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

Temporary Food Establishment (TFE) Permit

A restaurant, coffee shop or food truck trading at a fair, festival, carnival, circus or public exhibition in Guilford County needs a temporary food establishment permit from Guilford County Environmental Health, and the $75 fee is fixed by statute rather than set 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. A local health department shall use all fees collected under this subsection for local food, lodging, and institution sanitation programs and activities.' The word is 'shall', so the amount is mandatory in both directions, and the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule independently carries 'Temporary Food Establishments (vendors) $75.00' unchanged across the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. The scope is narrow and the 21-day limit is per location: 15A NCAC 18A .2651(20) provides that a temporary food establishment 'operates for a period of time not to exceed 21 days in one location, affiliated with and endorsed by a transitory fair, carnival, circus, festival, or public exhibition', that 'Food establishments that operate in the same event location for more than 21 days per calendar year are not eligible for a temporary food establishment permit', and that 'Domestic yard sales and businesses such as auctions, flea markets, or farmers' markets are not eligible for a temporary food establishment permit.' The rules also define a temporary food establishment commissary at .2651(21), and rule .2665 governs both permits. The $120 annual NC DHHS permit fee recorded separately on this page is expressly excluded by G.S. 130A-248(d) for temporary food establishments, so it is not owed on top of this $75. The programme is countywide, so the same $75 applies at an event inside Greensboro or High Point. Environmental Health: 336-641-3771.

Mobile Food Unit and Push Cart Permit

A food truck or push cart operating in Guilford County is permitted by Guilford County Environmental Health, and plan review comes before the permit. The county's Food, Lodging and Institutions page states: 'A mobile food unit or food truck is like a restaurant that is designed to be readily moved. They are fully enclosed units that have the ability to cook food on location. All units are required to have hot and cold pressurized potable water for hand washing and utensil washing. All units are required to submit an application and go through plan review before being permitted.' A commissary is compulsory: the same page states that 'Equipment on a Mobile Food Unit must meet ANSI/NSF standards or equivalent like a restaurant and must operate in conjunction with a permitted commissary or restaurant that they return to daily', and 15A NCAC 18A .2651 defines a commissary as 'a food establishment that services a mobile food unit or a pushcart'. There is also a continuing notification duty, in the county's own words: 'All units must provide a schedule of operations to the County Health Department that they will be operating in. It must include dates, times, and location of operations. If mobile food units are found operating without notifying the health department they may be asked to leave since that is a violation of the permit.' A push cart is a narrower category: the county states it 'is smaller than a mobile food unit and has a menu limited to serving hot dogs and/or food that is prepackaged and individually proportioned', and must likewise work with a permitted commissary or restaurant and go through plan review. On fees, the $120 annual permit fee is a State charge under G.S. 130A-248(d) and a mobile unit is not within that subsection's exclusions, so it is owed each year. A county plan review amount for mobile units is not priced on any line of the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule for FY2025, FY2026 or FY2027, so no figure is published here; call Environmental Health on 336-641-3771 for the amount currently charged. Separately, a truck that trades inside Greensboro city limits also needs city paperwork: the City of Greensboro's Business Permit page states that mobile food vendors 'must obtain a business permit at no cost along with a mobile food vendor permit for $50 annually' — a City of Greensboro charge, not a county one.

Prototype Franchised or Chain Food Establishment Plan Review (NC DHHS)

A franchised or chain restaurant or coffee shop opening in Guilford County sends its plans to the State rather than to the county, and pays the State's fee rather than the county's. 15A NCAC 18A .2651, amending Food Code section 8-201.11, provides that 'Plans drawn to scale for franchised or chain food establishments shall be submitted for review and approval to the Environmental Health Services Branch, N.C. Division of Public Health. Plans drawn to scale for independent food establishments shall be submitted for review and approval to the local health department.' G.S. 130A-248(e) then allows the Department to charge 'a fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) for plan review of plans for prototype franchised or chain facilities for food establishments subject to this section', and G.S. 130A-248(f) closes the loop: 'No food establishment that pays a fee under subsection (e) of this section is liable for a fee under this subsection.' The two $250 plan review fees are therefore alternatives and never both — an independent operator pays Guilford County, a chain or franchise pays NC DHHS, and the amount happens to be the same. Everything else stays with the county: the permit itself is issued by Guilford County Environmental Health as the Department's authorized agent, the inspections are the county's, and the $120 annual permit fee under G.S. 130A-248(d) is still owed. A chain operator should confirm with Guilford County Environmental Health on 336-641-3771 that its State approval letter is on file before the county permit is issued, because the county's own plan review fee is waived only where the State fee has been paid.

