What permits do you need to open a coffee shop in Durham County?

Limited Food Service Establishment Permit

A limited food service establishment — the category North Carolina uses for an establishment whose food operation is restricted in menu, equipment or duration rather than running as a full food establishment — is permitted by Durham County Environmental Health at $75.00 per permit. The amount is set by statute rather than by the county: G.S. 130A-248(d2) provides that a local health department shall charge each temporary food establishment and each limited food services establishment a fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00) for each permit issued, which is a duty rather than a discretion, and the Environmental Health division of the county's FY 2026-27 Approved Fees and Other Charges Schedule prints $75.00 in both its FY 2025-26 and FY 2026-27 columns, matching the statute. The $120.00 annual NC DHHS food establishment permit fee listed separately does not stack on top of it, because G.S. 130A-248(d) expressly excludes limited food services establishments from that charge, so $75.00 per permit is the whole permit cost on the county and state side. Environmental Health handles the permit from 414 E. Main Street, 919-560-7800, food@dconc.gov, and its General Inspections page describes the section's responsibility for plan review, permits and inspections of facilities regulated in State rules. A church, club or seasonal operation running an occasional kitchen is the usual holder; a business running a continuous food operation is on the full food establishment permit instead.

Re-review of Food Service Plans

Where food service plans submitted to Durham County Environmental Health have to be looked at again after the original review, the county charges $200.00 for the re-review. This is the one Environmental Health food line that changed for the new fiscal year: the FY 2025-26 column of the county's adopted Fees and Other Charges Schedule shows $100.00 and the FY 2026-27 column shows $200.00, so a project that budgeted from last year's figure will be short. The amount is levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026, and the department's own Environmental Health fee web page carries the new $200.00 figure as well. The fee authority is G.S. 130A-39(g), which allows a local board of health to impose cost-related fees for services on a plan recommended by the local health director and approved by the local board of health and the county board of commissioners. The charge applies on top of the $250.00 original plan review for a new food establishment, a mobile food unit, push cart or caterer, or a restaurant remodel, each listed separately, so a restaurant whose plans go back twice pays $250.00 plus $200.00 plus $200.00 for the review alone. Getting the first submittal complete is therefore worth real money on a Durham County food project, and the county's General Inspections page is the route in for pre-submittal questions on 919-560-7800.

Food Establishment Plan Review

A new restaurant, coffee shop, food stand or childcare kitchen in Durham County submits plans to county Environmental Health and is charged $250.00 for the review, as published in the Environmental Health division of the county's FY 2026-27 Approved Fees and Other Charges Schedule, levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026, and repeated on the department's own fee web page. That amount is the statutory ceiling rather than a local choice: G.S. 130A-248(f) allows a local health department to charge a fee not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) for plan review, so Durham County charges the maximum the statute permits, and the FY 2025-26 column of the same adopted schedule shows $250.00 as well, so the figure did not move for the new fiscal year. The authority to charge at all is G.S. 130A-39(g), which lets a local board of health impose cost-related fees on a plan recommended by the local health director and approved by the local board of health and the county board of commissioners. A chain or franchise applicant should check which fee it owes before paying twice: G.S. 130A-248(e1) provides that plans for a franchised or chain food establishment reviewed and approved by the Department require no further review and approval by any local health department, and subsection (f) adds that no food establishment paying the State's $250.00 prototype plan review fee under subsection (e) is liable for the local fee. This review is separate from the $120.00 annual NC DHHS permit fee listed elsewhere on this page, and separate again from the Durham City-County Building & Safety permits for the same fit-out and, for a restaurant on county sewer, from the Engineering & Environmental Services plumbing plan review.

Mobile Food Unit, Push Cart or Caterer Plan Review

Durham County prices mobile food units, push carts and caterers on their own line of the Environmental Health fee schedule, at $250.00 per plan review, and the amount is the same as the fixed-premises food establishment plan review because G.S. 130A-248(f) caps every local plan review fee at two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00). The figure appears in the Environmental Health division of the county's FY 2026-27 Approved Fees and Other Charges Schedule, levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026, at the same amount as the FY 2025-26 column, and on the department's own fee web page. Environmental Health's General Inspections page lists 'Mobile food vendors' and 'Hot dog vendors' among the facilities whose plans it reviews and whose premises it inspects, so a food truck or cart based in the county goes through this review before it may be permitted. The permit that follows is the state food establishment permit under G.S. 130A-248(b), carrying the $120.00 annual NC DHHS fee listed separately; the county charge here is the one-off review of the unit's plans. A caterer is on the same line as the mobile units, which matters for a restaurant adding off-premises catering to an existing permitted kitchen, because the added activity is reviewed rather than simply absorbed into the existing permit. Payment and submittal run through the Environmental Health Division at 414 E. Main Street, 919-560-7800, food@dconc.gov.

