What permits do you need to open a food truck in Cass County Mo?

Food Establishment Application and Plan Review

The Cass County Health Department's Food Establishment Application Form lists the application fee as $300 for review within 14 business days, with expedited review at $400 for 7 business days or $600 for 2 business days, payable at submission. The department's New/Existing Food Establishments page states that 'Food establishment applications require a $300 fee', and that the application is required when constructing a new food establishment 'including food trucks and pushcarts', converting or remodeling an establishment. The page states that this fee is separate from and in addition to the yearly operating permit, which is its own record. A pre-opening inspection takes place about 5 days before opening. Food trucks and pushcarts must also operate from a commissary.

Food Establishment Operating Permit

The Cass County Health Department's application forms list 'Cass County Yearly Operating Fees' of $200 for Low Risk, $300 for Medium Risk and $400 for High Risk, due when the risk assessment is completed. The department's New/Existing Food Establishments page states that priority levels are calculated during plan review and that 'Permit prices range from $200 to $400 depending on the level of risk assigned to your establishment.' The permit is issued after a pre-opening inspection with no violations. Food trucks and pushcarts go through the same process and must operate from a commissary; a commissary outside Cass County must show a prior inspection report and a valid permit.

Food Handler Card (local, not state)

No state fee, because Missouri runs no statewide food handler card or certification system — the same local public health agencies that issue the establishment permit are the ones that decide, at their own discretion, whether individual workers need a card at all. Jackson County requires one for anyone handling food at an establishment in the county, priced from about $22 for a classroom or on-site session to $24.95 online, but its own guidance sends an applicant inside Kansas City or Independence to those cities' own separate programmes instead — three different food handler regimes inside a single county. Confirm the rule with the specific local health department rather than assuming a statewide requirement, because none exists.

Shared with other businesses in Cass County Mo

• HACCP Plan Review for Special Food Processes — Cass County Health Department, Environmental Health Division, $600 per HACCP plan, plus $15.00 per hour for each hour of review after 8 hours, per plan submitted. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Food Establishment Ownership/Menu Change Application — Cass County Health Department, Environmental Health Division, $150 per application, reviewed within up to 14 business days, one-time, per change of ownership or menu. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• Temporary/Seasonal Food Establishment Permit — Cass County Health Department, Environmental Health Division, $50–$125 per permit: 1-3 days $50.00; 4-14 days $75.00; seasonal (6 months) $125.00; non-profit $0.00 with proof of non-profit certification; late fee $25 if submitted less than 14 days before the event, $50 if submitted the day of the event, per event of 1 to 14 days, or 6 months for a seasonal permit. Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Food Establishment Permit (local, not state) — Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Bureau of Environmental Health Services, $130–$775 a year, set entirely by whichever of Missouri's 115 local public health agencies covers the address, set locally. Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.