Licenses & permits
Nothing kills momentum like a failed inspection three weeks before opening. Get these in the right order and the process becomes boring. Boring is what you want.
Quick answer
Every US restaurant needs a registered business, an EIN from the IRS, a state or county food service license, a passed health inspection, and at least one certified food protection manager. Liquor, signage and music licenses come on top. Order matters: company first, location approvals second, food permits last.
The order that saves you months
Do these in sequence and each step feeds the next. Do them in parallel and you will redo half of them.
- 1. Form the LLC and get your EIN. The EIN is free at irs.gov, ten minutes, no service needed
- 2. Check zoning and the certificate of occupancy before signing any lease
- 3. Submit plans to the health department. They review your kitchen layout before you build it
- 4. Apply for the food service license once build-out matches the approved plan
- 5. Get your food protection manager certificate (ServSafe is the common one)
- 6. The extras: seller's permit, sign permit, grease disposal contract, music license if you play anything
Health inspections without sweat
Inspectors check the same things everywhere: temperatures, hand sinks, storage order, pests, grease. Asian kitchens get a few extra looks: rice, raw fish, ducks in the window. None of it is a problem if you can show your routine.
- Cooked rice held hot at 135°F+ or cooled fast in shallow pans. Rice is a named risk food
- Sushi rice needs a time log or an acidification log; pick one and keep it current
- Raw proteins stored below ready-to-eat, always. Inspectors check the walk-in first
- Roast duck and char siu hanging at room temperature need a time-control plan; ask your inspector, most have seen it before
- Wok-line grease builds fast, so keep the hood cleaning receipts taped inside a cabinet
Liquor: decide early, or decide no
A beer and wine license is cheap and quick in most states. A full bar is a different animal. In quota states (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, parts of Florida) a license trades on the open market for serious money. Sake and soju upgrades are a nice middle path where allowed. Or skip it: BYOB works beautifully for plenty of Asian restaurants.
- Beer & wine: usually a few hundred dollars and a background check
- Full liquor in a quota state: five to six figures, via broker, months of transfer time
- BYOB: legal in many states, zero license cost, and diners love it
Your state rewrites this whole page
Everything above is the national skeleton. Who inspects you, what alcohol costs, what your tipped staff must earn: that is state law, and sometimes county law. We keep a running comparison, plus deep dives for individual states, starting with Pennsylvania.
- Check the state comparison before you pick a location
- Pennsylvania guide: liquor quotas, the BYOB culture, and Philly's own health department
Help when you'd rather cook than file
Three places worth knowing. One is free.
ServSafe
CertificationThe food manager certificate nearly every health department accepts. Online course and proctored exam, offered in several languages including Chinese and Korean.
Visit siteYour local SBDC
FreeSmall Business Development Centers walk you through state and city requirements at no cost. Criminally underused.
Visit siteCorpNet
Filing serviceResearches and files the full license stack for your exact address. Costs money, saves weeks of phone calls.
Visit siteCommon questions
Do I need a special permit to serve sushi or raw fish?
Usually not a separate permit, but you must serve parasite-destruction-frozen fish (your supplier documents this) and keep either a time or pH log for sushi rice. Some counties ask for a simple HACCP plan. Your plan reviewer will tell you exactly which.
Rules change at the state line
Tipped wages, liquor quotas, who inspects your kitchen. Check your state before you commit.