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

Forsyth County Fire ABC Inspection

A restaurant, coffee shop or retail store applying for a retail ABC permit at an address outside the town limits of Kernersville and the City of Winston-Salem pays the Forsyth County Fire Department $50.00 for the ABC inspection, a line published on the county's own Fire Permit Application and Fees page. The inspection exists because of what the ABC process demands: G.S. 18B-901(c) provides that to be a suitable place the local governing body shall return a Zoning and Compliance Form to the Commission, on a form the Commission provides, showing the establishment is in compliance with all applicable building and fire codes, and the NC ABC Commission's own page requires proof of mandatory compliance with all applicable building and fire codes using the Inspection/Zoning Compliance Form. The fire side of that proof, in the county's territory, is this inspection. It is one of three distinct alcohol-related county steps an applicant in the unincorporated county can meet, and they are not substitutes for each other: this $50.00 fire inspection, the joint Inspections Division's 'Zoning, DMV and ABC letters' charge, and the Local Government Opinion the Board of Commissioners' designated official signs — all listed separately — on top of the county beverage license the Tax Collector issues under G.S. 105-113.78 and the state permit the Commission issues under G.S. 18B-901(a). The fee mechanism is Forsyth County Code § 10-9(a): fees are determined by resolution of the Board of County Commissioners and the schedule is filed with the clerk to the board and the fire marshal's office for public inspection, so this figure is published as the county's own current page states it. Contact: fcfd9@forsyth.cc, 3000 Aviation Drive, Winston-Salem, (336) 703-2550.

Food Establishment Permit and Annual Permit Fee (NC DHHS through Forsyth County)

G.S. 130A-248(b) provides that no establishment shall commence or continue operation without a permit or transitional permit issued by the Department, that the permit is issued to the owner or operator and is not transferable, and that a new permit must be obtained if the location of an establishment changes. The permit is administered locally: G.S. 130A-4(b) provides that when requested by the Secretary a local health department shall enforce the rules of the Commission under the supervision of the Department, and in Forsyth County that is the Division of Environmental Health at 799 N. Highland Avenue, Winston-Salem, (336) 703-3225, which inspects food and lodging establishments countywide. The annual charge is a state fee rather than a county one, and the distinction is in the statute's own wording: G.S. 130A-248(d) provides that the Department shall 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, with nutrition programmes for the elderly, establishments that prepare and sell meat food products or poultry products, temporary food establishments, limited food service establishments and public school cafeterias excepted. G.S. 130A-248(d1) adds a $25.00 late payment fee where the fee is unpaid 45 days after billing, permit suspension available after 60 days, and a $150.00 reinstatement fee. The $120 is not a line item on Forsyth County Public Health's own FY 26-27 Fee Schedule, whose Environmental Health block prices plan review and the other county services instead, so a restaurant or coffee shop opening in the county should budget the county plan review fee and this state permit fee separately rather than adding them into one county figure. A mobile food unit is permitted on the same basis: G.S. 130A-248(c1) requires a mobile food unit to meet all the sanitation requirements of a permitted commissary or to have a permitted restaurant or commissary serving as its base of operation.

Food Service Plan Review

A restaurant or coffee shop building out a kitchen in Forsyth County submits plans to the Division of Environmental Health and pays $250.00, as published in the Forsyth County Public Health FY 26-27 Fee Schedule, an eleven-page document the county's own Public Health Publications page carries as the FY26-27 Fee Schedule under Forsyth County HHS branding. That amount is exactly the statutory ceiling: G.S. 130A-248(f) allows a local health department to charge a fee not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars for plan review by that local health department, so the county is charging the maximum the General Assembly permits rather than a locally invented figure. Chains and franchises are treated differently, and the saving is worth knowing about: G.S. 130A-248(e1) provides that plans for a franchised or chain food establishment that have been reviewed and approved by the Department shall not require further review and approval by any local health department, and the prototype review the State itself performs under subsection (e) carries its own $250.00 fee with the statute adding that no food establishment paying a fee under subsection (e) is liable for a fee under subsection (f). A single-site independent operator therefore pays the county; a franchisee opening to an approved prototype pays the State once instead. This charge is separate from the $120 annual permit fee that NC DHHS charges under G.S. 130A-248(d), listed separately, and from any building, trade or zoning permit the joint Inspections Division charges for the same fit-out. The county's fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30, so the FY 26-27 schedule governs the amount for work reviewed between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027.

