Restaurants and food trucks.
Lafayette Parish food-facility health permits run about $50–$100 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Confirm the exact amount with Louisiana Department of Health - Office of Public Health, Bureau of Sanitarian Services (STATE-administered retail food program covering Lafayette Parish) 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 Louisiana Department of Health - Office of Public Health, Bureau of Sanitarian Services (STATE-administered retail food program covering Lafayette Parish) issues the health permit.
About 667 food & drinking establishments operate here, serving a population of about 249,750. (U.S. Census 2023 estimate; County Business Patterns 2022, NAICS 722)
STATE-administered: Louisiana Dept of Health (LDH) runs retail food permitting statewide via a single fee schedule; there is no separate parish schedule for Lafayette Parish; Class 7 covers restaurants, bars, meat/seafood markets; a single operator with multiple locations pays the tapering per-permit fee; Fees are collected at opening unless fee-exempt (state/local government facilities, churches and nonprofits are exempt)
Louisiana Dept. of Health inspects on a risk schedule and cites critical/non-critical violations — no grade or score; reports on the LDH online dashboard.
STATE-administered: a mobile unit permitted in one parish does NOT need another permit or additional fee to operate in another parish (statewide reciprocity); Some parishes/cities may require a separate application/occupational license before the unit operates locally; contact the parish sanitarian to have the vehicle inspected
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bar / limited food service | $100 (1st permit); $75 each (2nd-5th); $50 each (6th+) | STATE-administered: bars are explicitly part of LDH Class 7 (restaurants, bars, meat/seafood markets) on the same tapering per-permit schedule |
| Grocery / market with deli | Grocery (>=60% food sales, Class 1-5): $75 (<$500,000), $125 ($500,000-$1,000,000), $250 ($1,000,001-$2,500,000), $400 ($2,500,001-$5,000,000), $500 (over $5,000,000); Non-grocery (<60% food, Class 6): same tiers, charged per operation type | STATE-administered: LDH prices grocery/market by gross revenue; a store with <60% food sales is Class 6 on the same dollar tiers |
| Bakery / food processing | a retail bakery that prepares food is permitted as a Class 7 restaurant ($100 first permit); commercial food manufacturing/processing is regulated separately under LDH's manufactured-food/new-food-manufacturer program, not the retail fee schedule; Confirm the applicable path with the Bureau of Sanitarian Services | STATE-administered: retail vs; manufacturing determines the licensing path in Louisiana |
| Temporary / seasonal event | Special Event / Temporary permit: flat $25. Fair or Festival: flat $25 for the event (permit issued to the sponsor; individual approved stands pay no fee); Seasonal permit: $10 per month of operation (minimum $10) | STATE-administered LDH schedule; fair/festival is a single sponsor permit |
| Pushcart / mobile vending | $100 (Mobile Unit; same as Class 7 first-permit fee) | STATE-administered: a mobile unit permitted in one parish needs no additional permit/fee to operate in another parish (statewide reciprocity); a local application/occupational license may still be 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 Lafayette Parish with its neighbors.
This is a typical sequence — confirm the exact sequence with your authority having jurisdiction.
Official plan-check requirements: plan-check guide →