Environmental Health Multiple Trip Fee

Durham County charges $50.00 per occurrence when Environmental Health has to make an extra trip to a site, on the Multiple Trip Fee line of the Environmental Health division of the county's FY 2026-27 Approved Fees and Other Charges Schedule, levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026 and unchanged from the FY 2025-26 column; the department's own fee web page carries the same line. It is the cheapest of the county's return-visit charges and the easiest to trigger, because it attaches to any facility type Environmental Health regulates rather than to one programme: the section's General Inspections page lists restaurants, caterers, commissaries, food stands, school lunchrooms, mobile food vendors, hot dog vendors, meat markets, special events selling food to the public, childcare centers, institutions and lodging among the facilities it covers. For an operator the practical significance is scheduling: a site that is not ready when the inspector arrives, or a follow-up that cannot be completed in one visit, adds $50.00 each time on top of any programme-specific revisit charge, such as the $100.00 pool permit inspection revisit or the $100.00 improvement permit revisit listed elsewhere on this page. The fee authority is G.S. 130A-39(g), which allows a local board of health to impose cost-related fees for services on a plan recommended by the local health director and approved by the local board of health and the county board of commissioners. The same schedule also prices an Appeal of Permit Condition at $200.00.

County Oil, Grease or Sediment Trap Inspection

A restaurant, coffee shop or auto-repair shop connecting to Durham County sewer pays $300.00 for each oil, grease or sediment trap the county inspects, and this figure is unusually well supported because two independently published county documents state it: the Utilities Division's own FY27 Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026, on the Engineering & Environmental Services site, and the Sewer Utilities schedule inside the county's FY 2026-27 Approved Budget, levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026. The inspection charge is not the whole cost of a trap: the same schedules price the review of the grease trap or pretreatment unit's construction drawings at $300.00 with a $65.00 re-review, so a single grease trap can carry $600.00 of county charges before any plumbing is connected, and a 5% non-refundable technology fee is added to all development review fees and all construction inspection fees. For an auto-repair shop the sediment and oil interceptor is the equivalent unit and is priced identically. The charge falls on premises served by the county utility rather than by a municipal system, so a business inside the City of Durham deals with the city's own utility instead. The sewer lateral inspection at $360.00 per building connection and the certificate-of-occupancy sewer inspection at $120.00 per building connection are separate charges on the same project and are listed separately.

Food Establishment Permit (NC DHHS permit, Durham County inspection)

A restaurant, coffee shop, food stand, caterer, commissary, meat market, mobile food vendor or hot dog cart operating in Durham County holds a food establishment permit, and the charge attached to it is a state charge rather than a county one, so it should not be added to the county's plan review fee as a single 'Durham County food fee'. G.S. 130A-248(b) provides that no establishment shall commence or continue operation without a permit or transitional permit issued by the Department, and subsection (d) has the Department charge each establishment subject to the section a fee of one hundred twenty dollars ($120.00) for each permit issued, reassessed annually for permits that do not expire. NC DHHS's own Inspections, Statistics and Fees page states that permit fees collected from food and lodging establishments support the programme and that $70.00 out of every $120.00 collected is distributed to county health departments to improve environmental health inspection programs. The Durham County side of this is inspection and plan review, not the permit fee: Environmental Health's General Inspections page states that the section 'is responsible for plan review, permits and /or inspections of facilities regulated in State rules' and lists restaurants, caterers, commissaries, food stands, school lunchrooms, mobile food vendors, hot dog vendors, meat markets and special events selling food to the public among the facilities it covers, and the Environmental Health division of the county's FY 2026-27 adopted fee schedule carries plan review and re-review lines without any county charge for the food permit itself. The $120.00 is excluded by statute for nutrition programmes for the elderly, establishments preparing and selling meat food products or poultry products, temporary food establishments, limited food services establishments and public school cafeterias, each of which is priced separately or not at all. Permits are not transferable and are void on issuance of a new permit for the same location under G.S. 130A-248(b) and (c), so a sale of the business means a new permit for the buyer.

