Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
Brown County food-facility health permits run about $50–$975 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $50–$200. Confirm the exact amount with Brown County Health & Human Services, Public Health Division (Environmental Health) - an agent of the Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) that licenses and inspects retail food establishments in the Green Bay-area Brown County before you budget.
Confirm the authority for your exact address. Some cities run their own health division, and building, planning, fire, sewer/grease and business-license approvals are separate even when Brown County Health & Human Services, Public Health Division (Environmental Health) - an agent of the Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) that licenses and inspects retail food establishments in the Green Bay-area Brown County issues the health permit.
About 580 food & drinking establishments operate here, serving a population of about 271,417. (U.S. Census 2023 estimate; County Business Patterns 2022, NAICS 722)
From the Brown County Public Health 2022-2023 fee schedule (most recent published schedule located); Complexity (Simple/Moderate/Complex) reflects food-handling risk; a pre-inspection fee of 30% (existing establishment) or 40% (new establishment) of the license fee also applies
Wisconsin DATCP/agent local health departments inspect under the Wisconsin Food Code (priority/core violations); no letter grade or score. Reports online via DATCP's inspection portal.
Wisconsin licenses mobiles under Retail Food (Serving Meals for prepared food, Retail Food for packaged/grocery); a servicing base/commissary is required; Pre-inspection fee (30%/40%) also applies
Fees/payment and forms are on the department site; application steps vary by concept — see the checklist below.
Comparison uses the lowest published annual restaurant-permit figure in each county; confirm your exact tier with the department.
U.S. Census 2023 population; County Business Patterns 2022 (NAICS 722).
Plus building, fire, and business-license fees that vary locally — use the cost calculators and the checklist below to budget the full stack.
| Category | Annual fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Caterer | Licensed as Retail Food Service; Serving Meals by complexity and gross sales (Simple $499.00-$636.00; Moderate $682.00-$804.00; Complex $855.00-$975.00) | Wisconsin licenses catering under the Serving Meals (restaurant) category; DATCP program is 'Retail Food Establishments Serving Meals and Catering' |
| Commissary / central preparation kitchen | Mobile Retail Service Base: Non-processing $162.00; Processing $249.00 | The servicing base/commissary supporting mobile units is a distinct license line |
| Bakery / food processing | Retail Food (processing) by Ag code and gross sales: Ag Code 44 (process non-/potentially hazardous, sales under $25K) $162.00; Ag Code 33 (process non-potentially hazardous, sales at least $25K) $499.00; higher processing tiers up to Ag Code 11 (sales over $1M) $1,482.00 (2022-2023 schedule; verify exact tier mapping with the department) | A retail bakery is licensed under the Retail Food processing Ag-code categories; OCR-extracted tier alignment should be confirmed |
| Bar / limited food service | Tavern $106.00; Additional Tavern Area $149.00 | Wisconsin breaks out a Tavern license line for bars |
| Grocery / market with deli | Retail Food risk/Ag-code categories: Micro Market $149.00 (2+ in same building $40.00); Ag Code 55 (non-processing) $60.00; up to Ag Code 11 (gross sales over $1M) $1,482.00. A deli/food-prep area raises it into the processing Ag codes or a Serving Meals license | Grocery/market licensed under Retail Food; adding a deli/prep area increases the category; Figures from the 2022-2023 schedule |
| Temporary / seasonal event | Temporary Restaurant $191.00; Temporary Retail Food Establishment $191.00; Special Organization Serving Meals $129.00 | Flat temporary license fees on the published schedule |
| Pushcart / mobile vending | Mobile Restaurant: Pre-Pack $162.00; Full-Service Simple $249.00; Moderate $341.00; Complex $427.00. Mobile Retail Food base: Ag Code 55 $162.00; Ag Code 44 $249.00; Ag Code 33 $275.00; Ag Code 22 $317.00 | Wisconsin licenses mobiles under Serving Meals (prepared) or Retail Food (packaged); a servicing base/commissary is required |
Health-department plan review looks for specific, code-compliant fixtures. Compare spec-filtered options, then confirm counts and sizes with your local requirements. See the full list in what equipment a commercial kitchen requires.
Permit costs and rules change at the county line — compare Brown County with its neighbors.
This is a typical sequence — confirm the exact sequence with your authority having jurisdiction.
Official plan-check requirements: plan-check guide →