Foodservice Remodel Plan Review

Forsyth County prices a remodel of an existing food service operation lower than a new build: the Foodservice Remodel plan review line is $140.00 on the Forsyth County Public Health FY 26-27 Fee Schedule, against $250.00 for a new Food Service Plan Review. The practical trigger is any change to the kitchen that needs plans — moving or adding equipment, reworking a dish area, changing the layout of a prep line — in a space that already holds a food service permit, as distinct from fitting out a space that has never been permitted. Both figures sit inside the ceiling that G.S. 130A-248(f) sets for a local health department's plan review fee. The amount is charged by Forsyth County Environmental Health and is separate from the $120 annual permit fee that NC DHHS charges under G.S. 130A-248(d), and separate again from the building, mechanical, plumbing or electrical permits the joint Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Inspections Division charges for the same work. A remodel that changes the ownership of the business rather than the kitchen is a different step: G.S. 130A-248(c) requires the new owner or lessee to apply for a new permit, with a transitional permit available. Plans and payment go to the Division of Environmental Health at 799 N. Highland Avenue, Winston-Salem, (336) 703-3225. The schedule is the county's FY 26-27 document, running with the county fiscal year from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027.

Limited Food Service Establishment Permit

A limited food service establishment permit is a narrow category and an ordinary commercial restaurant or coffee shop cannot hold one. G.S. 130A-248(a4) provides that limited food service establishment permits shall be issued only to political subdivisions of the State, establishments operated by volunteers that prepare or serve food in conjunction with amateur athletic events, or establishments operated by organizations exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) or section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is recorded here because a nonprofit or municipal operator running a kitchen, concession or cafe in Forsyth County reaches this permit rather than a full food establishment permit, and because the fee is the same $75.00 that G.S. 130A-248(d2) fixes for a temporary food establishment: the statute directs a local health department to charge each temporary food establishment and each limited food services establishment a fee of seventy-five dollars for each permit issued, and Forsyth County's FY 26-27 Fee Schedule prints Limited Food Service Permit Fee at $75.00. Limited food service establishments are excepted from the $120 annual permit fee under G.S. 130A-248(d), so the $75.00 is the whole permit charge. A qualifying operator that also builds or remodels a kitchen still meets the county's plan review fees listed separately. Applications go to Forsyth County Environmental Health, 799 N. Highland Avenue, Winston-Salem, (336) 703-3225.

Forsyth County Air Quality Permit

Forsyth County runs its own air quality permitting programme rather than leaving it to the State, which makes this a genuinely county-level requirement: the Office of Environmental Assistance and Protection at 201 North Chestnut Street states that an air quality permit may be required if a business, facility or activity emits a regulated air pollutant into the outside air, and the rules are Chapter 3 of the Forsyth County Code. The dating is settled by the ordinance itself, which states that it contains the air quality rules and regulations that were modified and adopted on April 7, 2025 by the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners. For every category a business in these ten industries could fall into, the fee table printed inside the code and the Office's current permitting fees page state identical amounts: $50.00 application and $250.00 annual basic permit fee for a Small or Exclusionary Small facility, $400.00 application and $1,500.00 annual for a Synthetic Minor, and 50% of the otherwise applicable fee for a General facility, whose $25.00 ownership change appears at Sec. 3Q-0203(d) in the code. Only the Title V figures differ between the two documents, which is consistent with the Sec. 3Q-0204 inflation mechanism that by its terms applies to Title V facilities, and Title V sits far above anything in these industries. The practical point for a small business is that scope is not automatic: an auto-repair shop is the most likely candidate, and a restaurant or coffee shop only where its fuel-burning equipment is large enough, and the Office will determine applicability for a given facility at no charge, so asking is cheaper than assuming. Application fees must accompany the application or it is not processed, the annual fee is owed by any facility holding a permit during the county fiscal year of July 1 to June 30, and payment is by cheque or money order to the Forsyth County General Fund. Contact: (336) 703-2440.

