19 published records
Business licenses and permits in Plano, Texas
Plano prices food permits by risk category rather than by size or turnover, using the FDA's Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards: a Type I kitchen serving only prepackaged food pays $240 a year while a Type IV handling smoking, curing or reduced-oxygen packaging pays $640, and a large retail food store reaches $750. That makes the fee turn on what you cook rather than how much you sell, so the menu decides the bill. Two things catch operators out. Plan review is $475 for a food establishment on top of the permit, but only $275 if you are already permitted and are remodelling. And the building plan review deposit is 65 per cent of the building permit fee — payable up front, non-refundable, and credited against the total rather than added to it. Plano's fee schedules are adopted by council resolution and published through the council agenda system rather than on the department pages.
What are you opening in Plano?
- 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 Plano
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Trade Permit (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing)only if it applies to you | City of Plano Building Inspections Department | $100–$125 each, with or without plans | not stated in the published schedule | 2026-08-25 |
| Commercial Building Permit | City of Plano Building Inspections Department | $24 up to $500 valuation; $24 plus $3.00 per additional $100 to $2,000; $130 plus $9.99 per additional $1,000 to $25,000; $360 plus $8.13 per $1,000 to $50,000; $563 plus $4.54 per $1,000 to $100,000; $790 plus $3.43 per $1,000 to $500,000; $5.25 per $1,000 above $500,000 | not stated in the published schedule | 2026-08-25 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Plano Building Inspections Department | $140 per certificate | not stated in the published schedule | 2026-08-25 |
| Sign Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Plano Building Inspections Department | $150–$200 non-illuminated or illuminated | not stated in the published schedule | 2026-08-25 |
| Commercial Plan Review Deposit | City of Plano Building Inspections Department | 65% of the building permit fee | per review | 2026-08-25 |
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 Plano?
Commercial Trade Permit (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing)
$100 for each simple commercial mechanical, electrical or plumbing permit without plans, $125 with plans. Inspections are charged on top and scale with the building rather than the job: $70 up to 3,000 square feet, $90 to 10,000, $110 to 100,000 and $130 above that, for both electrical and mechanical or plumbing inspections. A plumbing site pre-build is $360. Re-inspections escalate — $75, then $100, then $125, then $150 — and must be paid before any final inspection can be scheduled.
Commercial Building Permit
Seven valuation bands, each a base plus a marginal rate, applying to new commercial building, addition, alteration, remodel and interior finish alike. A $2m fit-out lands in the top band at $5.25 per $1,000, so about $10,500 — the most expensive commercial building permit in this dataset, well above El Paso's $6,878 and Amarillo's $7,600 on the same valuation. Plano's own instruction is to round the multiplier to the nearest dollar and to calculate to a fraction thereof. A foundation-only permit adds 25 per cent of the building permit fee, capped at $2,500, and all permit fees must be paid before it issues. Fire, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and water meter permits may all be charged separately on top.
Certificate of Occupancy
$140, and the schedule is explicit that this is assessed only where there is reoccupancy without construction — the common case of a tenant taking on existing premises. Where construction is happening the certificate comes through the building permit instead. A temporary certificate is $100 plus $100 for each trade, and renews every 45 days at $100, so a project that overruns by three months on a two-trade site adds $600. Reprinting a certificate or permit placard is $20.
Sign Permit
$150 for a non-illuminated sign and $200 for an illuminated one — Plano is one of the few cities in this dataset to price the two differently, so wiring a fascia adds $50 to the permit as well as an electrical permit. A banner or promotional permit is $100. Sign contractors must register annually at $100.
Commercial Plan Review Deposit
Sixty-five per cent of the building permit fee, payable as a deposit. Read the schedule's own wording before budgeting: the deposit is applied to the total permit fee and is non-refundable, so it is not an extra 65 per cent on top — it is most of the permit fee, paid early. On the $2m example that means roughly $6,800 due at submission rather than at issue, which matters for cash flow even though it does not change the total.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- City of Plano Building Inspections Department Fee Schedule, effective 2 January 2026 (passed 10 November 2025, repealing Ordinance 2020-3-6)City of Plano · primary source · retrieved 2026-08-25
Who issues business permits in Plano?
Permitting in Plano is split across 3 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.
Plano issuing agencies
- City of Plano Building Inspections DepartmentCommercial building permits and plan review · Certificates of occupancy · Mechanical, electrical and plumbing permits · Sign permits · Contractor registration · Commercial trade inspections8 permits
- City of Plano Environmental Health & Sustainability DepartmentFood establishment permits · Temporary event and farm stand food permits · Food establishment plan review · Swimming pool and spa permits · Liquid waste hauler and grease trap permits · Entertainment venue permits8 permits
- Plano Fire-Rescue, Fire PreventionFire plan check and construction inspection · Fire protection system work · Flammable liquid and LP gas storage tank permits · Fireworks and pyrotechnics permits · Fire contractor registration3 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.