Caterer permits in Seattle, Washington

A Seattle caterer pulls its food permit from the county rather than the city, since Public Health Seattle and King County is the lone food-safety authority operating inside the city limits. A caterer is priced on its own risk-based catering line rather than the restaurant seat-band schedule, and a full-service operation that cooks from raw, hot-holds, and cools lands at Risk 3 at $945 a year. You apply with a use of commissary or shared-kitchen agreement, a kitchen floor plan, and your menu. A caterer leasing space in an already-permitted commissary does not separately permit that kitchen; it names the commissary on its own catering permit and pays its own annual fee.

Issued by

Public Health Seattle and King County, Food Protection Program

Fee

$945 a year for a full-service caterer at Risk 3 (cooking from raw, hot-holding, and cooling); lower-risk catering operations fall to lower tiers. The fee is set by risk level, not seat count, and is prorated in the first year (permit year April 1 to March 31)

Renewal

Annual (permit year April 1 to March 31)

Processing

Issued after a field plan review and a passed pre-operational inspection, typically 1 to 3 weeks out

Every new catering permit needs a field plan review so Public Health can confirm the commissary kitchen suits your proposed menu and equipment. A caterer leasing a kitchen already permitted as a permanent food establishment usually skips the full new-construction review and pays only the field plan review fee, with the county verifying the kitchen against your specific menu during the visit. A caterer building its own commissary pays the higher new-construction plan review.

Issued by

Public Health Seattle and King County, Food Protection Program

Fee

$504 for the first 2 hours of field plan review, then $252 an hour beyond, for a caterer leasing a licensed kitchen; building a new commissary from scratch instead pays the new-construction plan review of $1,008 for the first 4 hours plus $252 an hour

Renewal

One-time per build, or again on a material menu or facility change

Processing

Scheduled after you apply, typically 1 to 3 weeks

Your annual catering permit covers preparation at the commissary, not serving the public at an event. The moment you sell to the general public at a Seattle festival, fair, or farmers market, that booth needs its own King County temporary permit on top of your catering permit. Most full-service caterers cooking from raw fall under the complex tier, and a caterer doing many public events a season usually comes out ahead buying the $1,008 unlimited package rather than paying per event.

Issued by

Public Health Seattle and King County, Food Protection Program

Fee

Per single event by handling level: $126 minimal, $315 moderate, $441 complex. A year-round option for caterers working the event circuit runs $1,008 for an unlimited complex package plus a $126 Certified Booth Operator course (valid 2 years). Late fees run $50 to $100

Renewal

Per event, or per calendar year for the multi-event and unlimited packages

Processing

Apply at least 14 days ahead; late applications take a penalty fee

A caterer working out of Seattle must carry the city's Business License Tax Certificate (SMC 5.55) alongside its state UBI, applying and filing through FileLocal and renewing each December. Holding it is not a land-use clearance, so a caterer still has to verify its commissary sits in a zone open to commercial food prep before relying on the address. The narrow exemption, no Seattle premises and under $4,000 of in-city receipts a year, rarely fits a working caterer.

Issued by

City of Seattle, Office of City Finance

Fee

$73 for a new business at the lowest 2026 tier (half that if you open July 1 or later); renewal scales with prior-year Seattle taxable revenue, plus $10 per extra location. A caterer with no Seattle location grossing $4,000 or less a year in the city is exempt

Renewal

Annual (expires December 31)

Processing

Same day to about a week online through FileLocal, longer by mail

The city layers a gross-receipts tax of its own under SMC 5.45, collected by the Office of City Finance rather than the state, with catering booked under the retail services classification. The 2026 Seattle Shield reform set the rate at 0.342% but pushed the exemption ceiling up to $2 million in taxable revenue, so a caterer below that line pays no city B&O even while it still files a return each year and has its business license fee gauged on revenue before the standard deduction is applied.

