Restaurants and food trucks.
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 City of El Paso - Code Enforcement Department, Food Inspection Program (permits City & El Paso County under interlocal food safety order). Mobile food units are now licensed by the STATE (Texas DSHS) statewide, not locally. issues the health permit.
About 1,757 food & drinking establishments operate here, serving a population of about 869,880. (U.S. Census 2023 estimate; County Business Patterns 2022, NAICS 722)
Fee amount NOT published on official site or on the food permit application; El Paso is a self-inspecting local jurisdiction (City of El Paso Food Inspection Program) with its own fee schedule that is not posted online; the DSHS statewide retail-food fee schedule ($258/$515/$773 by sales volume) does NOT apply here; Contact Food Inspection Program 915-212-6610. Permits under Tex; Health & Safety Code Ch; 437-438 and El Paso Municipal Code Ch; fee not found on any official published page as of 2026-08-10
Turnaround: Plans must be submitted for new or extensively remodeled establishments before operation (stated on application)
Texas (TFER) demerit-based inspection: score = 100 minus demerits, fail above 30 demerits; City of El Paso health authority, reports public.
CHANGED: Effective 2026-07-01, Texas HB 2844 (2025) moved mobile food unit permitting from local health authorities to the STATE; Texas DSHS now issues Mobile Food Vendor licenses statewide (applies in El Paso); Fees verified on the official DSHS Mobile Food Vendors page; Both application and pre-licensing fees are due at submission
Fees/payment and forms are on the department site; application steps vary by concept — see the checklist below.
U.S. Census 2023 population; County Business Patterns 2022 (NAICS 722).
| Category | Annual fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| food processing/wholesale | — | Prior record listed a square-footage-tiered City fee ($174 <3,000 sq ft / $344 3,001-6,000 / $515 6,001-9,000 / $685 9,001+) for Food Product Establishments; Contact 915-212-6610 for the current fee schedule |
| market/grocery | — | Prior record listed an Outdoor Market fee of $163. Not verifiable from any official published page on 2026-08-10; Grocery/retail food stores are handled on the County (Retail Food Store) side; no separately published City line-item fee found |
| temporary/seasonal/special-event | — | Prior record listed Temporary $79 / Recurrent $265 / Seasonal $158. Not verifiable from any official published El Paso fee schedule on 2026-08-10; (For reference, DSHS statewide temporary permits are $52 single-event / $200 multi-event, but those apply to DSHS-regulated jurisdictions, not El Paso.) |
| pushcart/limited operation | — | Prior record listed a City 'Mobile Food Establishment; Kiosk Service' fee of $105. Mobile/kiosk food units are now licensed by the State (DSHS) as of 2026-07-01; see food_truck_permit for verified DSHS Mobile Food Vendor fees |
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 El Paso 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 →