Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
St. Louis County food-facility health permits run about $75–$130 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $210. Confirm the exact amount with St. Louis County Department of Public Health - Food & Environmental Program 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 St. Louis County Department of Public Health - Food & Environmental Program issues the health permit.
Cities with their own health department: Chesterfield, Florissant, Clayton, Kirkwood, Ballwin, Maryland Heights, Wildwood, Town and Country. Food businesses inside these cities apply to the city health department (with its own fees and rules), not St. Louis County. Confirm which authority covers your exact address.
About 2,075 food & drinking establishments operate here, serving a population of about 987,059. (U.S. Census 2023 estimate; County Business Patterns 2022, NAICS 722)
Health permits are not transferable; Fee figures obtained via WebSearch of the county's official permit application pages; the county .gov fee pages returned HTTP 403 to direct fetch and were not read line-by-line; confirm current amounts with the Department (314-615-8900)
Turnaround: Initial submittal reviewed within the timeframe set by the Department (specific business-day figure not published on the page reviewed)
St. Louis County Dept of Public Health inspects under the Missouri Food Code (risk-based); no letter grade. Inspection reports posted online (HealthSpace).
Mobile food units require a retail food establishment health permit and plan review; a distinct mobile/food-truck fee amount was not found on an official .gov page (county fee pages 403-blocked to direct fetch); Temporary food establishment permit (valid 1-14 consecutive days) is $35
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 St. Louis County needs more than the health permit — these approvals are handled by separate offices. Confirm current requirements with each.
| Category | Annual fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Seasonal Food Establishment | $75 | Annual permit for seasonal operations (per Food Code 8-304.50) |
| Temporary Food Establishment | $35 | Per event |
| Commissary (mobile-unit commissary agreement) | — | Commissary agreement required for mobile units/pushcarts; no separate stand-alone 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 St. Louis 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 →