Food Service Establishment Permit (DOHMH) — New York City

What Is the Food Service Establishment Permit?

This is the central permit for any place that serves food in NYC, issued by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). There is no general NYC business license — this permit is the core operating authorization.

The 22-Day Rule

You may begin operating 22 days after you submit the application, even before the pre-permit inspection — or schedule a pre-opening inspection to open sooner.

To Apply You Must Already Have

• A Food Protection Certificate (or course registration) for a supervising manager
• A Certificate of Authority to Collect Sales Tax whose address matches
• Proof of workers' compensation and disability insurance listing DOHMH as certificate holder

The standard permit fee is $280 (+$25 for frozen desserts). Operating must comply with Article 81 of the NYC Health Code. DOHMH conducts an unannounced annual inspection and assigns a letter grade.

Renewal: Annual (nyc.gov/dohmhpermits). You cannot renew with unpaid fines.

What SpoonSeal tracks

The document(s) you upload for this requirement, with automatic renewal/expiration tracking (Current, Due Soon, Expired). Where the city publishes health-inspection results (e.g., NYC and Chicago), SpoonSeal syncs them automatically; elsewhere they can be added manually.