What permits do you need to open a retail store in Cuyahoga County?

Food Service Operation / Retail Food Establishment License

Every restaurant, cafe, food-selling store and childcare centre with on-site food service outside the City of Cleveland licenses with the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, and the amounts above are read from CCBH's 2026 Food Protection Program Fee Schedule, headed 'Effective January 1, 2026' with a revision date of 12.30.2025. That schedule is adopted rather than proposed: the CCBH board agenda of 17 December 2025 records, under 'BOARD ORDERS, RULES, FEES OR REGULATIONS', 'RESOLUTION (2025-116) To amend the Cuyahoga Board of Health's Food Protection Program Fees pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code Sections 3717.25 and 3717.45'. Which figure applies turns on three things the schedule prices separately — the state risk level (four classes for a permanent facility, documented in CCBH's Levels of Risk 2026), whether the operation is under or over 25,000 square feet, and whether it is commercial or non-commercial — and every total on the schedule is the local fee plus a state fee of $28 on a commercial line or $14 on a non-commercial one, which CCBH collects and transmits. CCBH adds that 'Annual license fees are determined through a state-mandated cost methodology process. Fees are subject to change each year.' Plan approval comes first: CCBH states that 'New food and mobile operations must have plan approval prior to submitting a license application.' Address matters before any of this is used. CCBH's Food Licensing page states that 'In Cuyahoga County, CCBH licenses and inspects all facilities that sell food at the retail level, except for those operating in the City of Cleveland. For information about locations in the City of Cleveland, please call 216.664.2300 to speak with the Cleveland Department of Public Health.' Two suburbs run the other way and are priced from this schedule: Shaker Heights' own FAQ states that 'On January 1, 2018, the City of Shaker Heights closed its Health Department and joined the Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH),' and Cleveland Heights' own page states that 'Through a contract with the City of Cleveland Heights, the Cuyahoga County Board of Health provides health services for Cleveland Heights residents.'

Weights and Measures Device Inspection and Sealing

There is nothing to apply for here and, in the ordinary case, nothing to pay: the county's Weights and Measures for Business page states that 'All measuring devices used in consumer transactions in Cuyahoga County must be inspected and tested by the Cuyahoga County Department of Consumer Affairs, Division of Weights and Measures. The County does not charge businesses for these tests', so a scale, meter or dispenser is sealed at no charge to the business. What the operator owes is contact at the right moments: the same page states 'You MUST contact the Division of Weights and Measures for an inspection any time you: Install, repair or replace a measuring device · Bring a stored device back into service · Discover a broken or missing Weights and Measures seal on a device on your premises', that 'You must contact Weights and Measures at least 48 hours in advance of scheduled service to a measuring device. Service reports must be sent to the County Division of Weights and Measures within 7 days after service is performed', and that 'Only state-certified service persons are permitted to install, replace or repair measuring devices.' Breaking a seal without telling the county is itself an offence: 'It is against the law to break or remove an official Weights and Measures seal in Cuyahoga County without notifying Consumer Affairs/Weights and Measures.' The range of devices is wide — County Code §1302.01(C) covers 'any device described in the National Institute of Standards and Technology Handbook 44 … including but not limited to retail scales, fuel dispensers, vehicle scales, vehicle tank meters, LPG meters, and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) dispensers that sell electricity by the kilowatt-hour', and the county's page adds that inspectors test 'everything from tiny jewelry scales to timed devices such laundromat dryers'. One charge can arise, and only after a failure: §1302.07(H) provides that 'the Director may assess a reinspection fee against any Supplier whose commercial weighing or measuring device or point-of-sale system fails an inspection … The reinspection fee shall not exceed thirty-five dollars ($35) per reinspection', which §1302.04(A) applies following the first reinspection of a device not corrected in time. Selling by weight carries a related rule: the county states that stores 'are prohibited by Cuyahoga County Code Section 1302.06 from charging consumers for the weight of packaging, also known as tare', including deli and salad bar containers. Territory is set by mechanism rather than by name: §1302.13(A) applies the chapter 'throughout the unincorporated area of the County and in all municipal corporations and townships within the County', except 'within any municipal corporation that has appointed a weights and measures official in accordance with ORC 1327.52', and the county's page states that its jurisdiction 'includes all of Cuyahoga County except for the City of Cleveland', directing complaints about devices in Cleveland to the city's own bureau on (216) 664-2260.

Vendor's License

The fee doubled from $25 to $50 on 9 April 2025 under House Bill 366, and the Department's own older PDF guidance still prints $25 — check the date on anything you read. One license per fixed location, so a second shop means a second $50. The license number is keyed to the county, but the fee is statutory and identical in all eighty-eight; the county auditor is a filing channel, not a separate charge. It is not only for goods: certain taxable services, including landscaping, building maintenance and janitorial work, private security and dry cleaning, need one too. An out-of-state seller with economic nexus registers free.

Shared with other businesses in Cuyahoga County

• 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, coffee shops, food trucks, 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 restaurants, coffee shops 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 fitness studios, auto repair shops, restaurants and coffee shops; 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, coffee shops 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 restaurants, coffee shops and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Temporary Food License — Cuyahoga County Board of Health, $64 per day of operation for a commercial operator, as printed on the 2026 CCBH Food Protection Program Fee Schedule effective 1 January 2026; a non-commercial operator pays $32 per day, per event; CCBH states that 'Licenses can be issued for up to five consecutive days' and that applications 'must be applied for 10 days prior to the event'. Also required for food trucks, restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops 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 restaurants, coffee shops and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Transient Vendor's License — Ohio Department of Taxation, $50 one-time, valid statewide, no renewal — stays in effect until cancelled. Also required for food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.