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

Existing Food Establishment Plan Review

Buying an already-permitted Durham County restaurant or coffee shop and taking it over as it stands still means a review by county Environmental Health, but the county's FY 2026-27 Approved Fees and Other Charges Schedule prices the Existing Food Establishment Plan Review line at $0.00, so there is no county plan review fee for this case; the FY 2025-26 column shows $0.00 as well, and the department's own Environmental Health fee web page carries the same line. What the buyer does still owe is the permit itself: G.S. 130A-248(b) and (c) make a food establishment permit non-transferable and void it on issuance of a new permit for the same location, so the new owner applies for a permit in its own name, and the $120.00 annual NC DHHS permit fee listed separately is then assessed against that permit. The $0.00 line covers the unaltered facility only — where the incoming owner changes the kitchen, the county's Restaurant Remodel or Renovation line applies at $250.00, and where the operation is different enough to be a new establishment the Food Establishment Plan Review applies at $250.00, both listed separately. The fee authority behind the Environmental Health schedule as a whole is G.S. 130A-39(g). A change of ownership can also trigger Durham City-County Building & Safety's $50.00 Change of Occupancy Permit, which its Schedule F applies unless a building permit is otherwise required — a different department and a separate charge.

County Sewer Construction Inspection Charges

Beyond the per-connection inspections, Durham County's utility charges for wasted visits and for the structures a development builds, and the two charges that bite hardest are procedural rather than physical: a Not Ready Inspection is $120.00 for each occurrence and the schedule states it must be paid before as-built approval, so it gates close-out, and a re-inspection or failed inspection is $120.00 per hour based on the scheduled inspection time. The certificate-of-occupancy inspection is expressly excluded from that hourly charge. Structures and linear work are priced separately: a private lift station $605.00, a public lift station $2,625.00, a sewer main or outfall $3.70 per linear foot at 8 to 12 inches and $6.00 per linear foot above 12 inches, and a force main $3.70 per linear foot. The same schedule covers the water side for county utility customers, with a water tap inspection at $300.00 up to a 2 inch meter, a water line inspection for a main extension only at $3.70 per linear foot, a water backflow preventer inspection at $65.00 each, a reclaimed water tap inspection at $300.00 up to a 2 inch meter or $185.00 per inch of meter diameter above that, and a reclaimed water backflow preventer inspection at $120.00 each. A 5% non-refundable technology fee is added to all construction inspection fees. Every figure appears identically in the Utilities Division's own FY27 Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 and in the Sewer Utilities schedule of the county's FY 2026-27 Approved Budget.

Restaurant Remodel or Renovation Plan Review

An existing Durham County restaurant or coffee shop that remodels or renovates its kitchen pays a separate $250.00 plan review on its own line of the county's Environmental Health fee schedule, distinct from the review of a brand-new establishment and from the $0 line the same schedule carries for an existing food establishment plan review where no work is proposed. The amount is 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 at the same figure as the FY 2025-26 column, and it is also on the department's own fee web page. It sits at the G.S. 130A-248(f) ceiling of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00), which is the maximum a North Carolina local health department may charge for plan review of a food establishment, and the county's authority to charge is G.S. 130A-39(g). For a working restaurant this is one of three charges the same project can attract at once: this review from Environmental Health, the Durham City-County Building & Safety building, mechanical, electrical and plumbing permits for the construction itself, including the $150.00 per hood commercial cooking hood permit, and, where the premises is on county sewer and the plumbing is altered, the Engineering & Environmental Services building plumbing plans upfit or renovation review. A re-review of the resubmitted plans is charged separately and is listed elsewhere on this page.

Commercial Kitchen Hood Mechanical Permit

A Durham restaurant or coffee shop installing a commercial cooking hood pays $150.00 per hood on the mechanical permit schedule, and this is the single most commonly missed line in a food fit-out because the same hood attracts two permits from two different agencies: this mechanical permit from the merged Durham City-County Building & Safety Department for the hood and its ventilation, and the county fire marshal's Alternative Fire Extinguishing Systems permit at $150.00 for the suppression system inside it, listed separately. The mechanical schedule also sets a $65.00 minimum fee for any heating, cooling or ventilation permit, prices nonresidential heating and cooling upfits at $0.058 per square foot, and adds a $5.00 surcharge for each plumbing, electrical or mechanical application submitted on paper rather than electronically, so a paper submittal across three trades is $15.00 of avoidable cost. Like the other three trade schedules, the mechanical schedule carries the stamp 'Effective 7/1/18—Includes Technology Surcharge', and the Planning & Development Department's Development Services Fees and Payment Menu effective July 1, 2026 still sends applicants to that page for mechanical permit fees. Paying for the permit requires a contractor log-in with a Land Development Office account, or a call to 919-560-4144 to request one, as the same menu states. A restaurant on county sewer also faces the Engineering & Environmental Services restaurant or cafeteria plumbing plan review at $605.00, which is a different department again.

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 coffee shops, 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 coffee shops, retail stores and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Limited Food Service Establishment Permit — Durham County Department of Public Health — Environmental Health Division, $75 per 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 permit issued for the limited operation; G.S. 130A-248(d) excludes limited food services establishments from the $120.00 annual Department permit fee, so this $75.00 is the whole permit charge. Also required for coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Re-review of Food Service Plans — Durham County Department of Public Health — Environmental Health Division, $200 per re-review of resubmitted food service plans, 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, per re-review, charged each time plans are resubmitted after the original review; it is not an annual or renewable charge. Also required for coffee shops and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Food Establishment Plan Review — Durham County Department of Public Health — Environmental Health Division, $250 per 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 project, at construction or before a new food establishment opens; the food establishment permit that follows does not expire while the establishment operates. Also required for coffee shops and childcare centres; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Mobile Food Unit, Push Cart or Caterer Plan Review — Durham County Department of Public Health — Environmental Health Division, $250 per 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 unit reviewed; the food establishment permit that follows does not expire while the unit operates, and the $120.00 NC DHHS permit fee is reassessed annually against it. Also required for food trucks and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops 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 coffee shops and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Environmental Health Multiple Trip Fee — Durham County Department of Public Health — Environmental Health Division, $50 per occurrence, 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, per occurrence, charged each time an extra trip to the site is needed rather than on any renewal cycle. Also required for coffee shops, food trucks and childcare centres; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops 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 coffee shops, 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 coffee shops, retail stores and auto repair shops; what it involves is set out on the auto repair shops page.
• County Oil, Grease or Sediment Trap Inspection — Durham County Engineering & Environmental Services, $300 each unit, county-only, at construction, 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; a 5% non-refundable technology fee applies to all construction inspection fees, per unit, at construction; the separate review of the grease trap or pretreatment unit's construction drawings is charged at $300.00 with a $65.00 re-review on the same schedule. Also required for coffee shops and auto repair shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Food Establishment Permit (NC DHHS permit, Durham County inspection) — North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health — Environmental Health Section, $120 a year per permit, paid to NC DHHS rather than to Durham County, and reassessed annually for permits that do not expire, the permit does not expire while the establishment operates, and G.S. 130A-248(b1) expires it one year after the establishment closes; the $120.00 fee is reassessed annually, with a $25.00 late payment fee 45 days after billing, suspension permitted after 60 days and a $150.00 reinstatement fee under G.S. 130A-248(d1). Also required for coffee shops and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Certified Food Protection Manager — North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, Environmental Health Section, No fee, not stated in North Carolina law — the certifying programme sets its own. Also required for coffee shops and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Food Establishment Permit — North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, Environmental Health Section, $120 a year, statewide, the permit does not expire; the fee is reassessed annually. Also required for coffee shops and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.