Food License in Florida: Fees, Inspection, and Renewal

To get a food license in Florida, you apply to one of three state agencies based on what your business does, complete a plan review of your facility, designate a Certified Food Protection Manager, submit the application with the required fees, and pass a pre-opening inspection. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) licenses restaurants and food service establishments, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) licenses grocery stores and wholesale food operations, and the Department of Health (DOH) licenses food service in institutional settings. Picking the wrong agency is the most common way to lose weeks at the start, so that decision comes first.

Which Agency Regulates Your Business

Florida splits food regulation three ways, and the split follows what you do with food rather than what you sell.

DBPR licenses public food service establishments under Chapter 509 — places where food is prepared, served, or sold for immediate consumption.¹ Sit-down restaurants, fast-food counters, catering operations, food trucks, and bars serving prepared food all fall here. If a customer can eat what you make on or near the premises, or you prepare it for pickup or delivery, you almost certainly apply to DBPR.²

FDACS covers two different worlds. On the wholesale side, it regulates food manufacturing, processing, packing, storing, and distribution to other businesses — wholesale bakeries, food processing plants, bottling operations, seafood processors, and food storage warehouses.³ On the retail side, it regulates grocery stores, convenience stores, and similar operations whose primary function is selling food products to consumers rather than preparing meals.⁴

DOH handles food service in institutional and community settings: detention facilities, public and private schools, assisted living facilities, migrant labor camps, hospices, adult day care centers, civic and fraternal organizations, and bars that don’t prepare time-and-temperature-controlled foods beyond beverages, popcorn, hot dogs, and nachos.⁵⁶

When You May Not Need a State Food License

Some food activities don’t require a state permit at all. Florida Statutes Section 509.013 excludes several operations from DBPR licensing: schools and colleges serving only students and faculty, churches and nonprofit fraternal or civic organizations feeding only their own members, temporary events of one to three days hosted by those groups, businesses that sell only prepackaged items, ice, beverages, or popcorn without further preparation, and theaters limited to typical concession items.¹ Some of these — schools, detention facilities, fraternal organizations — still fall under DOH oversight, so exclusion from DBPR isn’t the same as being unregulated.

Home producers get a separate carve-out. Under Section 500.80, cottage food operations are exempt from the standard permitting requirements of Section 500.12 as long as annual gross sales stay at or below $250,000. You can sell at farmers’ markets, online, by mail order, and through in-person delivery, but not at wholesale. Every product must be prepackaged with a label listing your business name and address, product name, ingredients by weight, net weight or volume, allergen information, and the statement: “Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida’s food safety regulations.”⁷ The $250,000 cap applies across all your cottage food sales, all locations combined.⁸

Plan Review Before You Build

DBPR will not issue a license for a new establishment until it reviews your facility plans. Plan review is required when the establishment is newly built, converted from another use, remodeled, or reopened after being closed for at least 18 months.⁹ Submit before construction is finalized, not after.

You’ll send in a scale drawing of the floor plan with all equipment labeled and a sample menu. Reviewers check that the layout has proper equipment placement, adequate handwashing sinks, a three-compartment sink or commercial dishwasher, and a utility sink. Refrigeration must hold time-and-temperature-controlled foods at 41°F or below.¹⁰ Include equipment specifications for anything non-standard.

An approved plan is valid for 18 months. If you haven’t been inspected and licensed inside that window, the approval expires and you may need to redo the review.¹¹ That clock matters if construction slips.

FDACS-regulated retail food establishments follow a lighter path. Instead of a formal plan review, FDACS requires documentation of an approved water and sewage system and verification that your building meets department construction standards. Submit the application 21 days before your planned opening.⁴

Manager Certification and Employee Training

Every licensed food establishment must have at least one Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) responsible for all periods of operation. The operator designates the CFPM in writing, and a current list of certified managers must be available at the establishment on request.¹² When four or more employees are working with food at once, a CFPM must be physically present. With three or fewer, the CFPM doesn’t need to be on site, but the establishment must still have one on record.

Certification requires passing an exam accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and stays valid for five years. Both DBPR and FDACS require a CFPM at any retail food establishment handling potentially hazardous foods.⁴

Every food service employee at a DBPR-licensed establishment must also complete a food safety training program within 60 days of hire. This is a shorter certificate program, separate from the manager exam, and remains valid for three years. Proof of training for each employee must be available during inspections.¹³ Accredited courses typically run under $10 per employee, so the main risk is administrative: missing documentation is a common citation.

Submitting the Application

For a fixed public food service establishment that needs plan review, use DBPR form HR-7030.¹⁴ If plan review isn’t required — for example, you’re taking over a currently licensed location with no remodeling — use form HR-7035 instead.¹⁵ Mobile food vendors use different forms, covered below.

