery/convenience without prepared food): $150 for $1-$250,000; $300 for $250,001-$750,000; $400 for $750,001 and up. An establishment needing both license types pays its dominant category's fee plus a flat $150 secondary-license charge. A Mobile Food Unit is a flat $250, plus the Food Service fee if it also operates a commissary at the same physical address. | annual | 2026-09-10 |
| City Business License — Title 5 Categories and Exemptions (Davenport)only if it applies to you | City of Davenport, Finance Department, Revenue Division | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-10 |
| Food Establishment License | Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing | $150 a year for gross sales under $100,000, rising to $300 and then $400 as sales climb | annual | 2026-09-04 |
| Certified Food Protection Manageronly if it applies to you | Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing | No fee | not stated in Iowa's own rule text | 2026-09-04 |
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 Davenport
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building Permit (Commercial) | City of Davenport, Development and Neighborhood Services Department, Building Division | Varies — formula on the Davenport page | one-time, per project | 2026-09-10 |
| Zoning Determination / Administrative Exceptiononly if it applies to you | City of Davenport, Community Planning and Economic Development | No fee | one-time, no stated expiration | 2026-09-10 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Davenport, Development and Neighborhood Services Department, Building Division | No fee | one-time, no expiration | 2026-09-10 |
| Sign Permit | City of Davenport, Development and Neighborhood Services Department, Building Division | $50 one-time, per sign | one-time, per sign | 2026-09-10 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
IA registrations that apply to every type of business
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to you | Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services Division | $50 one-time filing | perpetual, but a biennial report is due every two years | 2026-09-04 |
| Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services Division | $50 one-time filing | perpetual, but a biennial report is due every two years | 2026-09-04 |
| Sales Tax Permit | Iowa Department of Revenue | No fee | no expiration — stays effective until cancelled or revoked | 2026-09-04 |
| General Business License — Iowa positiononly if it applies to you | Iowa Economic Development Authority, Business License Information Center | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-04 |
| Biennial Reportonly if it applies to you | Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services Division | Varies — formula on the IA page | an LLC files between 1 January and 1 April of every odd year; a corporation files in the same window of every even year | 2026-09-04 |
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 restaurant in Davenport?
There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 14 records listed for a restaurant in Davenport, IA, 6 apply to every business of this type and 8 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.
Of the 6 that always apply, 2 carry a flat fee, coming to $200.00. That is a floor, not a total. 3 of the 14 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 6 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:
Food Establishment License: Food Service Establishment (restaurants, bars, take-out, catering, concession stands): $0 for schools; $150 for annual gross sales of $1-$100,000; $300 for $100,001-$500,000; $400 for $500,001 and up. Retail Food Establishment (grocery/convenience without prepared food): $150 for $1-$250,000; $300 for $250,001-$750,000; $400 for $750,001 and up. An establishment needing both license types pays its dominant category's fee plus a flat $150 secondary-license charge. A Mobile Food Unit is a flat $250, plus the Food Service fee if it also operates a commissary at the same physical address.
The other 2 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Davenport permits page and the IA state page.
Which offices issue these permits in Davenport?
Permits for a restaurant in Davenport, IA come from 8 separate offices: City of Davenport, Finance Department, Revenue Division, City of Davenport, Development and Neighborhood Services Department, Building Division, City of Davenport, Community Planning and Economic Development, Scott County Health Department, Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services Division, Iowa Department of Revenue, Iowa Economic Development Authority, Business License Information Center. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
- City of Davenport, Finance Department, Revenue DivisionIssues 2 permits on this page: Tent Permit, City Business License — Title 5 Categories and Exemptions (Davenport)226 West 4th Street, Davenport, IA 52801 · (563) 326-7707www.davenportiowa.com/services/licenses/business_licenses
- City of Davenport, Development and Neighborhood Services Department, Building DivisionIssues 3 permits on this page: Building Permit (Commercial), Certificate of Occupancy, Sign PermitDavenport Public Works Center, 1200 East 46th Street, Davenport, IA 52807 · (563) 326-7745www.davenportiowa.com/services/licenses/contractor_licenses
- City of Davenport, Community Planning and Economic DevelopmentIssues 1 permit on this page: Zoning Determination / Administrative Exception226 West 4th Street, Davenport, IA 52801 · (563) 326-7765www.davenportiowa.com/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=16263268
- Scott County Health DepartmentIssues 1 permit on this page: Food Establishment License600 W. 4th Street, Davenport, IA 52801-1003 · (563) 326-8618www.scottcountyiowa.gov/health/food/licensing
- Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and LicensingIssues 2 permits on this page: Food Establishment License, Certified Food Protection Manager6200 Park Avenue, Suite 100, Des Moines, IA 50321 · (515) 281-3425dial.iowa.gov
- Iowa Secretary of State, Business Services DivisionIssues 3 permits on this page: Certificate of Organization (LLC), Articles of Incorporation, Biennial Report321 East 12th Street, Des Moines, IA 50319 · (515) 281-5204sos.iowa.gov/business
- Iowa Department of RevenueIssues 1 permit on this page: Sales Tax Permit1305 East Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50319 · (515) 281-3114revenue.iowa.gov/permits-licensing/business-permit-registration
- Iowa Economic Development Authority, Business License Information CenterIssues 1 permit on this page: General Business License — Iowa position1963 Bell Avenue, Suite 200, Des Moines, IA 50315 · (515) 348-6200opportunityiowa.gov/business/small-business-entrepreneurs/small-business-resources/business-license-information-center
What does a restaurant need in Davenport that other businesses do not?
