Caterer permits and licenses in New York

Filing with the Department of State creates the entity that holds your commissary lease, your sales tax registration, and any liquor license. Most caterers form an LLC; a corporation is cheaper to file but carries more formalities. An LLC must, within 120 days of forming, publish a formation notice in two county-designated newspapers once a week for six weeks and then file a Certificate of Publication, or the state suspends its authority to do business. A corporation has no publication step. A company branding itself under a name other than its legal one also files a Certificate of Assumed Name.

Issued by

New York Department of State, Division of Corporations

Fee

$200 to file LLC Articles of Organization or $125 for a Certificate of Incorporation (a corporation also owes a minimum $10 organization tax on its shares), then a $9 Biennial Statement every 2 years. An LLC adds a $50 Certificate of Publication fee plus the newspaper run, which is roughly $500 to $1,500 and runs higher in New York City counties. A trade name (DBA) is $25 to the state plus $25 per county, or $100 per county in the five boroughs.

Renewal

Formation is one-time; a $9 Biennial Statement is due every 2 years in your formation month to stay in good standing

Processing

The state does not publish a guaranteed standard turnaround. Expedited handling is available for $25 (24 hours), $75 (same day), or $150 (within 2 hours).

Every caterer must hold and display this certificate before its first taxable sale. New York taxes catering broadly: under Tax Bulletin TB-ST-110, nearly the entire event invoice is taxable, including food, mandatory service charges, and the tables, chairs, tents, linens, and audiovisual gear you rent for the job, even when each line is itemized separately. You collect tax on that full charge but cannot recover the sales tax you pay on your own equipment rentals. The certificate also lets you buy food, beverages, and subcontracted catering for resale tax-free using a resale certificate (Form ST-120).

Issued by

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance

Fee

$0 (free to register on Form DTF-17)

Renewal

No fixed expiration. The certificate stays valid until you surrender it or the Tax Department revokes it.

Processing

About 5 business days once submitted. Apply at least 20 days before your first taxable sale.

Catering runs on wait staff, bartenders, kitchen help, and drivers, so this registration is nearly universal in the trade. You open unemployment insurance and withholding accounts on a single Form NYS-100, then file Form NYS-45 every quarter to report wages, remit withheld tax, and pay your unemployment contributions. Because event staffing swings hard by season, the return is due even in quarters when no one was on payroll.

Issued by

New York State Department of Labor (unemployment insurance) and Department of Taxation and Finance (withholding)

Fee

No registration fee. The 2026 new-employer unemployment insurance rate starts at 3.4% of taxable wages, and with the subsidiary and Re-employment Service Fund add-ons a newly liable employer is commonly assigned a combined rate near 4.1%. Income tax withholding is passed through from employee pay.

Renewal

Ongoing. You file Form NYS-45 each quarter.

Processing

Register when you first pay wages. The Department of Labor assigns an employer registration number used on every return.

New York has no separate caterer license. Section 14-1.20 defines a caterer as someone who prepares or furnishes food for individual-portion service at the consumer's location, temporary or permanent, and treats that caterer as a food service establishment operator. The permit anchors to your commissary, meaning the licensed commercial kitchen you cook and stage from, and your off-premises event work runs under that same permit. The mandate is statewide but the dollar figure, application, and inspections belong to the local health department, so the fee is a city-page detail. A caterer renting time in a kitchen that already holds a permit usually works under that facility instead of holding its own; confirm how your operation is recorded with the local department.

Issued by

Local county health department (outside New York City) or NYC Health Department, under the NYS Sanitary Code (Title 10 NYCRR Subpart 14-1)

Fee

Set by your local health department. See your city page for local amounts.

Renewal

Typically annual, with the exact term set locally

Processing

Set by your local health department. See your city page for local timelines.

If you build out or substantially remodel the commissary you cater from, section 14-1.191 lets the permit-issuing official require floor plans, equipment layouts, plumbing, and ventilation drawings for approval before construction or operation begins. The code is explicit that plan approval does not excuse you from any other Subpart 14-1 requirement or from the final inspection. A caterer renting an already-built, already-permitted kitchen generally avoids its own plan review, but should confirm that kitchen holds a current permit.

Issued by

Local county health department (outside New York City) or NYC Health Department, under NYS Sanitary Code Subpart 14-1, section 14-1.191

Fee

Set by your local health department as part of the permit application. See your city page for local amounts.

Renewal

One-time per build or major remodel of the commissary, not on a fixed cycle

Processing

Set by your local health department. See your city page for local timelines.

This is the line between private and public work. A contracted wedding, corporate dinner, or private party is covered by your base commissary permit. The moment you set up a booth or stand and serve the general public at a fair, festival, or market, Subpart 14-2 makes that a temporary food service establishment needing its own permit for that event. The requirement is statewide; the fee and application sit with your local health department.