Certified Food Protection Manager

North Carolina charges nothing and issues nothing — an accredited programme certifies, and its exam fee is what you pay. The person in charge must hold it, with two narrow exemptions the base food code does not have: congregate nutrition sites, and risk category I establishments serving only non-hazardous foods. A normal restaurant is category II or higher and is not exempt. A training course alone will not do; the rule requires passing the accredited test. New permit holders get two hundred and ten days to comply. There is no statewide food handler card in North Carolina — the word handler does not appear anywhere in the sanitation rules — so rank-and-file food employees need no state credential. The five-year validity often quoted belongs to the certifying programme, not to North Carolina law, which sets no term at all.

Food Establishment Permit

One number for the whole state, which makes North Carolina unlike almost every other. The statute sets $120 a year and local boards of health are barred from adopting any rule about grading, operating or permitting food facilities, so no county charges its own annual restaurant fee — Wake County's schedule footnotes every permit line back to the $120 paid to the state. Seventy of every hundred and twenty dollars is passed back to the county health department that does the inspecting. The permit itself never expires while you trade; only the fee recurs, and it expires a year after an establishment closes. What a county may still charge is plan review, capped by statute at $250, and a mandatory $75 for a temporary event. Late payment adds $25 after forty-five days and reinstatement after a suspension costs $150. Chain and franchise plans approved by the state need no further local review.

