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13 permits · verified 2026-08-25

What permits do you need to open a restaurant in Amarillo?

In short

A restaurant in Amarillo, TX has 6 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 7 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. City of Amarillo Building Safety Department charges $114 per permit for the sign permit. 4 of the 13 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-08-25 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a restaurant in Amarillo

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Food Establishment PermitAmarillo Area Public Health District, Environmental Health Department$258–$773 per year, by gross annual food sales1 year from the date of application2026-08-25
Fats, Oils and Grease PermitAmarillo Area Public Health District, Environmental Health Department$145 per establishment, per year1 year2026-08-25
On-Site Sewage Facility (OSSF) Permitonly if it applies to youAmarillo Area Public Health District, Environmental Health Department$900 per commercial facility1 year from the date of issuance2026-08-25
Wrecking and Moving Permitonly if it applies to youCity of Amarillo Building Safety Department$114 per permitnot stated in the codified schedule2026-08-25
Mixed Beverage Permit (MB)only if it applies to youTexas Alcoholic Beverage Commission$2,650–$5,300 per two-year period; $5,300 original, $2,650 renewalevery 2 years2026-08-21

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

Local permits that apply to every type of business in Amarillo

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Commercial Plan ReviewCity of Amarillo Building Safety DepartmentVaries — formula on the Amarillo pageplan review expires 180 days after the last correction notice2026-08-25
Sign Permitonly if it applies to youCity of Amarillo Building Safety Department$114 per permitnot stated in the codified schedule2026-08-25
Commercial Building PermitCity of Amarillo Building Safety DepartmentVaries — formula on the Amarillo pagenot stated in the codified schedule2026-08-25
Re-inspection Feeonly if it applies to youCity of Amarillo Building Safety Department$70 per re-inspectionper inspection2026-08-25
Certificate of OccupancyCity of Amarillo Building Safety Department$151 per review and inspectionnot stated in the codified schedule2026-08-25

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

TX registrations that apply to every type of business

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Certificate of Formationonly if it applies to youTexas Secretary of State$300 one-time filingno expiry2026-08-20
Assumed Name Certificate (DBA)only if it applies to youTexas Secretary of State$25 one-time filingup to ten years, renewable2026-08-21
Texas Sales and Use Tax PermitTexas Comptroller of Public AccountsNo fee — there is no fee for this permitno expiry while actively engaged in business2026-08-21

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

How much does it actually cost to permit a restaurant in Amarillo?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 13 records listed for a restaurant in Amarillo, TX, 6 apply to every business of this type and 7 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

Of the 6 that always apply, 3 carry a flat fee, coming to $296.00. That is a floor, not a total. 4 of the 13 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 0 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

Food Establishment Permit: $258–$773 per year, by gross annual food sales

Mixed Beverage Permit (MB): $2,650–$5,300 per two-year period; $5,300 original, $2,650 renewal

The other 2 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Amarillo permits page and the TX state page.

Is Amarillo expensive for a restaurant?

Comparing like with like — only the permits charged as a single flat fee, since a valuation formula has no figure to rank — Amarillo sits where the table below puts it against every other TX jurisdiction covered here that publishes the same permit.

Certificate of Occupancy: Amarillo charges $151. Across 22 jurisdictions it runs from $50 in Waco to $425 in Universal City, with a median of $105. 17 charge less and 4 charge more.

Sign Permit: Amarillo charges $114. Across 5 jurisdictions it runs from $75 in Lubbock to $114 here, with a median of $88. Nowhere else covered here charges more.

Read the spread rather than the rank. Certificate of Occupancy varies by $375 between the cheapest and dearest jurisdiction here, which is the sort of gap worth knowing before you sign a lease on one side of a city line rather than the other.

Which offices issue these permits in Amarillo?

Permits for a restaurant in Amarillo, TX come from 5 separate offices: City of Amarillo Building Safety Department, Amarillo Area Public Health District, Environmental Health Department, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Texas Secretary of State, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

What does a restaurant need in Amarillo that other businesses do not?

1 of the 5 permits particular to a restaurant here applies to no other business type we cover in Amarillo: Mixed Beverage Permit (MB).

Fats, Oils and Grease Permit

$145 a year per establishment — the highest standing grease permit in this dataset, against $100 a year in Pearland. Biological Oxygen Demand and Total Suspended Solids testing are charged separately at industry cost rather than at a set rate, so a kitchen whose discharge needs testing has an open-ended item here. Any commercial kitchen with an interceptor needs this on top of the food establishment permit.

Mixed Beverage Permit (MB)

Read directly from the TABC two-year licensing fee schedule: Mixed Beverage Permit (MB) $5,300 original, $2,650 renewal, charged on a two-year cycle. A Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer's Permit (BG) is $1,900 if you do not need spirits. Note a widely-cited competitor lists $6,006 for this permit, which does not appear in the TABC schedule.

Shared with other businesses in Amarillo

  • Food Establishment Permit — Amarillo Area Public Health District, Environmental Health Department, $258–$773 per year, by gross annual food sales, 1 year from the date of application. Also required for coffee shops and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
  • On-Site Sewage Facility (OSSF) Permit — Amarillo Area Public Health District, Environmental Health Department, $900 per commercial facility, 1 year from the date of issuance. Also required for contractors and trades and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the contractors and trades page.
  • Wrecking and Moving Permit — City of Amarillo Building Safety Department, $114 per permit, not stated in the codified schedule. Also required for contractors and trades and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.

The other 5 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Amarillo, TX; what each one involves is set out on the Amarillo permits page. The 3 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across TX and are covered on the TX state page.

How does a restaurant compare with other businesses in Amarillo?

The closest match is a retail store, which shares 4 of these permits. A restaurant also needs Mixed Beverage Permit (MB). A retail store needs Flammable Liquids Tank and Pump Installation Permit and Commercial Swimming Pool, Spa and Water Feature Permit, which a restaurant does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Amarillo, TX, compared with a restaurant
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a restaurantOnly a restaurant needsOnly it needs
Retail stores6412
Coffee shops2230
Contractors and trades4232
Auto repair shops1051
Childcare centres2052
Fitness studios2052
Salons and barbers1051
Veterinary clinics1051

Sources

Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits shared with other businesses are listed with their explanations on the coffee shops page, contractors and trades page and retail stores page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Amarillo permits page and the TX state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Amarillo Municipal Code Chapter 8-5, Public and Environmental Health, including section 8-5-15 FeesCity of Amarillo · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-25
  2. Two-Year Licensing Fees — TABCTexas Alcoholic Beverage Commission · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22

Related

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.