Commercial Compliance Hub

10 permits · verified 2026-08-24

What permits do you need to open a restaurant in Brazos County?

In short

A restaurant in Brazos County, TX has 4 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 6 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Brazos County Health District, Environmental Health Services charges $100 per year for the farmer's market permit. 4 of the 10 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-08-24 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

The permits at a glance

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Farmer's Market Permitonly if it applies to youBrazos County Health District, Environmental Health Services$100 per year1 year minimum, by statute2026-08-24
New City Food Permit (College Station and Bryan)Brazos County Health District, Environmental Health Services$500–$700 first year, by riskfirst year, prorated by quarter2026-08-24
Temporary Food Service Permitonly if it applies to youBrazos County Health District, Environmental Health Services$52–$200 single, seasonal or multi-event14 consecutive days at one location, 3 per year2026-08-24
On-Site Sewage Facility (OSSF) Permitonly if it applies to youBrazos County Health District, Environmental Health Services$570 per new commercial applicationper application2026-08-24
Food Handler ClassBrazos County Health District, Environmental Health Services$10 per personnot stated in the published schedule2026-08-24
Food Establishment PermitBrazos County Health District, Environmental Health Services$350–$675 per year, by risk and size1 year2026-08-24
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
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 Brazos County?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 10 records listed for a restaurant in Brazos County, TX, 4 apply to every business of this type and 6 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 4 that always apply, 2 carry a flat fee, coming to $10.00. That is a floor, not a total. 4 of the 10 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 0 have no fee published at all. The ones that vary:

New City Food Permit (College Station and Bryan): $500–$700 first year, by risk

Temporary Food Service Permit: $52–$200 single, seasonal or multi-event

Food Establishment Permit: $350–$675 per year, by risk and size

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

Which offices issue these permits in Brazos County?

Permits for a restaurant in Brazos County, TX come from 4 separate offices: Brazos County Health District, Environmental Health Services, 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.

Is anything about these requirements changing?

$100, the state ceiling. Under section 437.0065 the permit runs at least a year and covers sales at every farmers' market, farm stand and farm within the district, so one permit covers both College Station and Bryan markets.

$500 for low risk with no food preparation, $700 for medium or high risk where food is prepared or served. This is the opening cost and it is a bundle: plan review, walk-through inspection, opening inspection and compliance inspections for the first year, prorated by quarter — so opening in the fourth quarter costs a quarter of the fee. It replaces rather than adds to the annual permit for year one; the risk-and-size grid takes over at first renewal, at which point a high-risk large operation drops from $700 to $675.

$52 for fourteen consecutive days at one location, capped at three such permits a year — a limit most jurisdictions do not impose, and the reason a regular trader has to move up the ladder rather than repeat-buying. Above it sit a seasonal permit at $175 for four consecutive months and a multi-event permit at $200. A roadside vendor, where all food must be prepared and packaged at a permitted establishment, is $258.

$570 for a new commercial application, against $445 residential. An expedite fee of $100 guarantees review within three business days, a modification or repair is $100, and a reinspection issued for non-compliance is $100. This applies to premises on septic rather than mains sewer, which outside College Station and Bryan is common — and it is the cost most often missing from a rural site budget.

$10 per person, run in English and Spanish by the district itself. Budget per member of staff. The schedule does not state how long the certification lasts.

A nine-cell grid: risk 1 low, 2 medium, 3 high, crossed with size A small (1–10 employees), B medium (11–50) and C large (over 50). Low risk runs $350, $375 and $400; medium risk $500, $525 and $550; high risk $625, $650 and $675. Risk moves the fee far more than size does — going from low to high adds $275, while going from small to large adds only $50 — so the kitchen's menu matters more to the bill than its headcount. A registered 501(c)(3) non-profit food establishment pays no fee. A follow-up or reinspection is $150 and a transfer of ownership with an existing permit is $250.

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.

Required to form an LLC or corporation, not to trade as a sole proprietor. Texas has no statewide general business licence, so for many businesses this filing plus a sales and use tax permit is the entire state-level obligation.

Only needed if you trade under a name different from the one on your formation filing. The certificate is effective for a term not exceeding ten years from the date of filing and does not roll over by itself — it must be actively renewed, and a new certificate can be filed within six months of the original expiring. The $25 is the Secretary of State fee; sole proprietors and general partnerships file with the county clerk instead, at county rates.

There is no fee for this permit — the Comptroller says so directly, which is worth stating because a blank fee reads as though nobody knows. It does not expire on a date, but it is not permanent either: it is valid only while you are actively engaged in business as a seller, and the Comptroller's office may cancel it on finding that you are not. Filing obligations keep it alive, so a return must be filed for every period even when there were no taxable sales or purchases to report. Apply through Comptroller eSystems and allow two to three weeks.

Sources

Every figure above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Brazos County Health District Retail Food Permit Fees, revised August 2025 (filed with Texas DSHS 1 September 2025)Brazos County Health District, filed with Texas Department of State Health Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
  2. Two-Year Licensing Fees — TABCTexas Alcoholic Beverage Commission · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
  3. Formation of Texas Entities FAQs - Texas Secretary of StateTexas Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
  4. Form 503 - Instructions for Assumed Name CertificateTexas Secretary of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
  5. Sales and Use Tax Permit — Texas ComptrollerTexas Comptroller of Public Accounts · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-20

Related

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