{"id":17562,"date":"2024-07-01T10:47:52","date_gmt":"2024-07-01T14:47:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/?page_id=17562"},"modified":"2026-05-21T11:57:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T15:57:11","slug":"foodapplication","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/food-safety-in-virginia\/foodapplication\/","title":{"rendered":"Applying for a Food Permit"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pl-17562\"  class=\"panel-layout\" ><div id=\"pg-17562-0\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-17562-0-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-17562-0-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-editor panel-first-child\" data-index=\"0\" ><div class=\"panel-widget-style panel-widget-style-for-17562-0-0-0\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-editor so-widget-sow-editor-base\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n<div class=\"siteorigin-widget-tinymce textwidget\">\n\t<ul id=\"sidebar\" class=\"page-sidebar-nav print-hidden\"><\/ul>\n<article id=\"post-51\" class=\"post-51 page type-page status-publish hentry\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Before opening a new or remodeled foodservice facility (including Mobile Food Units) or transferring ownership, the foodservice operator must complete the following:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Make an application for a Plan Review and submit a $40.00 fee to\u00a0the local health department in the jurisdiction of the establishment (find your <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/local-health-districts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">local health department<\/a> <\/strong>here). The Plan Review process helps ensure all work will be in accordance with food safety regulations, and helps prevent operators from making costly investments in work that will not meet requirements! <strong>See below for more details on what to be ready to include in a Plan Review application.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Make any modifications to plans if necessary for approval.<\/li>\n<li>Once the Plan Review is approved, submit a completed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025-VDH-Food-App-Fillable.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Foodservice Permit Application<\/a> to the local health department along with payment of $40.00 at least <em>30 days prior to opening<\/em> for approval. <em>NOTE: We recommend you reach out to the local health department in your jurisdiction (see link above); some localities use district-specific forms and may have district-specific policies in place.\u00a0<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Request an inspection of the facility from the Health Department prior to opening.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The Food Establishment Permit will be issued when the facility is complete, and the inspection is in compliance with the Virginia Department of Health Food Regulations.<\/p>\n<p>Operators are strongly encouraged to reach out to the local health department's food safety team early in the development process. Local requirements may apply in addition to state laws.<\/p>\n<p>To find your local health department visit <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/local-health-districts\/\">Local Health Districts \u2013 Virginia Department of Health<\/a> <\/strong>or email foodsafety@vdh.virginia.gov<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"panel-17562-0-0-1\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-accordion panel-last-child\" data-index=\"1\" ><div class=\"panel-widget-style panel-widget-style-for-17562-0-0-1\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-accordion so-widget-sow-accordion-default-1126f3c25b78-17562\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><div>\n\t<div class=\"sow-accordion\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-accordion-panel\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-anchor-id=\"plan-review-contents\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-accordion-panel-header-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-accordion-panel-header\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" id=\"accordion-label-plan-review-contents\" aria-controls=\"accordion-content-plan-review-contents\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"sow-accordion-title sow-accordion-title-icon-left\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPlan Review Contents\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-accordion-open-close-button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-accordion-open-button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sow-icon-ionicons\" data-sow-icon=\"&#xf218;\"\n\t\t \n\t\taria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-accordion-close-button\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sow-icon-ionicons\" data-sow-icon=\"&#xf209;\"\n\t\t \n\t\taria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"sow-accordion-panel-content\"\n\t\t\t\trole=\"region\"\n\t\t\t\taria-labelledby=\"accordion-label-plan-review-contents\"\n\t\t\t\tid=\"accordion-content-plan-review-contents\"\n\t\t\t\tstyle=\"display: none;\"\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sow-accordion-panel-border\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p>The following items should be included in a Plan Review application. Other items may be necessary depending on your locality and specific establishment.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Set of floor plans, drawn to scale, of the entire establishment that shows the layout of the rooms<br \/>\n(including storage rooms), and the proposed location of the lights, plumbing, and all fixed<br \/>\nequipment. In addition, the proposed location of all kitchen equipment. Plans should include<br \/>\nelectrical, mechanical, and plumbing schedule for new construction\/expansion.<br \/>\n2. For new construction, site plan showing location of building on site and location of any outside<br \/>\nequipment (dumpsters, well, septic system, grease trap \u2013 if applicable, etc.).<br \/>\n3. Equipment list and manufacturer specification sheets for each piece of equipment shown on the<br \/>\nplans.<br \/>\n4. Proposed menu.<br \/>\n5. Certified Food Protection Manager credentials.<br \/>\n6. If applicable, establishments using an onsite sewage disposal systems must have soils work, plans<br \/>\nand specifications, along with wastewater characteristics (determined in part by proposed menu),<br \/>\nsubmitted together \u2013 3 copies \u2013 by an Authorized Onsite Soil Evaluator (AOSE) working in<br \/>\nconsultation with a Professional Engineer (PE) to the Health Department with, if applicable,<br \/>\nappropriate septic and well fees. Existing residential\/non-residential facilities changing to a food<br \/>\nservice establishment must have an AOSE and PE evaluate the existing system, with wastewater<br \/>\ncharacteristics, to determine if the existing system is sufficient for the proposed facility and menu.<br \/>\nThis paperwork is initially reviewed by the District Onsite Technical Consultant, then submitted to<br \/>\nthe Virginia Department of Health Engineer for technical review and is thus handled separately<br \/>\nfrom the food service plan review.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-17562-0-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-17562-0-1-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_media_image panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"2\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"980\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/07\/jenn-kosar-jrWoDRmhwRY-unsplash-669x1024.jpg\" class=\"image wp-image-17565  attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/07\/jenn-kosar-jrWoDRmhwRY-unsplash-669x1024.jpg 669w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/07\/jenn-kosar-jrWoDRmhwRY-unsplash-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/07\/jenn-kosar-jrWoDRmhwRY-unsplash-768x1176.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/07\/jenn-kosar-jrWoDRmhwRY-unsplash-1003x1536.jpg 1003w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/07\/jenn-kosar-jrWoDRmhwRY-unsplash-1338x2048.jpg 1338w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/07\/jenn-kosar-jrWoDRmhwRY-unsplash-scaled.jpg 1672w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Before opening a new or remodeled foodservice facility (including Mobile Food Units) or transferring ownership, the foodservice operator must complete the following: Make an application for a Plan Review and submit a $40.00 fee to\u00a0the local health department in the jurisdiction of the establishment (find your local health department here). The Plan Review process helps [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":0,"parent":31,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17562","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Applying for a Food Permit - Environmental Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/environmental-health\/food-safety-in-virginia\/foodapplication\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Applying for a Food Permit - Environmental Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Before opening a new or remodeled foodservice facility (including Mobile Food Units) or transferring ownership, the foodservice operator must complete the following: Make an application for a Plan Review and submit a $40.00 fee to\u00a0the local health department in the jurisdiction of the establishment (find your local health department here). 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