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

Seasonal Market Permit

$200 per booth per venue, for an operation running 15 to 180 days. The break-even against temporary permits is about two events: at $104 a booth per event, a vendor doing three or more dated events in a season is better off on the seasonal permit. A farmers' market permit, covering application review and inspection, is priced separately at $100 for the year.

Fire Permit

Banded on project valuation, not on the fire system's own cost: $250 up to $10,000; $400 above $10,000 to $50,000; $600 to $250,000; $950 to $500,000; $1,200 to $1,000,000; $1,700 to $3,000,000; $2,500 to $6,000,000; and above $6,000,000, $2,500 plus $0.50 for each additional $1,000. A non-refundable plan review fee is added only where the plans have not already been reviewed by an approved third party organisation, so engaging a TPO genuinely removes a charge here. The certificate of occupancy schedule notes separately that a fire code inspection fee is collected with the building inspection fee where one applies.

Food Establishment Change of Ownership

$350. Health permits in Arlington are non-transferable, so this is not paperwork on an existing permit — the buyer applies for a new certificate of occupancy and a new health permit, and must pass a permitting inspection before operating. Anyone modelling the cost of buying a restaurant here should carry this plus the certificate of occupancy plus the first operating permit, not just the purchase price.

Catering Permit

$225 a year, and a catering vehicle permit is the same $225. Cheaper than the fixed establishment permit at every priority level, which matters for a restaurant adding off-site catering: it is an additional permit rather than a re-rating of the one already held.

Zoning Change

$1,200 under an acre, $1,500 from one to under five acres, $2,000 from five to under ten, and $3,000 at ten acres or more. A zoning change request sign is a further $100 each, renotification $125, and a zoning pre-application meeting $200. If the site carries an LPO overlay, add $250 plus $50 an acre, capped at $5,000.

Food Establishment Plan Review

$500 for new construction or a major remodel — the single largest health charge on opening a restaurant in Arlington, and larger than the first year's operating permit. Commercial building plans go in for review against both the building and the health code, and the health final inspection must pass before the building final can be requested, which puts this on the critical path rather than beside it.

Food Handler Permit

$16 per person, required every two years — the cheapest recurring compliance cost in this table, and the one most often missed when staff turn over. A summer feeding programme organisation registers separately at $50, and revising an issued permit is $25.

Grease Interceptor Plumbing Permit

$60 to install or replace each interceptor — grease, sand, oil or lint — on top of the $100 base plumbing permit where the work is not attached to a building permit. Cheap against the fit-out it belongs to, and the same rate covers the sand and oil interceptors an auto repair shop needs and the lint interceptor a laundry needs. Total plumbing charges are capped at $600 per building address.

Temporary Outdoor Event Permit

$100 for an outdoor event up to 500 attendees. Larger events are charged on attendance bands in the same schedule, which also sets three charges worth knowing before you plan: traffic control plan review is $150 where the event affects a street, right of way or footway and covers review by several departments; an event inside the Entertainment District carries an additional $2,000; and pre-application event coordination is $500 per meeting, required above 5,000 attendees. Submitting inside 45 days of the event adds $100.

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 Arlington

• Specific Use Permit or Planned Development — City of Arlington Planning and Development Services, $2,400 under 1 acre; $3,000 + $200 per acre from 1 to under 5; $4,000 + $150 per acre from 5 to under 10; $6,000 + $75 per acre at 10 acres or more, one-time, per application. Also required for retail stores, auto repair shops, fitness studios, childcare centres and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the fitness studios page.
• Food Establishment Master Permit — City of Arlington Health Services, $240–$340 per year, by inspection priority, one year from the date of issuance. Also required for retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• Food Establishment Operating Permit — City of Arlington Health Services, $300–$425 per year, by inspection priority, one year from the date of issuance. Also required for coffee shops and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• Central Preparation Facility Permit — City of Arlington Health Services, $325 per year, one year from the date of issuance. Also required for food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Temporary Food Establishment Permit — City of Arlington Health Services, $52 per booth, per event, 1 to 14 days, tied to a permitted special event. Also required for coffee shops, food trucks and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• On-Site Sewage System Installation Permit — City of Arlington Health Services, $250 per application, one-time, per application. Also required for retail stores, veterinary clinics and contractors and trades; what it involves is set out on the veterinary clinics page.
• Backflow Prevention Device Permit — City of Arlington Planning and Development Services, $30 per device, first device, one-time, per installation. Also required for coffee shops, retail stores, auto repair shops, salons and barbers, veterinary clinics and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the fitness studios page.
• Zoning Verification Letter — City of Arlington Planning and Development Services, $75 per site, one-time, per site. Also required for retail stores, auto repair shops, fitness studios, childcare centres, veterinary clinics and salons and barbers; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• Commercial Site Plan Review — City of Arlington Planning and Development Services, $1,000 per review, one-time, per application. Also required for retail stores, auto repair shops, fitness studios and contractors and trades; what it involves is set out on the auto repair shops page.