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

Temporary Food License

A stall, cart or truck selling food at a festival, market or fair in Cuyahoga County outside the City of Cleveland takes a temporary license for that event, priced per day: the 2026 CCBH Food Protection Program Fee Schedule effective 1 January 2026 sets $64 a day for a commercial operator and $32 a day for a non-commercial one, and CCBH states the basis plainly — 'Vendors pay per day of operation.' A license covers a run of up to five consecutive days: 'Licenses can be issued for up to five consecutive days.' The paperwork has a hard lead time — 'They must be applied for 10 days prior to the event' — and the license itself is handed over on site: 'Temporary licenses are issued at the event once the vendor passes inspection.' Which health jurisdiction issues it depends on the event, not the vendor: CCBH states that 'Temporary food vendors obtain licenses through the health jurisdiction in which the event is located,' and, for events inside the city, 'For events held in the City of Cleveland, please contact the Cleveland Department of Public Health at 216.664.2300.' That is the opposite test from the one for a mobile license, which follows the business headquarters. Events can trigger more than food licensing: CCBH notes that 'Campgrounds, animal venues, and temporary body art facilities at these events may also require inspection and licensing by our agency,' the last of which is the Type IV time-limited body art permit, a separate CCBH license with its own fee.

Manager Certification in Food Protection

Ohio charges nothing for this. The Department of Health neither teaches the course nor sells the certificate — it approves providers, who set their own tuition, and the official application form carries no fee field at all. Two tiers exist and the names have changed: what was Level One is now person-in-charge certification, required for at least one person per shift at any operation first licensed after 1 March 2010, and what was Level Two is manager certification, required at risk level III and IV operations and needing an accredited exam as well as the course. Temporary, mobile and low-risk operations are exempt from the manager tier. Ohio has no food handler card in the California sense. The often-repeated claim that the certification lasts five years appears in neither the rule, the statute nor any Department page — the five-year term belongs to the third-party exam certificate, not to the Ohio certification, so no expiry is published here.