Shared with other businesses in Forsyth County Nc

• ABC Local Government Opinion and Inspection/Zoning Compliance Form — Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, No county charge for signing the Local Government Opinion itself is published in the county's fee documents — the Forsyth County Public Health FY 26-27 Fee Schedule, the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County INSPECTION FEES list of April 2026 or the Forsyth County Fire Department's Fire Permit Application and Fees page. The adjacent published county charges are the Fire Department's $50.00 ABC inspection, which is on a Forsyth County page, and the Inspections Division's 'Zoning, DMV and ABC letters' charge, whose amount appears only on the combined Winston-Salem/Forsyth County list and is therefore not published here. Both are listed separately. Contact the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners' designated official for the current process., per application; the NC ABC Commission's own page states that designated officials are expected to process these 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 written objection. Also required for coffee shops and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Forsyth County Beverage License (county malt beverage and wine retail license) — Forsyth County Tax Collector (Tax Administration), $5–$25 a year per license, county-only, at the amounts G.S. 105-113.78 states and the Forsyth County Beverage License Application prints: on-premises beer $25.00, off-premises beer $5.00, on-premises wine $25.00, off-premises wine $25.00, annual; G.S. 105-113.70(b) provides that all licenses issued under the section are annual licenses for the period from May 1 to April 30, and (c) provides that a license may not be transferred from one person to another or from one location to another. Also required for coffee shops, food trucks and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Refrigeration Unit Permit — Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Planning and Development Services, Inspections Division, County-only, from Forsyth County Code § 7-52(b)(5) Schedule V, with the April 2026 INSPECTION FEES list printing the same amounts: 0 to 10 horsepower $25.00; 10.1 to 20 horsepower $63.00; over 20 horsepower $270.00; each refrigeration line $21.00., one-time, per unit and per line installed or replaced. Also required for coffee shops, retail stores and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• Temporary Food Establishment (TFE) Permit — Forsyth County Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health, $75 per permit per event, collected by Forsyth County Environmental Health; G.S. 130A-248(d2) makes the charge mandatory rather than discretionary, and the county's FY 26-27 Fee Schedule prints the same $75.00, per event; the county's own page states that the permit is issued in conjunction with a fair, carnival, circus, public exhibition or other similar gathering that operates for a period of 21 days or less. Also required for coffee shops and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Commercial Kitchen Exhaust and Type I/II Hood Permit — Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Planning and Development Services, Inspections Division, County-only, from Forsyth County Code § 7-52(b)(3) Schedule III, with the April 2026 INSPECTION FEES list printing the same amounts: 0 to 2,000 CFM $86.00; 2,001 to 3,000 CFM $123.00; 3,001 to 5,000 CFM $154.00; over 5,000 CFM $500.00., one-time, per hood or exhaust system installed or replaced. Also required for coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Zoning, DMV and ABC Compliance Letter — Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Planning and Development Services, Inspections Division, The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County INSPECTION FEES list dated April 2026 prints amounts for this permit as a single combined city-county list, headed for both jurisdictions with no separate Forsyth County column. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County UDO § 3.1 A provides that such fees shall be established and modified by the Elected Body — the legislative body of the adopting jurisdiction, which for Forsyth County is the Board of County Commissioners — and that the lists applicable to the Planning Board and the Inspections Division shall be maintained on file and available to the public in the respective offices. That mechanism establishes which body sets the fee and where the list is kept, so no amount from the combined list is published here as Forsyth County's own figure. Contact the Inspections Division on (336) 727-2624 for the amount charged at a Forsyth County address., per letter, issued for the application it supports; a further application calls for a further letter. Also required for coffee shops, retail stores and auto repair shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Forsyth County Fire Operational Permit — Forsyth County Fire Department, Office of the Fire Marshal, As published on the Forsyth County Fire Department's Fire Permit Application and Fees page: events and festivals $50.00; tents and canopies $50.00; hazardous operations $50.00; tank removals $50.00; blasting operations $50.00; bonfires $50.00; fireworks $50.00; campfires $0.00. Forsyth County Code § 10-9(a) provides that fees are determined by resolution of the Board of County Commissioners and filed with the clerk to the board and the fire marshal's office for public inspection., per permitted operation or event; Forsyth County Code § 10-6(c) requires the Fire Marshal to inspect and approve the receptacles, vehicles, buildings, structures, storage areas, devices, processes and conditions related to the permit before it may be issued. Also required for coffee shops, food trucks, retail stores and contractors and trades; what it involves is set out on the retail stores 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.