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

Person In Charge (PIC) Certification in Food Protection

Every risk level 1 to 4 food operation in Montgomery County needs someone certified in food protection on each shift, and Public Health is an approved provider of the course at $35.00 a head on its 2026 Fee Schedule. PHDMC describes the requirement in its own words: 'Person In Charge (PIC) Certification in Food Protection is a mandated training for one person in charge per shift of a risk level 1, 2, 3, or 4 food service operation or retail food establishment. It is required after March 1, 2010' in the listed instances, and 'The Person In Charge (PIC) Certification in Food Protection Course is a three hour course that satisfies the requirements of OAC 3701-21-25.' Because the obligation is per shift rather than per business, a restaurant or cafe running two shifts needs at least two certified people, and a new high risk mobile food operation licensed after 1 September 2024 needs its certified person in charge present at each event. The certification is a state-rule requirement administered locally, so a certificate obtained from another approved Ohio provider meets the same rule; what PHDMC charges here is the price of taking its own class. Risk level III and IV operations additionally need a manager certification, listed separately for this county at $175.00.

Type II Exhaust Hood Permit (mechanical)

A Type II exhaust hood — the kind over dishwashers, steam tables, ovens and other equipment producing heat, steam and odour rather than grease-laden vapour — is permitted at $250 per hood with one inspection under line M.3, which the county's schedule describes as being 'For hoods that do not require fire suppression.' This is the cheaper of the two mechanical hood lines and the one a coffee shop, bakery or deli counter is most likely to meet, since it carries no suppression system and no second permit: a Type I hood over cooking equipment instead draws $400 on line M.2 plus $250 for the suppression system on line B.6. As with the other hood lines, the schedule prices per hood, defined as that served by a single exhaust fan. The figures come from the fee schedule adopted at the county's public meeting of 28 October 2025, following public hearings on 21 and 28 October 2025, and in effect since 1 January 2026, as the county's own news releases of 17 November and 31 December 2025 state; the PDF still carries a PROPOSED header from drafting. Like every other county building fee, it applies only in the jurisdictions on the county's jurisdictional chart: all nine townships, the cities of Brookville, Huber Heights, Riverside, Trotwood and Union (commercial only), the villages of Farmersville, New Lebanon and Phillipsburg, and WPAFB-PageManor.

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 Montgomery County Oh

• Food License Late Renewal Penalty — Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County, Office of Environmental Health, Twenty-five per cent of the local portion of the license fee, added to the total. The PHDMC 2026 Fee Schedule prints the resulting amounts: for a commercial operation under 25,000 sq ft, $61.17, $69.12, $133.70 and $169.97 at risk levels 1 to 4; at 25,000 sq ft and over, $89.16, $93.94, $337.30 and $357.66. A mobile operation carries $61.75 (high risk) or $30.88 (low risk), a pool $143.75 for the first unit and $93.75 for each additional unit, and a body art establishment $75.00., charged once for each licensing period in which the renewal is filed late, alongside the license fee itself. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, childcare centres, fitness studios and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Retail Dealer's Cigarette License — Montgomery County Auditor, Licensing Division, $125 a year, for each physical place where cigarettes are sold at retail — a state-set fee collected by the county Auditor, prorated when the application is filed after 1 June but never below $25; 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); the Auditor's own renewal window runs annually between the first Monday in May and the fourth Monday in May, and a license bought after the fourth Monday in May is prorated. Also required for coffee shops, restaurants and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Food Service Operation / Retail Food Establishment License — commercial, over 25,000 sq ft — Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County, Office of Environmental Health, Per the PHDMC Office of Environmental Health 2026 Fee Schedule, headed 'As of 12/1/2025': Risk Level 1 $384.64, Level 2 $403.74, Level 3 $1,377.20, Level 4 $1,458.64. Each total is the local fee ($356.64, $375.74, $1,349.20, $1,430.64) plus the $28.00 state fee the licensor collects and transmits to the Treasurer of State., one licensing period, 1 March to the last day of February, per ORC 3717.01(P); a license issued to a new food service operation after the first day of December does not expire until the end of the next licensing period. Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Food Service Operation / Retail Food Establishment License — commercial, under 25,000 sq ft — Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County, Office of Environmental Health, Per the PHDMC Office of Environmental Health 2026 Fee Schedule, headed 'As of 12/1/2025': Risk Level 1 $272.66, Level 2 $304.48, Level 3 $562.80, Level 4 $707.86. Each total is the local fee ($244.66, $276.48, $534.80, $679.86) plus the $28.00 state fee the licensor collects and transmits to the Treasurer of State. The same schedule prices a vending machine food service operation at $31.86 ($25.86 local plus $6.00 state)., one licensing period, which ORC 3717.01(P) defines as 'the first day of March to the last day of February of the next succeeding year'; a license issued to a new food service operation after the first day of December does not expire until the end of the next licensing period. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, childcare centres and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Temporary Food Service Operation / Temporary Food Establishment License — Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County, Office of Environmental Health, $60 per event, for a commercial temporary operation, as printed on the PHDMC Office of Environmental Health 2026 Fee Schedule; a non-commercial operator pays $30.00, and the schedule's state-fee column is blank on both lines, five consecutive days at the same address at the same event; ORC 3717.43(E)(1) allows a licensor to issue not more than ten temporary licenses per licensing period to the same person or government entity, and only one license for each particular event, and ORC 3717.43(D) makes temporary licenses non-renewable. Also required for food trucks, restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Manager (Level 2) Certification in Food Protection — Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County, Office of Environmental Health, $175 per person, for the two-day course, as printed on the PHDMC Office of Environmental Health 2026 Fee Schedule; the line carries no state fee and no penalty, a certification rather than a license; the course is two days of instruction satisfying OAC 3717-1-02.4 and OAC 3701-21-25, taught with ServSafe materials and examination. Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Food Service Plan Review (new construction and remodel) — Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County, Office of Environmental Health, Per the plan review block of the PHDMC Office of Environmental Health 2026 Fee Schedule, local fees with no state component printed: Micro Market $150.00; under 1,000 square feet $500.00; 1,000-2,499 square feet $600.00; over 2,500 square feet $750.00; consultation or remodelling $100.00 per hour., one review per project; PHDMC requires plans to be submitted 30 days prior to construction. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, childcare centres and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Commercial Demolition Permit — Montgomery County Building Regulations, $350 per permit, including two inspections (line B.11), for complete removal including slabs, foundations and footings, per permit, per project. Also required for contractors and trades, restaurants and auto repair shops; what it involves is set out on the auto repair shops page.
• Temporary Tent or Structure Permit — Montgomery County Building Regulations, $225 per permit for one tent, including one inspection (line B.12); each additional tent at the same address is $25, per permit, for the temporary installation. Also required for restaurants, food trucks and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Commercial Footing and Foundation Permit — Montgomery County Building Regulations, $500 per permit, including three inspections (line B.9); the schedule states that it 'Does not include slabs', per permit, per project. Also required for contractors and trades and restaurants; 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.