Restaurants, commercial kitchens, 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 Marion County Public Health Department — Department of Food & Consumer Safety (4701 N. Keystone Ave., Suite 500, Indianapolis) issues the health permit.
Cities with their own health department: Beech Grove, Lawrence, Speedway, Southport. Food businesses inside these cities apply to the city health department (with its own fees and rules), not Marion County. Confirm which authority covers your exact address.
About 2,176 food & drinking establishments operate here, serving a population of about 968,460. (U.S. Census 2023 estimate; County Business Patterns 2022, NAICS 722)
MCPHD licenses and inspects retail food establishments; fees are set in the Indianapolis-Marion County Code of Ordinances; NOTE (2026-08-10): the similarly named marionpublichealth.org is Marion County, OHIO (area code 740), not Indianapolis; do not use it for Indiana fees; Ordinance reference: https://library.municode.com/in/indianapolis_-_marion_county/codes/code_of_ordinances
Turnaround: ~2 weeks for new-vehicle/plan review; overall permitting ~4-6 weeks
Marion County (Indianapolis) scores inspections on a 100-point scale (priority violations deduct points; below 70 requires re-inspection). Reports posted online.
Required for all food trucks in Indianapolis/unincorporated Marion County; renews Jan 1 each year; Secondary/industry estimates: ~$150-$300/yr (streetlegal.io), ~$250 for full-service mobile (getvendorloop.com)
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).
A code-compliant kitchen in Marion County needs more than the health permit — these approvals are handled by separate offices. Confirm current requirements with each.
| Category | Annual fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| commissary/central kitchen | — | Commissary must hold its own MCPHD food establishment license; required base for all mobile units; Specific fee not published online |
| temporary/seasonal/special-event | — | Temporary Food Establishment license (single event, up to 14 consecutive days); application/fee due at least 48 hours prior; Fee not published online |
| caterer | — | Caterers require MCPHD food establishment licensing; no separate standalone caterer fee published |
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 Marion 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 →