21 published records
Business licenses and permits in Killeen, Texas
Bell County. Killeen prices commercial construction by floor area rather than valuation, and the headline rate is genuinely all-in: the per-square-foot fee covers structure, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and the required inspections in one permit. Retail food is the confusing part — the city charges $125 a year for a Food Dealer's Permit while Bell County Public Health separately permits retail food establishments county-wide by employee count. Permits are filed through the MGO Connect portal.
What are you opening in Killeen?
- 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 Killeen
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Trade Permit | City of Killeen Development Services | $50–$90 per unit, by trade | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-24 |
| Commercial Remodel and Repair Permit | City of Killeen Development Services | $0.24 per square foot, minimum $200 | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-24 |
| Commercial Building Permit | City of Killeen Development Services | $0.20 per square foot, minimum $200 | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-24 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Killeen Development Services | $90 per issuance | does not expire; a partial or temporary certificate runs 30 days | 2026-08-24 |
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 Killeen?
Commercial Trade Permit
Where a trade is permitted on its own rather than inside a building permit: building $90 per unit, electrical $50, mechanical $50 and plumbing $50. Plan review is $185, and the schedule states it applies when two or more permit types are requested at the same time — so pulling three trades together costs $185 once, not three times. A partial inspection is $35 and a failed inspection of any kind is a $50 penalty.
Commercial Remodel and Repair Permit
Killeen charges MORE to remodel than to build new — $0.24 a square foot against $0.20 — which is the reverse of most Texas cities and worth knowing when comparing a fit-out against new construction. Plan review is $0.04 a square foot either way. As with new construction, the fee bundles structure, electrical, mechanical and plumbing with the inspections.
Commercial Building Permit
Twenty cents a square foot with a $200 floor, and the schedule is explicit about what that buys: permits for structure, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and the required inspections, all in one. It does NOT cover fences, storage buildings, accessory structures, lawn irrigation, temporary poles, landscape, whole-house water softeners, swimming pools or plan review — those are permitted and charged separately. Plan review is a further $0.04 a square foot. A $10 technology and application fee is added to most permits.
Certificate of Occupancy
$90 for a new certificate — one of the cheapest in this dataset, against $200 in San Antonio and $100 in Arlington and Frisco. The escalation on temporary certificates is where Killeen gets expensive: $100 for the first 30 days, $200 for a second 30-day extension and $270 for a third or any subsequent one. Running three extensions costs $570 on top of the original.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Development Services permit fees — Adopted Annual Budget, effective 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026City of Killeen · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
Who issues business permits in Killeen?
We hold records from one agency for Killeen, alongside the state-level registrations every Texas business needs. Permitting here is split between local and state offices, so check which authority covers your address before you file.
Killeen issuing agencies
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.