Shared with other businesses in Durham County

• Durham County Beer & Wine Privilege License — Durham County Tax Administration, $5–$25 a year per license, county-only, at the amounts G.S. 105-113.78 fixes: on-premises malt beverage $25.00, off-premises malt beverage $5.00, on-premises unfortified or fortified wine or both $25.00, off-premises unfortified or fortified wine or both $25.00, annual; G.S. 105-113.70(b) runs the license year from May 1 to April 30, County Code § 8-27(d)(1) makes the § 8-39 tax due on May 1 or before a business begun later in the year, the county page requires renewal by April 30, the License & Fees page adds a 5% late fee after May 2nd, and G.S. 105-113.70(c) bars transfer from one person to another or one location to another. Also required for restaurants, retail stores and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• ABC Local Government Opinion and Inspection/Zoning Compliance — Durham Planning & Development Department (Durham City-County Planning), No fee for this signature is published in the Durham County FY 2026-27 Approved Fees and Other Charges Schedule or on any Durham County page. The county charges are the separate Beer & Wine Privilege License listed separately, and any building, fire or zoning charge the compliance form's underlying inspections attract in their own right. Contact Durham Planning & Development on 919-560-4137 or Planning@DurhamNC.gov for the current process., per ABC permit application; the NC ABC Commission states that designated officials are expected to process the forms within 15 days of receipt, and G.S. 18B-901(b) allows the local governing body 15 days from the mailing or delivery of the Commission's notice to file a written objection. Also required for restaurants, retail stores and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Existing Food Establishment Plan Review — Durham County Department of Public Health — Environmental Health Division, No fee, one-off review of an existing, previously permitted facility; the buyer's own food establishment permit is issued under G.S. 130A-248 and does not expire while the establishment operates. Also required for restaurants; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Temporary Food Event Permit — Durham County Department of Public Health — Environmental Health Division, $75 per event permit, collected by Durham County Environmental Health; G.S. 130A-248(d2) makes the charge mandatory rather than discretionary, and the county's adopted schedule prints the same $75.00, per event; the permit is issued for the temporary establishment at that event rather than for a license year, and a vendor trading at several events needs a permit for each. Also required for restaurants and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• County Fire Protection Construction Permit — Durham County Emergency Services — Fire Prevention & Life Safety, Charged per system permitted, county-only: Alternative Fire Extinguishing Systems $150; Sprinkler System $150 for 1-10,000 sq ft plus $0.015 per sq ft of gross floor area for each system above 10,000 sq ft; Fire Alarm & Detection System on the same basis; Standpipe Systems $200; Fire Pumps and related equipment $200; Smoke control or smoke exhaust system $200; Hazardous Materials $150; Compressed Gases $150; Cryogenic Fluids $150; Flammable & Combustible Liquids $175 per pipeline, tank or system; Solar photovoltaic power systems $150; Industrial Ovens $150; Battery Systems $150; Spraying & Dipping Operations $150; Private Fire Hydrants $150; Gates and barricades across fire apparatus access roads $150; Temporary membrane structure, tents and air supported structure $150. As published in the FY 2026-27 Approved Durham County Fire Prevention and Protection Code Fee Schedule, levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026; the Fire Pumps line came down from $500 in FY 2025-26., per permit, for the installation of that system; the county's page requires construction inspections to be requested no less than 72 hours ahead, and the system then falls into the building's routine inspection cycle. Also required for restaurants, auto repair shops, retail stores, contractors and trades and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• County Sewer Construction Drawing Review — Durham County Engineering & Environmental Services, Charged per review, county-only, base fee then re-review fee: Restaurant or Cafeteria Plumbing Plans $605.00 / $360.00; Core and Shell Building Plumbing Plans $605.00 / $360.00; Building Plumbing Plans for an upfit or renovation $970.00 / $540.00; Grease Trap or Pretreatment Units $300.00 / $65.00; Commercial or Industrial Development with a single lateral only $735.00 / $420.00; Municipal, Commercial or Industrial Development $1,810.00 plus $0.90 per linear foot of main or force main / $970.00; Single Family House $480.00 / $235.00; Sewer Extension Permit Application Re-Review $120.00 each above two; Field Change for all other development $605.00 each review. A 5% non-refundable technology fee applies to all development review fees. Per the Durham County Utilities Division FY27 Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 and the Sewer Utilities schedule in the county's FY 2026-27 budget., per review, at design; each re-review is charged again at the schedule's re-review amount, and a field change during construction is a further $605.00 for all other development. Also required for restaurants, retail stores and auto repair shops; what it involves is set out on the auto repair shops page.
• County Sewer Construction Inspection Charges — Durham County Engineering & Environmental Services, Charged per occurrence or per structure, county-only: Not Ready Inspection $120.00 for each occurrence, payable before as-built approval; Re-Inspection or Failed Inspection $120.00 per hour based on the scheduled inspection time, excluding the certificate-of-occupancy inspection; Private Lift Station $605.00; Public Lift Station $2,625.00; Sewer Main or Outfall $3.70 per linear foot for 8 to 12 inches and $6.00 per linear foot above 12 inches; Force Main $3.70 per linear foot. Water and reclaimed water inspections on the same schedule: Water Tap Inspection up to a 2 inch meter $300.00; Water Line Inspection for a main extension only $3.70 per linear foot; Water Backflow Preventer Inspection $65.00 each; Reclaimed Water Tap Inspection $300.00 up to a 2 inch meter or $185.00 per inch of meter diameter above 2 inches; Reclaimed Water Backflow Preventer Inspection $120.00 each. A 5% non-refundable technology fee applies to all construction inspection fees. Per the Durham County Utilities Division FY27 Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 and the Sewer Utilities schedule in the county's FY 2026-27 budget., per occurrence or per structure, during construction; the Not Ready Inspection charge must be paid before as-built approval, so it gates the close-out of the work rather than arriving afterwards. Also required for restaurants, retail stores and auto repair shops; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Restaurant Remodel or Renovation Plan Review — Durham County Department of Public Health — Environmental Health Division, $250 per remodel or renovation plan review, county-only, per the Durham County FY 2026-27 Approved Fees and Other Charges Schedule, levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026, one-off, per remodel or renovation project; the establishment's existing food establishment permit continues, and the review attaches to the work rather than to a license term. Also required for restaurants; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Commercial Kitchen Hood Mechanical Permit — Durham City-County Building & Safety Department, $150 per hood for commercial type cooking equipment, from the mechanical schedule effective July 1, 2018; the minimum fee for any heating, cooling or ventilation permit is $65.00, nonresidential heating and cooling upfits are $0.058 per square foot, and a $5.00 surcharge applies to each plumbing, electrical or mechanical application submitted on paper rather than electronically, per permit, for the installation of the hood; the fire suppression system serving the same hood is permitted separately by the county fire marshal as an Alternative Fire Extinguishing System. Also required for restaurants; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.