Shared with other businesses in Cuyahoga County

• Food Service Operation / Retail Food Establishment License — Cuyahoga County Board of Health, Per the 2026 CCBH Food Protection Program Fee Schedule (Effective January 1, 2026, Rev 12.30.2025), by risk level and floor area. COMMERCIAL, per year, under 25,000 sq ft: Level 1 $260, Level 2 $284, Level 3 $490, Level 4 $606; 25,000 sq ft and over: Level 1 $348, Level 2 $364, Level 3 $1,140, Level 4 $1,204 — each total being the local fee ($232, $256, $462, $578, $320, $336, $1,112, $1,176) plus the $28 state fee. NON-COMMERCIAL, per year, under 25,000 sq ft: Level 1 $130, Level 2 $142, Level 3 $245, Level 4 $303; 25,000 sq ft and over: Level 1 $174, Level 2 $182, Level 3 $570, Level 4 $602 — each total being the local fee ($116, $128, $231, $289, $160, $168, $556, $588) plus the $14 state fee. A license renewed after 1 March carries a mandatory 25 per cent late penalty., annual; CCBH states that 'Annual food license renewal applications are mailed in January of each year for renewal before March 1. Licenses renewed after March 1 will be assessed a mandatory 25% late penalty.'. Also required for restaurants, retail stores, childcare centres and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• Mobile Food License — Cuyahoga County Board of Health, Per the 2026 CCBH Food Protection Program Fee Schedule (Effective January 1, 2026): High Risk Mobile $408 per year ($380 local plus $28 state) and Low Risk Mobile $218 per year ($190 local plus $28 state). A renewal filed after 1 March carries the same mandatory 25 per cent late penalty as a fixed premises., annual, on the same renewal cycle as a fixed operation; CCBH states that 'Mobiles licensed by our agency must renew their license and schedule an annual inspection at least 10 days prior to their first event each year'. Also required for food trucks and restaurants; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Vendor's License (Regular) — Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer, Licensing and Support Services, $50 one application fee for each fixed sales location in the county — a combined state and county amount, of which the county auditor transmits $25 to the Treasurer of State for the organized crime commission fund and credits $25 to the Cuyahoga County general fund; the county's page states 'No Annual Renewal Fee', a standing registration with no annual renewal fee; the county's own page states that 'Vendors must have one regular vendor's license for each sales location', and a new license is needed when the vendor's legal identity changes rather than at a fixed expiry date. Also required for restaurants, food trucks, retail stores, fitness studios, auto repair shops and salons and barbers; what it involves is set out on the salons and barbers page.
• Retail Cigarette Dealer's License (Cigarette Vendor's License) — Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer, Licensing and Support Services, $125 a year for each physical place where cigarettes are sold at retail, and for each motor vehicle used to convey cigarettes from place to place — a state-set fee collected by the county Fiscal Officer, prorated when the application is filed after 1 June but never below $25 in any one year; a duplicate license is $5 and a transfer to another place of business in the same county is $5, one year commencing on the first day of June, per ORC 5743.15(B)(2), with applications due annually on or before the first day of June; a license is not transferable where the business moves, is sold, an individual or partnership incorporates, or a partnership or corporation is dissolved. Also required for retail stores, restaurants and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Vending Machine License — Cuyahoga County Board of Health, $9.62 per year, per vending machine location as priced on the 2026 CCBH Food Protection Program Fee Schedule — a combined amount of $3.62 local plus $6.00 state, annual, renewed on the same cycle as CCBH's other food licenses, with renewal applications mailed in January for renewal before 1 March and a mandatory 25 per cent late penalty after that date. Also required for retail stores, fitness studios, auto repair shops and restaurants; what it involves is set out on the auto repair shops page.
• Food Facility Plan Review — Cuyahoga County Board of Health, Standard plan review $500, as printed on the 2026 CCBH Food Protection Program Fee Schedule under the heading 'FACILITY PLAN REVIEW (RISK LEVELS 1-4)'. The expedited option is charged on top rather than instead: CCBH's 2026 Food Facility Plan Review Application states 'Standard Plan Review - $500' and 'Expedited Plan Review (optional) - $1000 + Standard plan review fee', which is how the schedule's $1,500 expedited total arises., a one-off review preceding the license application, with CCBH reviewing 'the plans within 30 days of complete submission', or, where the expedited fee is paid, 'within 3 business days of complete submission'; approval is followed by a pre-licensing inspection. Also required for restaurants, retail stores and childcare centres; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Retail Pricing Accuracy Duties (scanner accuracy and item pricing) — Cuyahoga County Department of Consumer Affairs, Division of Weights and Measures, No fee, a standing obligation with no term and no renewal, in force from 8 August 2026, the effective date of Ordinance No. O2026-0008. Also required for retail stores, restaurants and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Disposable Bag Rule for Retail Establishments — Cuyahoga County Department of Consumer Affairs, Division of Weights and Measures, No fee, a standing obligation with no term and no renewal; County Code §1304.04 has the Department of Consumer Affairs enforcing the chapter from 1 January 2021, and §1304.03 provides that 'Only violations occurring on or after January 1, 2021, are subject to penalty'. Also required for retail stores, restaurants and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Weights and Measures Device Inspection and Sealing — Cuyahoga County Department of Consumer Affairs, Division of Weights and Measures, No fee, a standing county inspection duty rather than a license; the county states that 'Weights and Measures inspectors generally conduct device tests once a year' and that 'Our seal is good for 12 months', with tests unannounced. Also required for retail stores, restaurants, food trucks, auto repair shops and salons and barbers; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• Vendor's License — Ohio Department of Taxation, $50 one-time, per fixed location, no renewal — stays in effect until cancelled. Also required for restaurants, retail stores, salons and barbers, fitness studios, auto repair shops and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• Food Service Operation License — Ohio Department of Health, Food Safety Program, $28 state fee for a commercial operation ($14 non-commercial, $6 per vending machine location), plus a license fee set independently by the local board of health, 1 March to the last day of February. Also required for restaurants and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.