Limited Food Service Establishment (LFSE) Permit

A limited food service establishment — the category the rules use for restricted operations, typically run by a non-profit or an institution rather than a full commercial kitchen — pays $75 for each permit Guilford County Environmental Health issues. The amount is fixed by the same sentence of statute as the temporary food establishment fee: 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.' The Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule carries the matching line, spelled in the document as 'LFSE ( Limited food source establishment)', at $75.00 in each of the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns. Limited food service establishments are expressly excluded from the $120 annual State permit fee by G.S. 130A-248(d), alongside temporary food establishments, nutrition programmes for the elderly, meat and poultry product establishments and public school cafeterias, so the $75 is the whole permit cost rather than an addition to the State fee. Because the fee is statutory, it is the same in every North Carolina county and the county has no discretion to waive or vary it. The programme is countywide, reaching inside Greensboro and High Point as well as the unincorporated county. An operator uncertain whether a proposed menu and process fall inside the limited food service category rather than a full food establishment permit should confirm with Guilford County Environmental Health on 336-641-3771 before submitting, because the permit type determines both the fee and whether the $120 State fee is owed.

ABC Permit (Guilford County Inspections)

A restaurant, coffee shop or retail store applying for a State ABC permit needs the local governing body to certify that the premises complies with the building and fire codes, and Guilford County charges $75 for the Inspections side of that work. The figure is on the 'ABC Permit' line of the Guilford County FY2027 adopted budget fee schedule, adopted June 25, 2026, at $75.00 in each of the FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027 columns, and the live Inspections fee page carries the same amount. The statutory reason for the charge is G.S. 18B-901(c), which provides that to be a suitable place 'the local governing body shall return a Zoning and Compliance Form to the Commission on a form provided by the Commission to show the establishment is in compliance with all applicable building and fire codes'. There is a second $75 for the same application on the fire side: Guilford County Emergency Services charges its own 'ABC Inspection' at $75, recorded separately on this page, so an applicant in the county's jurisdiction should budget $150 in county inspection charges for the sign-off, not $75. Both are distinct from the State's own charges, which are far larger — G.S. 18B-902(d) sets application fees of $400 for each of the six malt beverage and wine permits and $1,000 for mixed beverages, and G.S. 18B-903(b1) adds a $400 annual registration and inspection fee for each permit held. They are also distinct from the county's own beer and wine retail license under G.S. 105-113.78, which is a tax rather than an inspection charge. Scope is the county's permitting footprint of unincorporated Guilford County plus the seven contract towns and the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority; inside Greensboro or High Point the city performs and charges for its own code compliance sign-off. Permitting: 336-641-3707.