Tent Permit
Required for any tent of 400 square feet or larger set up for public or event use — a sidewalk sale, an outdoor fitness class, or a restaurant patio event tent, for example — before the space may open to the public. Reviewed jointly by Development and Neighborhood Services, the Fire Department and Finance; confirmed at a flat $20 on the City's own licensing page.
City Business License — Title 5 Categories and Exemptions (Davenport)
The City's Business Licenses page sets out roughly fifteen Title 5 license categories, and none of them prices these six industries, so there is no city license fee for them. Restaurants, coffee shops and salons are expressly named as exempt from the Chapter 5.17 retail license itself ('bars, restaurants, taverns, clubs, food services, salons, barbershops, nail shops, tattoo and massage parlors and mortuaries'), and the page's named categories (retail, public garage/gas station, alarms, billboards/signs/canopies, tobacco, auctions, pawnbrokers, metal recyclers, public amusements/dancehalls, mobile food/ice cream vending, tree trimming and massage/reflexology) include no childcare, fitness-studio or veterinary category. Each still pays the generic building permit and sign permit recorded above where applicable, and a Davenport salon offering reflexology specifically triggers the separate license recorded below.
Certified Food Protection Manager
No state fee, because Iowa runs no certification programme of its own — the credential comes from an accredited private provider at that provider's price, and the state rule addresses only who must hold one, not what it costs. A single certified food protection manager covers an establishment, and a newly licensed facility has six months from licensure to comply. Several categories are exempt outright: an establishment selling only prepackaged food, a temporary or farmers market establishment, one that prepares no food at all, and one selling only commercially prepared items that need no temperature control for safety. This is a manager-level requirement rather than a card required of every employee — Iowa's rule addresses only the person in charge.
Shared with other businesses in Davenport
- Food Establishment License — Scott County Health Department, Food Service Establishment (restaurants, bars, take-out, catering, concession stands): $0 for schools; $150 for annual gross sales of $1-$100,000; $300 for $100,001-$500,000; $400 for $500,001 and up. Retail Food Establishment (grocery/convenience without prepared food): $150 for $1-$250,000; $300 for $250,001-$750,000; $400 for $750,001 and up. An establishment needing both license types pays its dominant category's fee plus a flat $150 secondary-license charge. A Mobile Food Unit is a flat $250, plus the Food Service fee if it also operates a commissary at the same physical address., annual. Also required for coffee shops and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
- Food Establishment License — Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, $150 a year for gross sales under $100,000, rising to $300 and then $400 as sales climb, annual. Also required for coffee shops and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
The other 4 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Davenport, IA; what each one involves is set out on the Davenport permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across IA and are covered on the IA state page.
How does a restaurant compare with other businesses in Davenport?
A restaurant and a coffee shop in Davenport, IA need exactly the same 5 permits beyond the ones every business needs.
| Business | Its own permits | Shared with a restaurant | Only a restaurant needs | Only it needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coffee shops | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Food trucks | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Fitness studios | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Retail stores | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Veterinary clinics | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Childcare centres | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Salons and barbers | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Auto repair shops | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Contractors and trades | 4 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
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 coffee shops page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Davenport permits page and the IA state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- Business Licenses — the City's own 'multi-business license fee code structure' framing, the April 1-March 31 license period with a 10% penalty after May 1 and half-year new-license pricing from October 1, and the full list of named license categories (retail/transient merchant, gasoline station/public garage, alarms, billboards/signs/canopies, cigarette/tobacco/vapor, closing-out sales, auctions, live entertainment, metal recyclers/salvage, pawnbrokers/secondhand/junk/antique dealers, public amusements/dancehalls, mobile food/mobile ice cream vendors, massage/reflexology, tent permits, tree trimmers)City of Davenport, Finance Department (Revenue Division) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- Municipal Code Chapter 5.17, Retail Sales and Transient Merchants — the retail license requirement for 'every person engaged in the business of selling tangible personal property to the ultimate consumer,' and the express exemption for 'bars, restaurants, taverns, clubs, food services, salons, barbershops, nail shops, tattoo and massage parlors and mortuaries'City of Davenport · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- Iowa Administrative Code 481, chapter 31 — the certified food protection manager requirement and its exemptionsIowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
Related
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.