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

Food Establishment License (Retail Food Operation Permit)

Under Laredo Code section 13-34, no food products establishment may operate in the city without a retail food operation permit from the Public Health Department unless it holds a Texas DSHS permit or is a licensed food manufacturer. The fee is tiered by gross annual food sales. Section 13-39(a) (Ord. No. 2025-O-141) and the Health Department's Permits and Fees page agree on $129.00 for sales under $50,000 and $386.50 for sales of $150,000 or more. For the middle band ($50,000 to $149,999.99) the code prints one amount and the Health Department page, which dates the tier structure from September 1, 2025, prints another, so no middle-band figure is given. Section 13-39 adds a $100.00 late fee for a renewal filed after expiry and $20.00 to replace a license, and both Health Department pages list a one-time $100.00 application (processing) fee. The license expires on 15 August; a license for part of a year is charged pro rata but never less than half the annual fee (section 13-40), and it must be posted in the establishment (section 13-42). The Health Department's list of businesses needing its permit includes commercial adult and child day care facilities. State law caps the total: under Health and Safety Code section 437.0126 a city may not charge more a year, processing fees included, than DSHS charges for two years, which the DSHS permits page sets at $258, $515 and $773 for the same sales bands.

Temporary Food Establishment Permit

$52.00 for each food booth or unit, valid for fourteen consecutive days from its effective date, under Laredo Code section 13-39(d); the Health Department's fee schedule and its Permits and Fees page give the same $52.00 and fourteen days. The Permits and Fees page says this temporary license covers plate sales and special events, is valid for the same location and event, that food may not be prepared at home, and that food must be prepared on site or obtained from a licensed establishment, with receipts or a donation letter brought in as proof.

Food Handler Certificate

Laredo Code section 13-56(a) makes it unlawful to employ anyone in a food establishment unless that person holds a valid food handler's certificate, and section 13-58 sets $25.00 for a certificate from the Health Department's course and $5.00 for a duplicate, each certificate running two years. The Health Department's fee schedule and Permits and Fees page list the same $25.00 and $5.00; the course runs Tuesdays at 2:00 pm and Fridays at 9:00 am, and the Permits and Fees page also lists online food handler courses run by other providers. For training at the business's own site, section 13-58(f) and the Permits and Fees page describe the charge differently, so no on-site figure is given. Health and Safety Code section 437.0045 limits a city to the certifications DSHS would require of the same employee.

Vent Hood Extinguishing System Permit and Plan Review

Laredo Code section 12-81 Exhibit A lists plan review for a vent hood system at $180.00 per hood, under the plan review heading of the Fire Department's fee schedule (last amended by Ord. No. 2024-O-211). The Fire Department Permits Office page publishes a Vent Hood Extinguishing System Permit Application alongside its other system permit applications. A kitchen that cooks under a commercial hood with a fire-suppression system needs this review; a coffee shop or restaurant without a hood system does not.

Special Use Permit — Restaurant Serving Alcohol (R-O, B-1 and B-3 districts)

The City's Building Development Services Business Application form (updated 01/2026) states that no restaurant serving alcohol may operate in an R-O (Residential/Office), B-1 (Limited Commercial) or B-3 (Community Business) zoning district without a Special Use Permit granted by the City Council, and that establishments serving alcohol may not be within 300 feet of any church, public school, public park, residential structure or residential zoning district, measured from the establishment's front door to the nearest property line. Laredo Land Development Code Appendix B-3 sets the application fee for a Special Use Permit at $400.00. A restaurant that does not serve alcohol, or one in another zoning district, does not need this 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 Laredo

• Vending Permit — City of Laredo Building Development Services Department, $100–$500 per permit, by whose property, 6 weeks, one renewal. Also required for retail stores and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.