What permits do you need to open a coffee shop in Skagit County?

Food & Beverage Worker Permit (Food Worker Card)

Food workers at restaurants, coffee shops and food trucks in Washington hold a state food worker card, and the fee is set by state rule, not by the county: WAC 246-217-025(2) states that 'Each applicant for a food worker card must pay a fee in the amount of ten dollars.' Skagit County Public Health's Schedule of Charges, as published on the county's Permit Fee Schedule page, lists the 'Food & beverage workers permit' at '$10.00 (or as set by WAC 246-217-025)' and a reprint of an active card at $5.00. The $10 is the state-set amount and the same figure applies in every Washington county; the county lists it because its Environmental Health office administers the card locally. The reprint charge is the county's own schedule figure. Contact Environmental Health at 360-416-1500 with questions about the card in Skagit County.

Food Establishment Permit

The state writes the retail food code and prices nothing — the whole chapter contains no dollar figure anywhere. The local board of health, acting through the local health officer, is the regulatory authority, and each of the thirty-five local health jurisdictions sets its own schedule capped at actual cost. They do not even band the same way: King County crosses establishment type with seat count and a three-level risk category, from $441 to $1,386; Spokane bands by complexity, $290 basic, $380 limited and $850 complex; Pierce County bands by seats from $1,080 up to $2,400 for a large buffet. King County's permit year runs from 1 April and prorates by quarter. Plan review is separately and substantially charged — a thousand dollars and upward in King County. A single Washington restaurant permit fee does not exist and any figure offered as one is invented.

Food Worker Card

Ten dollars, and unusually the card is issued locally but valid across the whole state — the exam is uniform and any legally issued card works everywhere in Washington. The term rewards staying current: two years for a first card, three on renewal, and five if you document additional food safety training within the previous two years. One warning worth repeating because the state itself repeats it: there is exactly one authorised online provider, foodworkercard.wa.gov, and other sites offering a similar card are not valid in Washington. You may renew up to sixty days early. This is a separate thing from the certified food protection manager requirement in the food code.

Shared with other businesses in Skagit County

• Annual Food Establishment Permit (fixed, mobile and independent catering) — Skagit County Public Health, Environmental Health, $335–$625 a year by risk level (2026 column of the Public Health Schedule of Charges; the 2026 application's '2026 Food Establishment Annual Permit Fees'): Risk Level 1 $335, Risk Level 2 $535, Risk Level 3 $625; surcharges listed in the notes, annual; the county invoices about one month before the permit expires. Also required for restaurants, food trucks and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
• Food Establishment Plan Review — Skagit County Public Health, Environmental Health, $360–$745 per project (2026 column of the Public Health Schedule of Charges): Tier 1 $360, Tier 2 $515, Tier 3 $745, each including one pre-opening inspection; reviews over 5 hours at the $130 hourly rate, one-time per project. Also required for restaurants and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Temporary, Seasonal and Multi-Event Food Establishment Permits — Skagit County Public Health, Environmental Health, 2026 column of the Public Health Schedule of Charges: single event — low-risk menu $120, standard menu $185; seasonal at a single location — low-risk $245, standard $340; multi-event/multi-location — low-risk $275, standard $400; food sampler/demonstrator (low-risk menu) $65; umbrella permit for a temporary food event, maximum 10 participants, $400 for the first 3 hours; exempt-from-permit application review $35. Late fee: $60 for an application submitted 10 to 6 business days before the event, $120 for one submitted 5 or fewer business days before. A temporary food vendor operating without a permit pays double the permit fee plus an amount equal to the 5-day late fee., Event Permit: one event at a single location for up to 21 consecutive days; Market Permit: one recurring seasonal event at a single location operating no more than 3 days per week. Also required for restaurants and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.