The DBPR application requires:

Your proposed menu
Scaled floor plans with equipment labeled
Equipment specifications for anything non-standard
A Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)
A Florida sales tax number or proof of exemption
A Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number for the responsible party
Name, address, and Social Security number of every person owning 10 percent or more of the business¹⁶

For an FDACS retail food establishment, you submit the application, documentation of an approved water and sewage system, and the applicable permit fee at least 21 days before opening. After you file, a field inspector contacts you within three to five business days to schedule an on-site inspection, which typically happens within two weeks. If your operation involves high-risk food processes, you’ll also need an FDACS-approved Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan before you begin.⁴

DBPR License Fees

DBPR charges a flat $50 application fee for every new license or change of ownership, added to the annual license fee.¹⁷ The annual fee is set by seating capacity:

No seating: $242
1–49 seats: $262
50–149 seats: $273
150–249 seats: $294
250–349 seats: $315
350–499 seats: $336
500 or more seats: $357

A 40-seat restaurant pays $312 upfront: $50 application plus $262 for the first year.¹⁷ FDACS permit fees are structured by the food activities at your establishment rather than seat count, and FDACS sends payment instructions after the initial inspection.

The Pre-Opening Inspection

No food establishment can open to the public until it passes a licensing inspection. For DBPR, the inspector verifies that what you built matches the approved plans, that equipment is installed and working, and that the operation meets sanitation and safety standards. Expect confirmation that your CFPM is designated and that cold-holding equipment maintains 41°F or below.¹⁰

If the inspector finds violations, you’ll get a written report listing each problem. You fix them and schedule a reinspection. There’s no cap on reinspections, but every one delays opening. Once you pass, DBPR issues the license, which must be displayed conspicuously in the office or lobby, or kept readily available for inspection on request if there is neither.¹⁸

Mobile Food Vendors

Food trucks and mobile food dispensing vehicles license through DBPR using the same general process but with different forms and a few added rules. Use form HR-7036 for the license application and form HR-7022 to notify DBPR of your commissary arrangement.¹⁹

Every mobile unit must use a commercial, non-residential location to fill its water tank and empty its wastewater tank. That can be a commissary, a licensed food service establishment, or a water and sewer facility such as a truck stop. Food storage and preparation cannot happen in a private residence.

Plan review for a mobile unit requires a vehicle plan with equipment labeled, a sample menu, a side photograph showing the wheels and open service window, and documentation of your water and sewer or commissary location. If you buy a vehicle already licensed by DBPR and make no changes, plan review isn’t required. That shortcut is one reason buying an existing licensed truck is common for first-time operators.¹⁹

Registrations to Handle in Parallel

Your state food license runs alongside several other registrations. Missing any of them can delay your opening or create compliance problems later.

The FEIN is required on the DBPR application and needed for tax filings and hiring. Apply online at no cost through the IRS, but complete it in one sitting: the application times out after 15 minutes of inactivity with no save option. Form your legal entity with the state first, since the IRS needs your entity type and the responsible party’s SSN or ITIN.²⁰

Florida sales tax registration is required for any food operation selling taxable items. Register online or file Form DR-1 with the Department of Revenue, and register each location separately.²¹ Your sales tax number or proof of exemption is a required attachment on the DBPR application, so handle this early.

A local business tax receipt (formerly called an occupational license) is required by most Florida cities and counties before you operate. Some places require both a city and a county receipt. Fees vary, so check with your city clerk or county tax collector at the start of the process.

Annual Renewal

DBPR food service licenses renew annually. Florida uses a staggered schedule based on the region your establishment is in, with expiration dates ranging from October 1 to June 1 depending on the district.²² Your expiration date stays the same each year regardless of when you first applied, and renewal is completed online.

Missing the deadline adds delinquency fees on top of the standard renewal: $50 if you renew within 30 days of expiration, $100 between 31 and 60 days after. Operating without a current license is a Chapter 509 violation, so a lapse puts your ability to stay open at risk, not just your bank account.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 509.013 – Definitions
2
MyFloridaLicense.com. Hotels and Restaurants – Food and Lodging Information
3
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Wholesale/Manufactured Food Program
4
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Retail Food Establishment Permit
5
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 381.0072 – Food Service Protection
6
Florida Department of Health. Food Safety and Sanitation
7
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 500.80 – Cottage Food Operations
8
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Cottage Foods
9
MyFloridaLicense.com. Hotels and Restaurants – Plan Review
10
MyFloridaLicense.com. Cold Holding 41 Degrees F or Below
11
Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Does a Restaurant Plan Approval Ever Expire
12
Legal Information Institute. Florida Admin Code 61C-4.023 – Food Protection Manager Certification
13
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 509.049 – Food Service Employee Training
14
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Application for Fixed Public Food Service Establishment License with Plan Review
15
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Application for Fixed Public Food Service Establishment License with Plan Review
16
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 559.79 – Applications for License or Renewal
17
MyFloridaLicense.com. Hotels and Restaurants – Food Service Fees
18
Florida Administrative Code. Florida Admin Code 61C-1.002 – Licensing and Inspection Requirements
19
MyFloridaLicense.com. Hotels and Restaurants – Guide to Mobile Food Dispensing Vehicles
20
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
21
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Sales and Use Tax
22
MyFloridaLicense.com. Hotels and Restaurants – Licensing