Dallas restaurant permits: who issues it, and what sets the price

In Dallas the first question is not what the food permit costs, it is who issues it: the County, not the City. Get that wrong and you spend a fortnight in the wrong queue.

Dallas food trucks changed hands on 1 July 2026

Under Texas House Bill 2844 (2025), mobile food unit operators may be required to hold a permit issued by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Dallas County states plainly that permits issued by local jurisdictions before that date “will no longer be valid for operation on or after July 1, 2026.” If you are still working from a locally issued mobile permit, check with DSHS which permit you now need — the County points mobile operators to the State for application details rather than handling it itself.

Dallas County HHS — source

The permit and who issues it

The document is the Dallas County food establishment permit, issued by Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS), Environmental Health.

What it costs

DCHHS publishes the inspection programme rather than a public fee table, and directs mobile operators to the State. Confirm the current fee with Environmental Health before you budget.

How it actually runs in Dallas

  1. Check who permits you — fixed premises and mobile units are not on the same track in Dallas County any more.
  2. Mobile food units — since 1 July 2026 the permit comes from the State, not the county.
  3. Inspection — mobile unit inspections run out of 2121 Panoramic Circle, Dallas TX 75212 — Monday 1:00–4:00 p.m., Tuesday to Friday 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m..

The city/county split

Dallas is one of the metros where the health permit is a County function while occupancy and fire sit with the City — two agencies, two timelines.

The paperwork around the permit

Who to ask

Dallas County Health and Human Services — Environmental Health — official page.

Sources

Check whether your opening date is legally possible — free. Put in the business type and the address and you get the target date against the earliest legal open, with every permit, fee and deadline cited to the official source.

The full stack — every permit in filing order, the calendar, and the certificate-of-occupancy packet — is $49, one-time, no subscription. It is a live link your landlord or lender can verify themselves, not a PDF.

Run the free check →

Checked at the official sources listed above on 2 September 2026. Fees and procedures change without notice and the agency’s own page is always the authority — this is a heads-up to go and look, not legal advice, and BondPermit does not file anything on anyone’s behalf.

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