Issued by

Local county health department (outside New York City) or NYC Health Department, under NYS Sanitary Code Subpart 14-2

Fee

Set by your local health department. See your city page for local amounts.

Renewal

Per event; a temporary permit covers a single event of up to 14 consecutive days

Processing

Set by your local health department; apply ahead of the event date

Subpart 14-1 requires a person in charge who can demonstrate food safety knowledge during inspections, and a caterer cooking and plating potentially hazardous food is squarely in scope. Outside New York City, a credential from any nationally accredited program such as ServSafe satisfies the rule statewide and is good for five years, and out-of-state ANSI-CFP cards are accepted. If your commissary sits inside the five boroughs, that national certificate is not accepted: the supervisor must complete the NYC Health Department course and hold the city Food Protection Certificate, kept on the premises during operation.

Issued by

ANSI-CFP accredited programs (ServSafe, NRFSP, Prometric, and similar) outside New York City; the NYC Health Department course inside the five boroughs

Fee

Set by the provider, commonly $100 to $200 for training and the exam. No state fee.

Renewal

Every 5 years for an ANSI-CFP credential; the NYC certificate does not expire

Processing

Course and exam can often be finished in a single day

Ordinary event catering is regulated as a food service establishment under the Health Department, not as food processing, so most caterers never need this license. It is triggered only if your company also manufactures or packages shelf-stable products, such as jarred sauces, spice blends, or retail-packaged baked goods, for wholesale or off-site retail sale beyond the events you cater. The license is tied to that manufacturing activity, not to catering itself, so it is conditional.

Issued by

New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Division of Food Safety and Inspection

Fee

$175 every 2 years for a small-scale processor (10 or fewer full-time employees, not a chain), or $400 every 2 years above that or for a franchise. A first-time applicant working from a recognized kitchen incubator pays nothing for the first 2 years.

Renewal

Every 2 years

Processing

The state does not publish a fixed turnaround; allow several weeks depending on how complete the application is

This is the dedicated alcohol pathway for an off-premises caterer that does not already hold a liquor license. Created by 2022 legislation, it lets a catering company with its own kitchen sell beer, wine, cider, and liquor at private off-site events without the fixed on-premises seating an old restaurant license demanded. The premises must be used solely for off-premises catering and have kitchen facilities able to prepare meals for at least 50 people. The license is only step one: for each individual event you also file an Off-Premises Catering Establishment Event Permit by email at least 15 days ahead, and the caterer, not the host, is the licensee.

Issued by

New York State Liquor Authority (SLA)

Fee

By location, including a $200 filing fee: $3,102 in New York, Kings, Bronx, and Queens counties; $2,248 in Richmond County and the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers; $1,822 in Albany, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Niagara Falls, Schenectady, White Plains, and Utica; and $1,394 everywhere else. A separate per-event permit is required for each job; confirm its current fee with the SLA.

Renewal

Confirm the current term with the SLA. Comparable on-premises licenses run on a 2-year cycle.

Processing

The SLA does not publish a set turnaround for this license. New SLA licenses commonly take several months, so start the application early.

This is the classic caterer's permit, and it is a fast, cheap, per-event add-on rather than a full license. It is available only to a business that already holds an active New York on-premises retail liquor license, such as a restaurant or banquet hall, and wants to bring alcohol to a private event at a location it does not own. A caterer with no underlying liquor license cannot use it and instead needs the Off-Premises Catering Establishment License. The permit-holder must be hired by a third party and cannot cater its own event, and the SLA issues up to four such permits per location in a 12-month period absent special circumstances.

Issued by

New York State Liquor Authority (SLA)

Fee

$48 per point of sale, per day. A licensed off-premises caterer pays no fee under ABC Law section 98.

Renewal

Per event; valid for a single event of no more than 24 consecutive hours, with a separate application for each event and each point of sale

Processing

Apply at least 15 business days before the event

The Alcohol Training Awareness Program is recommended, not required. The SLA advises that licensees and any staff who serve or sell alcohol take it. For a caterer whose bartenders pour at events under a Caterer's Permit or an Off-Premises Catering Establishment License, training the serving crew is a low-cost way to limit liability and show the SLA due diligence if a violation is ever charged, even though no permit is conditioned on it.

Issued by

SLA-approved third-party training providers, under the New York State Liquor Authority

Fee

Set by the approved provider, commonly $10 to $40 per person. The state charges nothing.

Renewal

Providers commonly issue a certificate good for about 3 years; confirm the term with yours

Processing

Most online courses run 2 to 3 hours, with the certificate issued on passing