What permits do you need to open a retail store in San Antonio?

Coin-Operated Amusement Machine Decal

$15 per machine per year, pro-rated to $7.50 for a decal issued after 30 November, and every decal expires on 31 May regardless of when it was issued. Releasing a sealed machine costs $5. A bar or arcade with a dozen machines is looking at $180 a year on a fixed May expiry — easy to forget and cheap to fix.

Zoning Change

$795 up to half an acre, $1,770 to 5 acres, $3,182 to 10, $5,620 to 25, $5,814 to 50 and $5,930 above 50 acres, plus $120 per acre over 25, capped at $11,500. Postponing a zoning case is $405 and a continuance $405. If you need it faster, the expedited track is roughly double at every band — $1,560 up to half an acre rising to $11,400 above 25 acres, with a $23,000 cap — which is the largest expedite premium in this dataset.

Food Establishment Permit

$310 up to $49,999 in gross annual food sales; $618 from $50,000 to $149,999; $928 at $150,000 or more. San Antonio sits within a dollar or two of Austin at every band, and roughly 20% above the DSHS standard used by Dallas, Fort Worth and Tarrant County. A for-profit school contractor pays $240.

Alcohol Variance

$300 to seek a variance from the distance rules that keep alcohol sales away from schools, churches and hospitals. Cheaper than Arlington's $1,000 alcohol distance appeal. Needed before the state license can proceed where the site fails the separation requirement.

Wine and Beer Retailer's License — City Fee

$1,000 for the original license and $750 at the second and subsequent renewals, each running two years. A beer retailer's on-premise license is priced identically. The off-premise versions are far cheaper — $60 for a wine and malt beverage retailer's off-premise permit and $60 for a beer retailer's off-premise license — so a shop selling for consumption elsewhere pays a fraction of what a bar pays.

Credit Access Business License

$50 a year — half what Waco charges for the same registration. A credit access business, meaning payday and title lending, licenses with the city on top of its state authorisation.

Short-Term Rental Registration

$300 to register a Type 1 short-term rental and $450 for a Type 2, with renewals at exactly the same figures. Type 1 is broadly an owner-occupied property and Type 2 one that is not, which is why the city charges half as much again for the latter. A special exception appeal to the Board of Adjustment is $400.

Vacant Structure Registration

$750 a year for a commercial or other non-single-family vacant structure, against $250 for a vacant single-family home, plus an annual inspection at $0.01 a square foot with a $50 minimum. Registration is due within 90 days and late registration adds $150. This is the cost of holding an empty commercial building in San Antonio, and it is one very few owners budget for.

Health Licensing Inspection — Change of Ownership

$150 for the pre-permitting inspection of an existing food establishment when ownership changes and a new permit is needed but no new certificate of occupancy is required — the cheaper of the two routes through a restaurant acquisition, and worth establishing early which one applies. A food permit more than 30 days overdue adds a $100 late fee, and replacing lost permit documentation is $15.

Sign Operator's License

$100 for an on-premises sign operator's license and $375 for an off-premises one, each renewing at the same figure. A master sign electrician renews the city license at $125. Off-premises signs also carry annual inspection fees — $50 up to 300 sq ft and $75 from 300 to 672 sq ft — and a digital off-premises sign is inspected annually at $200 to $400 by size, which is a standing cost a billboard operator has to carry.

Package Store Permit — City Fee

$500 for two years, against $75 for a wine-only package store permit. A brewpub license is $500, a local distributor's permit $100, a bonded warehouse permit $150 and a promotional permit $300. At the top end, a wholesaler's permit is $1,875 and a manufacturer's agent's warehousing permit $750.

Shared with other businesses in San Antonio

• Food Establishment Re-inspection Fee — San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, $150 per re-inspection, per inspection. Also required for coffee shops and restaurants; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Non-Conforming Use Registration — City of San Antonio Development Services Department, $350 new application, including letter, one year; annual renewal is $150 including the letter. Also required for restaurants, auto repair shops and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Building and Fire Code Appeal — City of San Antonio Development Services Department, $155 per appeal, one-time, per appeal. Also required for restaurants, fitness studios and contractors and trades; what it involves is set out on the fitness studios page.
• On-Premises Sign Permit — City of San Antonio Development Services Department, $10.80 up to 32 sq ft of sign area, then $10.80 plus $0.22 per sq ft above 32; plus a height fee of $2.00 per foot of height, not stated in the published fee schedule. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, salons and barbers, auto repair shops, fitness studios and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the auto repair shops page.
• Landscape Plan Review — City of San Antonio Development Services Department, $175–$1,000 by site acreage, one-time, per review. Also required for restaurants, fitness studios and contractors and trades; what it involves is set out on the contractors and trades page.
• Temporary Commercial Certificate of Occupancy — City of San Antonio Development Services Department, $500 per certificate, extendable at $100 per extension. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the fitness studios page.
• Certificate of Occupancy — Tent — City of San Antonio Development Services Department, $100 per tent, per event. Also required for restaurants, food trucks and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Commercial Demolition Permit — City of San Antonio Development Services Department, $100–$650 by number of storeys, not stated in the published fee schedule. Also required for restaurants and contractors and trades; what it involves is set out on the contractors and trades page.
• Zoning Verification Letter — City of San Antonio Development Services Department, $350 per letter, one-time, per letter. Also required for restaurants, auto repair shops, fitness studios, childcare centres, veterinary clinics and salons and barbers; what it involves is set out on the veterinary clinics page.
• Conditional Use Authorisation — City of San Antonio Development Services Department, $300 per application, one-time, per application. Also required for restaurants, auto repair shops, childcare centres, veterinary clinics and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the auto repair shops page.