Restaurant permits in Austin, Texas

Under the Alcoholic Beverage Code, the county clerk certifies that the location is in a wet area and the requested permit type is allowed there. Travis County, including all of Austin, is fully wet for mixed beverages, wine, and beer, so this is a verification rather than a hurdle. Applicants usually get the city certification first and the Travis County Clerk signs after. The combined city-and-county step adds roughly 2 to 6 weeks before the complete application reaches TABC.

Issued by

Travis County Clerk

Fee

A small county certification fee, not posted online; confirm with the Travis County Clerk at 512-854-9188. County clerk TABC fees in Texas commonly run $0 to $25.

Renewal

Required for each new TABC application

Processing

Generally days to about a week, after the city certification

This is Austin's local version of the state retail food permit, issued by Austin Public Health once the plan review and pre-opening inspection are done. The fee depends only on gross food sales, not a restaurant class. Austin scores establishments on a numeric, point-deduction system rather than a letter grade, and posts the results publicly. A full-service kitchen cooking raw proteins draws the highest inspection frequency, typically two to four unannounced visits a year.

Issued by

Austin Public Health, Environmental Health Services Division

Fee

An annual fee scaled to gross food sales (FY 2025-26): $309 under $50,000, $618 from $50,000 to $149,999, and $927 at $150,000 or more, where most full-service restaurants land. A one-time pre-opening inspection is $178 and a re-inspection is $134. Austin City Council suspended renewal-fee collection in late 2025 pending an amendment, so confirm the current amount with Austin Public Health at 512-978-0300 before you pay.

Renewal

Annual

Processing

1 to 3 weeks after the pre-opening inspection passes

Before a restaurant opens or remodels, Austin Public Health reviews the kitchen layout, equipment, ventilation, handwashing, and wastewater fixtures against Austin City Code Chapter 10-3 and the Texas Food Establishment Rules. The application goes through the Austin Development Services Commercial Plan Review portal, where the health review runs in parallel with the building review. Plan approval is a prerequisite to the pre-opening inspection.

Issued by

Austin Public Health, Environmental Health Services Division

Fee

A one-time fee (FY 2025-26): $312 for new construction, $266 to remodel a permitted space of 2,500 to 10,000 square feet, and $221 for a remodel under 2,500 square feet. A new restaurant in a space that was not previously food service is treated as new construction at $312, refundable within 180 days if the project does not proceed.

Renewal

One-time per build or remodel

Processing

2 to 6 weeks from a complete submission through the Commercial Plan Review portal

A restaurant converting or building out a space needs a commercial building permit and, at the end, a certificate of occupancy, which Austin Development Services issues only after every final inspection passes. The kitchen pulls separate trade permits: mechanical for the Type I exhaust hood and makeup air, plumbing for the three-compartment sink, dishwasher, floor sinks, and grease interceptor tie-in, and electrical for equipment circuits and any sign. The 2024 technical codes took effect July 10, 2025, so applications now follow them. Many owners assume the health permit clears them to open; the certificate of occupancy is a separate gate, and in Austin it depends on the health inspection passing first.

Issued by

Austin Development Services Department

Fee

Valuation-based, with no flat figure. A restaurant tenant build-out commonly runs about $2,000 to $15,000 across the commercial building permit and the separate mechanical, plumbing, and electrical trade permits, more for a full gut renovation. The certificate of occupancy issues as part of the building permit at no separate charge. Price a specific project from the FY 2025-26 commercial fee schedule on the Austin Development Services site.

Renewal

One-time per occupancy or use change

Processing

Standard commercial review is about 30 business days, with a 5-business-day expedited option; the full permit-to-occupancy arc for a restaurant build-out usually runs 6 to 18 months with design and construction

Any restaurant with fryers, ranges, broilers, or grills that throw grease-laden vapors needs a Type I exhaust hood and an NFPA 96 wet-chemical suppression system, which Austin Fire reviews with the building permit and inspects before the certificate of occupancy issues. The review covers the suppression agent, the fuel shutoff, and the hood interlock. After you open, lapsed inspection tags are a common reinspection violation, so keep the six-month service current.

Issued by

Austin Fire Department, Fire Marshal's Office

Fee

Reviewed as part of the Austin Development Services commercial building permit. A standalone Austin Fire plan review fee applies only to projects outside that process; the FY 2025-26 amounts are on the Austin Fire fee schedule, so confirm with AFD Plans Review. After opening, the suppression system needs a licensed third-party inspection every six months, filed through The Compliance Engine, at the operator's cost.

Renewal

One-time construction review; ongoing semi-annual third-party inspection after opening

Processing

Reviewed alongside the building permit, about 30 business days

A sit-down restaurant with seating is an Assembly Group A-2 occupancy under the building code, a step up from a grab-and-go counter or a bakery. That classification drives exit widths, exit signs, emergency lighting, and an occupant load calculation, and Austin Development Services issues an occupant load card that must stay posted in the dining area. The heavier assembly permit that catches bars and nightclubs does not apply to a restaurant whose food sales clear 51 percent.

Issued by

Austin Fire Department and Austin Development Services (occupant load card)

Fee

Reviewed within the building permit and Austin Fire plan review at no separate charge, and the occupant load card issues with the certificate of occupancy at no added fee. A separate annual public assembly permit applies only where occupant load tops 49 and alcohol is more than 51 percent of revenue, which a food-first restaurant with a TABC Food and Beverage Certificate does not hit; confirm with Austin Fire if your mix shifts.

