Restaurants and food trucks.
Monmouth County food-facility health permits run about $150–$600 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Confirm the exact amount with Monmouth County Health Department (Consumer/Environmental Health) - reviews retail food plans for participating municipalities; retail food LICENSING itself is a municipal function 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 Monmouth County Health Department (Consumer/Environmental Health) - reviews retail food plans for participating municipalities; retail food LICENSING itself is a municipal function issues the health permit.
Cities with their own health department: Freehold Township, Red Bank, Shrewsbury. Food businesses inside these cities apply to the city health department (with its own fees and rules), not Monmouth County. Confirm which authority covers your exact address.
About 1,840 food & drinking establishments operate here, serving a population of about 642,799. (U.S. Census 2023 estimate; County Business Patterns 2022, NAICS 722)
Per Monmouth County Health Dept guidance, retail food establishment licensing is always a municipal function; The county's role is plan review; the license is obtained from the municipality where the establishment operates; County main line 732-431-7456
Turnaround: not published
Under State Sanitary Code Chapter 24 (N.J.A.C. 8:24), establishments post a color-coded placard: Satisfactory (white), Conditionally Satisfactory (yellow), or Unsatisfactory (red).
County provides a Mobile Retail Food Establishment application; applicant must contact the Municipal Clerk's Office in every town they plan to operate for local rules and whether mobile units are permitted; Separate temporary-event and farmers'-market vendor applications also exist
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.
A code-compliant kitchen in Monmouth County needs more than the health permit — these approvals are handled by separate offices. Confirm current requirements with each.
| Building / plans | Freehold Borough – Construction / Building Dept (NJ Uniform Construction Code; county seat) · 732-462-4903 |
| Fire marshal | Freehold Borough – Bureau of Fire Prevention · 732-462-3626 |
| Zoning / planning | Freehold Borough – Zoning Dept · 732-462-4903 |
| Sewer / grease | FOG handled by the local sewerage authority (e.g., Western Monmouth Utilities Authority / municipal sewer) |
| Business license | New Jersey has no general state business license; municipal mercantile license via the Borough Clerk |
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 Monmouth 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 →