20 published records
Business licenses and permits in Houston, Texas
Harris County, with parts in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties. The City of Houston operates its own health department, so city food dealer permits apply inside the city limits rather than Harris County Public Health permits.
What are you opening in Houston?
- RestaurantsFull-service restaurants carry the densest permit load of any small business: food, fire, occupancy, waste, and usually alcohol.See the full permit list
- Coffee shopsCafés are permitted as food service establishments even where no cooking happens, and the plan review step catches most operators by surprise.See the full permit list
- Retail storesRetail is the lightest common permit load, but the sales tax permit and the certificate of occupancy are non-negotiable in every jurisdiction.See the full permit list
- Salons and barbersPersonal care is licensed at state board level as well as locally, so the shop license and the practitioner licenses are separate obligations.See the full permit list
- Food trucksMobile food is the one category with no certificate of occupancy — but it gains a commissary agreement, and the unit itself is inspected rather than the premises.See the full permit list
- Fitness studiosPrepaid memberships trigger state registration and often a surety bond, which catches operators who budgeted only for the fit-out.See the full permit list
- Childcare centresThe heaviest permit load of any small business: state agency licensing, per-person background checks, and a stricter fire standard than ordinary commercial use.See the full permit list
- Contractors and tradesLicensed at state board level rather than locally, and the only common category with no premises permits at all — the bond is usually the long pole.See the full permit list
- Auto repair shopsOrdinary commercial permitting plus an environmental layer: waste oil, solvents and stormwater are each registered separately.See the full permit list
- Veterinary clinicsA state facility permit, controlled substances registration at both state and federal level, and a medical waste manifest — none of which a general business license covers.See the full permit list
Permits that apply to every type of business in Houston
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Occupancy | Houston Public Works | $94–$537.12 one-time, by building and floor area | one-time | 2026-08-22 |
| Fire Alarm Permitonly if it applies to you | Houston Fire Department | $67.13–$100.71 new, or renewal | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-22 |
| Temporary Certificate of Occupancyonly if it applies to you | Houston Public Works | $94 one-time | maximum of 30 calendar days | 2026-08-22 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
What do these permits involve in Houston?
Certificate of Occupancy
An individual business lease space is $94.00 (Sec. 118.1.4). A certificate for an existing building starts at $537.12 for the first story, plus $134.28 for each additional story and $0.01 for each square foot above 10,000 (capped at 200,000 sq ft). Retail or office space under 3,000 sq ft is $94.00 when inspected at the same time as the core, but $268.56 as a separate inspection — worth sequencing. A re-validation inspection, a name-change revision, an address-change revision and a duplicate copy are each $94.00.
Fire Alarm Permit
$100.71 for a new permit, $67.13 to renew. A false alarm response is charged at $483.40 where the site is not permitted or the permit's allowance of calls has been used up, plus a $145.01 collection fee (Sec. 11-19) — holding a current permit is what keeps that from applying.
Temporary Certificate of Occupancy
$94.00, valid for a maximum of 30 calendar days. Useful to open while a punch list is closed out, not a substitute for the full certificate.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- City-Wide Fee ScheduleCity of Houston, Finance Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
Who issues business permits in Houston?
Permitting in Houston is split across 4 agencies we hold records for, with tax registration handled at state level. No single office issues everything, which is why an opening usually means filing in several places rather than one.
Houston issuing agencies
- Houston Health DepartmentFood dealer permits · Mobile food unit medallions · Temporary and farmers market food permits · Food handler and food service manager certification · Food establishment plan review9 permits
- Houston Public WorksBuilding permits · Certificate of occupancy · Industrial waste permits · Wastewater and sewer5 permits
- Houston Fire DepartmentFire code operational permits · Life safety inspections · Fire alarm permits · Places of assembly4 permits
- City of Houston Administration and Regulatory AffairsOccupation licenses · Street vendor permits · Common market licenses2 permits
Other Texas jurisdictions we cover
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.