Renewal

One-time with the certificate of occupancy; the annual assembly permit, if ever triggered, renews yearly

Processing

Reviewed with the building permit

Austin City Code Chapter 15-10 requires every commercial food business on the city sewer to install a grease interceptor sized by Austin Water. A full-service restaurant with a dishwasher must put in at least a 500-gallon two-compartment gravity unit, much larger than a light food use needs, and Austin Water sets the exact size from a fixture-unit formula. Do not buy an interceptor before the approval letter sets the size, garbage disposals are banned in Austin commercial kitchens, and the unit must be pumped every 90 days with manifests kept three years.

Issued by

Austin Water, Industrial Waste and Pretreatment Program

Fee

The industrial-waste review is folded into the Commercial Plan Review at no separate charge, and Austin Water issues an approval letter before the certificate of occupancy. After opening, a wastewater discharge charge appears on the monthly utility bill; confirm it with Austin Water Industrial Waste at 512-974-7293. The interceptor itself is the real cost, a capital expense for the unit and the excavation.

Renewal

One-time approval at construction; the grease interceptor must be pumped at least every 90 days

Processing

Reviewed concurrently with the building permit

Texas makes a restaurant get its city and county to certify a TABC application before the state will approve it. In Austin you start the application in TABC AIMS, call the City Clerk for a tracking number, and Austin Development Services runs a zoning review to confirm the restaurant use is allowed and the site is not within 300 feet of a church, school, or public hospital. Once zoning clears, the City Clerk signs. Austin and Travis County are fully wet, so there are no dry-area barriers, only the process and its timing.

Issued by

Austin Development Services (zoning review) and the Office of the City Clerk (certification signature)

Fee

No separate city fee is published for the certification signature; confirm with the Austin City Clerk at 512-974-2210.

Renewal

Required for each new TABC application, and an updated certification may be needed at renewal

Processing

About 1 to 4 weeks for the zoning review and City Clerk signature

A Restaurant (General), defined by Austin as a place where at least 51 percent of gross income is food, is allowed by right with no public hearing in commercial zones such as LR, GR, CBD, DMU, CS, CS-1, CH, LI, and MI. Office and residential districts generally do not allow it, and a majority-alcohol cocktail lounge needs a conditional use permit instead. Confirm the parcel before signing a lease, but note that since November 2023 parking is no longer a land-use barrier in Austin.

Issued by

Austin Development Services, Zoning

Fee

No charge for a pre-development consultation at the Development Services Development Assistance Center. A formal Zoning Verification Letter carries a small fee; confirm with Development Services zoning. Austin eliminated minimum off-street parking citywide in November 2023, so no vehicle parking minimum applies, though ADA and bicycle parking still do.

Renewal

One-time verification; compliance is ongoing

Processing

A pre-development consultation is quick; a Zoning Verification Letter takes about 2 to 5 business days

Conditional, needed only to put tables and chairs in the public sidewalk or to convert on-street parking into a street patio. Seating on the restaurant's own private parking lot uses a separate Parking Lot Patio permit through Development Services instead, renewed annually. Either way the food side is already covered by your Austin Public Health permit; this is about using the space, and outdoor alcohol service must be enclosed by railings or planters.

Issued by

Austin Transportation and Public Works, Right of Way Management Division

Fee

A right-of-way usage fee set by the square footage you occupy, plus a 4 percent technology surcharge, with the amounts on the FY 2025-26 right-of-way schedule; confirm with Right of Way Management at 512-978-0063. The permit also requires a right-of-way contractor license, a $10,000 performance bond, and liability insurance naming the city, including liquor liability if alcohol is served outside.

Renewal

The temporary sidewalk cafe permit runs up to 5 years, then renews

Processing

About 6 to 12 weeks because several departments coordinate the review

Conditional, required for essentially any exterior sign under Austin Land Development Code Chapter 25-10, from channel letters to a monument sign, each needing its own permit. Only a registered outdoor advertising contractor can pull it, and sign rules vary by sign district, so check the Sign District Determination tool for the address first. Historic landmark or district properties face extra design review.

Issued by

Austin Development Services Department, Sign Permits Section

Fee

About $64 for a wall or awning sign and $128 for a freestanding, roof, or projecting sign per the commercial schedule; confirm current amounts with Development Services. An illuminated sign also generates an electrical permit that a registered electrical sign contractor must activate and inspect.

Renewal

The permit renews annually; the sign itself stands until changed

Processing

About 1 to 4 weeks for a complete submittal

Conditional, and broader than owners expect: any amplified sound in a space not fully enclosed by four walls and a roof, including a covered patio with open sides or a single outdoor speaker for background music, needs this permit. A restaurant use is capped at 70 dBA, lower than the 85 dBA bars get in the entertainment districts, with tighter hours near homes. It cannot be issued at all for sound equipment within 100 feet of residentially zoned and used property.

Issued by

Austin Development Services, Entertainment Services Group

Fee

A base Outdoor Music Venue permit fee on the FY 2025-26 schedule, plus a $160 Sound Impact Evaluation where required; confirm with the Development Services Entertainment Services Group at 512-974-2686. You also notify property owners and neighborhood groups within 600 feet within 14 days of applying.

Renewal

Annual

Processing

Several weeks; the city urges a consultation before you even sign a lease