10 permits · verified 2026-08-24
What permits do you need to open a restaurant in Pearland?
In short
A restaurant in Pearland, TX has 2 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 8 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Pearland Fire Marshal's Office charges $150 per inspection for the commercial cooking inspection. 2 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.
Permits particular to a restaurant in Pearland
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Certificate for Food Related Establishments | City of Pearland Health Department | $250–$750 by risk category | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-24 |
| Commercial Cooking Inspectiononly if it applies to you | Pearland Fire Marshal's Office | $150 per inspection | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-24 |
| Temporary Food Establishment Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Pearland Health Department | $50 per permit | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-24 |
| Containment Trap and Interceptor Feeonly if it applies to you | City of Pearland Public Works, Utility Billing | $100 per year | 1 year | 2026-08-24 |
| International Fire Code Operational Permitonly if it applies to you | Pearland Fire Marshal's Office | $150 per permit | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-08-24 |
| Backflow Prevention Assembly Registrationonly if it applies to you | City of Pearland Public Works, Utility Billing | $100 per year | 1 year | 2026-08-24 |
| Mixed Beverage Permit (MB)only if it applies to you | Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission | $2,650–$5,300 per two-year period; $5,300 original, $2,650 renewal | every 2 years | 2026-08-21 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
TX registrations that apply to every type of business
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Formationonly if it applies to you | Texas Secretary of State | $300 one-time filing | no expiry | 2026-08-20 |
| Assumed Name Certificate (DBA)only if it applies to you | Texas Secretary of State | $25 one-time filing | up to ten years, renewable | 2026-08-21 |
| Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit | Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts | No fee — there is no fee for this permit | no expiry while actively engaged in business | 2026-08-21 |
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 Pearland?
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 Pearland, TX, 2 apply to every business of this type and 8 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 2 that always apply, 1 carry a flat fee, coming to $0.00. That is a floor, not a total. 2 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 particular to this business that vary:
Health Certificate for Food Related Establishments: $250–$750 by risk category
Mixed Beverage Permit (MB): $2,650–$5,300 per two-year period; $5,300 original, $2,650 renewal
Is Pearland expensive for a restaurant?
Comparing like with like — only the permits charged as a single flat fee, since a valuation formula has no figure to rank — Pearland sits where the table below puts it against every other TX jurisdiction covered here that publishes the same permit.
Temporary Food Establishment Permit: Pearland charges $50. Across 8 jurisdictions it runs from $35 in Grayson County to $62 in Austin, with a median of $51. 1 charges less, 4 charge more and 2 charge exactly the same.
Read the spread rather than the rank. Temporary Food Establishment Permit varies by $27 between the cheapest and dearest jurisdiction here, which is the sort of gap worth knowing before you sign a lease on one side of a city line rather than the other.
Which offices issue these permits in Pearland?
Permits for a restaurant in Pearland, TX come from 6 separate offices: City of Pearland Health Department, Pearland Fire Marshal's Office, City of Pearland Public Works, Utility Billing, 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.
- City of Pearland Health DepartmentIssues 2 permits on this page: Health Certificate for Food Related Establishments, Temporary Food Establishment Permit3519 Liberty Drive, Pearland, TX 77581www.pearlandtx.gov/departments/community-development/health-services/food-permits
- Pearland Fire Marshal's OfficeIssues 2 permits on this page: Commercial Cooking Inspection, International Fire Code Operational Permit2703 Veterans Drive, Pearland, TX 77584www.pearlandtx.gov/departments/fire-marshal
- City of Pearland Public Works, Utility BillingIssues 2 permits on this page: Containment Trap and Interceptor Fee, Backflow Prevention Assembly Registration3519 Liberty Drive, Pearland, TX 77581www.pearlandtx.gov/departments/public-works
- Texas Alcoholic Beverage CommissionIssues 1 permit on this page: Mixed Beverage Permit (MB)www.tabc.texas.gov
- Texas Secretary of StateIssues 2 permits on this page: Certificate of Formation, Assumed Name Certificate (DBA)www.sos.state.tx.us
- Texas Comptroller of Public AccountsIssues 1 permit on this page: Texas Sales and Use Tax Permitcomptroller.texas.gov/taxes/permit
What does a restaurant need in Pearland that other businesses do not?
1 of the 7 permits particular to a restaurant here applies to no other business type we cover in Pearland: Mixed Beverage Permit (MB).
Backflow Prevention Assembly Registration
$100 a year to register the assembly, plus $40 for each test report filed. Backflow prevention is the requirement most often discovered late, because it attaches to the plumbing rather than to the business — any premises with a connection that could contaminate the mains needs one, which in practice means most food, veterinary, automotive and irrigation-fed sites.
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 Pearland
- Health Certificate for Food Related Establishments — City of Pearland Health Department, $250–$750 by risk category, not stated in the published fee schedule. Also required for coffee shops and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
- Commercial Cooking Inspection — Pearland Fire Marshal's Office, $150 per inspection, not stated in the published fee schedule. Also required for coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
- Temporary Food Establishment Permit — City of Pearland Health Department, $50 per permit, not stated in the published fee schedule. Also required for coffee shops, food trucks and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
- Containment Trap and Interceptor Fee — City of Pearland Public Works, Utility Billing, $100 per year, 1 year. Also required for coffee shops and auto repair shops; what it involves is set out on the auto repair shops page.
- International Fire Code Operational Permit — Pearland Fire Marshal's Office, $150 per permit, not stated in the published fee schedule. Also required for retail stores, auto repair shops, contractors and trades and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the auto repair shops page.
The 3 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across TX and are covered on the TX state page.
How does a restaurant compare with other businesses in Pearland?
The closest match is a coffee shop, which shares 5 of these permits. A restaurant also needs International Fire Code Operational Permit and Mixed Beverage Permit (MB). A coffee shop needs nothing here that a restaurant does not.
| Business | Its own permits | Shared with a restaurant | Only a restaurant needs | Only it needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coffee shops | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Retail stores | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Auto repair shops | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Fitness studios | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| Veterinary clinics | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Food trucks | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| Contractors and trades | 5 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| Childcare centres | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
Sources
Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits shared with other businesses are listed with their explanations on the coffee shops page, retail stores page and auto repair shops page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Pearland permits page and the TX state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- City of Pearland Ordinance No. 1358-33, Exhibit A Fee Schedule, passed on second and final reading 22 June 2026City of Pearland, filed with Texas Department of State Health Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-24
- Two-Year Licensing Fees — TABCTexas Alcoholic Beverage Commission · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-22
Related
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.