Issued by

City of Seattle, Office of City Finance

Fee

0.342% of Seattle taxable gross receipts under the retail services classification for 2026 through 2032, with no tax owed under $2 million in taxable revenue and a $2 million standard deduction above it; the return is filed even when no tax is due

Renewal

Quarterly or annual filing through FileLocal

Processing

Self-assessed and filed through FileLocal

Only if you build out your own commissary. A change of use to food service needs an SDCI construction or tenant-improvement permit and a Certificate of Occupancy before you cook, with separate electrical, plumbing, and mechanical trade permits. A caterer leasing a space that already holds a food-service Certificate of Occupancy inherits that classification and needs a new permit only for physical changes it makes.

Issued by

Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI)

Fee

Valuation-based on the construction work plus hourly review fees, estimated through the SDCI fee tool; a mechanical permit for the kitchen hood and duct adds a fire-review surcharge

Renewal

One-time per project; the Certificate of Occupancy holds until the use changes

Processing

4 to 12 weeks of plan review by complexity, with over-the-counter review for small projects

Only if you build out your own commissary. A Seattle kitchen with commercial plumbing and a county food permit must install and maintain a grease interceptor under SMC 21.16.310, a rule that names caterers explicitly. As of October 1, 2025 the side sewer permit to connect it comes from SPU, not SDCI. A caterer leasing a built-out, permitted commissary inherits the existing interceptor and connection and shares the maintenance duty with the kitchen owner.

Issued by

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), Fats Oils and Grease Program

Fee

No standalone program fee; the interceptor is a contractor cost, plus an SPU side sewer permit (priced by scope) to connect or modify the sewer line

Renewal

One-time install; ongoing maintenance, cleaned before grease passes 25 percent of volume under SMC 21.16.310

Processing

Reviewed with the construction permit through the Seattle Services Portal

Only if you build out your own commissary. SPU sets the cross-connection hazard level and requires an approved backflow assembly on the water service, generally a double check valve at minimum and sometimes a reduced pressure assembly for premises isolation, because a commercial kitchen handles cleaning chemicals near food and water. A caterer leasing a permitted commissary inherits the existing protection and has no separate SPU assembly obligation.

Issued by

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), Cross-Connection Control Program

Fee

No SPU fee for the requirement; the install needs a plumbing permit and a Washington-certified tester does the annual test at the owner's expense

Renewal

Annual test by a certified tester, with SPU inspection before the assembly goes into service

Processing

Installed with the plumbing work; tested at install and every year after

Only if your catering business serves alcohol. Seattle issues no separate alcohol permit; the state Liquor Caterer License is the operative one, but under WAC 314-07-020 the LCB notifies the Seattle Mayor's office, which has 20 days to object or recommend conditions. Seattle rarely objects to a straightforward caterer application, but zoning or public-safety concerns at the kitchen or service locations can draw a request for more information or an extension.

Issued by

City of Seattle (Mayor's Office) as local authority to the Washington LCB

Fee

No separate city fee; the objection step is part of the state LCB license process

Renewal

Applies at the initial application; renewal objections are filed 30 days before the license expires

Processing

A 20-day city objection window inside the LCB process after the LCB notifies the city

Only if you build out your own commissary with a grease-producing range, fryer, or similar. A Type I exhaust hood with a listed fire-suppression system is required under the Seattle Fire and Mechanical codes; SDCI permits the hood and duct install and Seattle Fire tests the suppression system before operations and issues an ongoing annual permit. A caterer leasing a fully equipped, already-inspected commissary inherits the hood and suppression system and pulls a new permit only if it adds cooking equipment.

Issued by

Seattle Fire Department, Fire Prevention Division

Fee

An annual Seattle Fire operational permit, plus the SDCI mechanical permit for the hood and duct install with a fire-review surcharge; confirm current amounts with the departments

Renewal

Annual operational permit; one-time mechanical permit for the install

Processing

The mechanical permit is reviewed with the construction plans; Seattle Fire inspects and tests the suppression system before the kitchen operates