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 Guilford County

• Food Service Plan Review — New Facility — Guilford County Division of Public Health — Environmental Health, $250 per plan review, county-only, for a new facility (adopted FY2027 fee schedule line 'Food Service - Plan Review / New Facility', unchanged at $250.00 across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027), one-off, before construction; the food establishment permit that follows does not expire, and G.S. 130A-248(d) requires the State fee to be reassessed annually for permits that do not expire. Also required for restaurants and childcare centres; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Food Service Plan Review — Remodel of an Existing Facility — Guilford County Division of Public Health — Environmental Health, $125 per plan review, county-only, for a remodel of an existing facility (adopted FY2027 fee schedule line 'Remodel of Existing Ficility' as spelled in the document, unchanged at $125.00 across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027), one-off, before the remodel work begins. Also required for restaurants; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Annual Food Establishment Permit Fee (NC DHHS) — 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 Guilford County, and reassessed annually for permits that do not expire, the food establishment permit itself does not expire; G.S. 130A-248(d) requires the $120 fee to be reassessed annually, with a $25 late payment fee where it is unpaid 45 days after the Department bills it and a $150 reinstatement fee after a suspension under G.S. 130A-248(d1). Also required for restaurants and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Guilford County Malt Beverage and Wine Retail License (Beverage License) — Guilford County Tax Department, $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 wine or on-premises fortified wine or both $25.00, off-premises unfortified wine or off-premises fortified wine or both $25.00. The county tax is flat, with no progressive loading for additional licenses, annual; G.S. 105-113.70(b) states 'All licenses issued under this section are annual licenses for the period from May 1 to April 30', the Tax Department's Important Tax Dates list states 'Beer and/or wine licenses must be renewed each year by April 30', and G.S. 105-113.70(c) states 'A license may not be transferred from one person to another or from one location to another'. Also required for restaurants and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• State Retail ABC Permit (NC ABC Commission) — North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, $50–$1,000 per application, paid to the NC ABC Commission rather than to Guilford County, at the amounts G.S. 18B-902(d) sets: on-premises malt beverage $400.00, off-premises malt beverage $400.00, on-premises unfortified wine $400.00, off-premises unfortified wine $400.00, on-premises fortified wine $400.00, off-premises fortified wine $400.00, brown-bagging $400.00 (or $200.00 where the application is for a restaurant seating fewer than 50), special occasion $400.00, limited special occasion $50.00, mixed beverages $1,000, culinary $200.00, the permit continues while the annual registration under G.S. 18B-903(b1) is paid by May 1 each year; failure to pay that fee results in revocation of the permit. Also required for restaurants and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• New Commercial Building Permit — Business, Mercantile or Retail — Guilford County Inspections Department, Adopted FY2027 fees, county-only: New Business, Mercantile, or Retail Structures base fee $100.00 per unit plus $0.25 per square foot per unit. New Industrial, Factory, High Hazard, or Storage Structures are priced the same, at a $100.00 base fee plus $0.25 per square foot. New Utility & Miscellaneous is a $75.00 base fee plus $0.25 per square foot, and New Commercial Residential / Multi-Family is $250.00 per dwelling unit. Applicable trade permits at $75.00 each and the $75.00 plan review fee are charged separately., per permit, for the new construction it covers. Also required for restaurants, retail stores, salons and barbers, auto repair shops and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the salons and barbers page.
• State ABC Annual Registration and Inspection Fee (NC ABC Commission) — North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, $400 a year for each permit held, paid to the NC ABC Commission rather than to Guilford County; non-refundable, annual; G.S. 18B-903(b1) requires registration by May 1 of each year and states that 'Failure to pay the annual registration and inspection fee shall result in revocation of the permit'. Also required for restaurants and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Event Permit (Guilford County Inspections, trade fees only) — Guilford County Inspections Department, No separate base fee. The adopted FY2027 fee schedule carries the line as 'Event Permit (Trade Fees Only)' — FY2025 $40.00, FY2026 $40.00, FY2027 $75.00 — and $75.00 is the amount every other '(Trade Fees Only)' line in the same schedule carries, while the live Inspections fee page renders the same line as 'Event - Trade fee(s)' with no figure. The applicant pays the applicable trade permits at $75.00 each., per event, for the temporary work or installation it covers. Also required for restaurants, food trucks, retail stores and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• Fire ABC Inspection — Guilford County Emergency Services, Fire Marshal's Office, $75 per ABC inspection by Emergency Services, county-only (adopted FY2027 fee schedule line 'ABC Inspection', unchanged at $75.00 across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027), per application, at the point the fire code compliance sign-off is made. Also required for restaurants and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• Fire Protection System Plan Reviews — Guilford County Emergency Services, Fire Marshal's Office, Adopted FY2027 system plan review fees, county-only and unchanged across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027: Water based Plan Review $125.00 per riser; Fire Alarm Plan Review $125.00 for 0-11,999 SF, $200.00 for 12,000-99,999 SF and $300.00 above 100,000 SF; Tank Plan Review $100.00 per tank; AES Plan Review $100.00; Hazmat Review $200.00 per system; and $100.00 per system for Industrial Oven Review, Emergency Radio System Review, Spray & Dipping Review, Smoke Control System Review, Solar System Review, Gates & Barricades Review and Pyrotechnic Magazine Review (the last also requiring a blasting permit)., one-off, per system review submission on the project. Also required for restaurants, retail stores, auto repair shops, fitness studios and childcare centres; what it involves is set out on the childcare centres page.
• Tent and Stage Permit and Inspection — Guilford County Emergency Services, Fire Marshal's Office, $100 per tent, county-only (adopted FY2027 fee schedule line 'Tent/Stage Permit and Inspection (per tent)', unchanged at $100.00 across FY2025, FY2026 and FY2027), per event, for the tent or stage installation it covers. Also required for restaurants, food trucks, retail stores and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• ABC Zoning and Compliance Form (local sign-off) — Guilford County Planning & Development, No fee, per application, returned to the Commission before the State permit issues. Also required for restaurants and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.