Restaurant Plan Review Checklist: What the Health Department Wants Before You Open

Quick answer: before you build a new restaurant, convert an existing building, or remodel a kitchen, the FDA Food Code says you submit plans to the health department for approval (§8-201.11). The plans cover your menu, expected food volume, floor plan, finishes, and every piece of equipment by make and model (§8-201.12). After you build, an inspector does a preopening inspection to check that the kitchen matches the approved plans (§8-203.10). Fees range from nothing in Florida to $1,000 or more in Los Angeles County and King County, Washington, and review can take from a few weeks to two months, so start early.

Plan review exists because a kitchen is expensive to fix once it's built. A handwashing sink in the wrong place or a missing mop sink is a line on a drawing during review, but a plumber and a delay after opening day. This guide walks through what to submit, what the inspector checks, and what real health departments add to the Food Code. Our free one-page checklist covers the same items.

When You Need Plan Review

The Food Code requires plans to be reviewed and approved before (§8-201.11):

• construction of a new food establishment;
• converting an existing building into one, such as turning a retail shop into a café; and
• remodeling, or changing the type of food operation, if the health department decides plans are needed.

Local rules add triggers. Florida, for example, also requires plan review to reopen a restaurant that has been closed for 18 months or more. If you're buying an existing restaurant and keeping the kitchen as it is, ask your health department: many treat it as a change of ownership with an inspection, not a full plan review.

What to Submit

The Food Code lists six things health departments may require, depending on the type of operation and the food you prepare (§8-201.12):

1. Your intended menu. The menu drives everything else: raw meat means separate prep sinks in many counties, and cooking, cooling, and reheating means more cold storage.
2. The anticipated volume of food to be stored, prepared, and sold or served.
3. Proposed layout, mechanical schematics, construction materials, and finish schedules. A finish schedule lists the floor, base (coving), wall, and ceiling material for every room.
4. Equipment types, manufacturers, model numbers, locations, dimensions, performance capacities, and installation specifications. Most health departments want manufacturer spec sheets showing the equipment is certified to an ANSI sanitation standard, such as NSF.
5. Evidence of written standard procedures. In the 2026 Food Code, this becomes evidence that a written food safety management system is developed or being developed.
6. Anything else the health department requires, which in practice usually includes a plumbing schedule with water heater capacity, a lighting plan, and an application form and fee.

You'll also need a HACCP plan with your plans if your menu needs a variance, such as for curing or smoking food to preserve it, sous vide or other reduced-oxygen packaging, or keeping live shellfish in a display tank (§8-201.13). And apply for your operating permit at least 30 days before you plan to open (§8-302.11).

The "written procedures" item is where our free food safety plan template helps: it's a sample plan for a restaurant that cooks, cools, and reheats food, with every limit cited to the Food Code.

What the Preopening Inspection Checks

Before you get your permit, an inspector visits to confirm the kitchen was built and equipped as approved, that your written procedures exist, and that you comply with the code (§8-203.10). These are the items that most often hold up an opening:

Handwashing sinks

• In food prep, food dispensing, and warewashing areas, and in or next to every toilet room (§5-204.11), never blocked or used for anything else (§5-205.11).
• Water at least 85°F through a mixing valve or combination faucet; self-closing faucets must run at least 15 seconds (§5-202.12).
• Soap, paper towels or a hand dryer, a waste can, and a handwashing sign at each one. Our kitchen poster guide covers the signs.

Sinks, water, and drains

• A three-compartment sink with compartments large enough to submerge your largest pots and pans (§4-301.12). The Food Code sets no size, but counties do: Los Angeles County requires compartments of 16 by 20 or 18 by 18 inches, 12 inches deep, even if you have a dishwasher.
• A mop or service sink, or a curbed cleaning area with a floor drain (§5-203.13).
• Toilet rooms with tight-fitting, self-closing doors (§5-203.12, §6-202.14).
• Air gaps at least twice the diameter of the water inlet and never less than 1 inch (§5-202.13), backflow protection on hose bibbs and soda carbonators (§5-203.14, §5-203.15), and indirect drains for equipment that holds food (§5-402.11).
• A water heater big enough for peak demand (§5-103.11). Many counties specify the size: Maricopa County asks for at least a 50-gallon heater, or 75 gallons with a dishwasher.

Floors, walls, ceilings, and lighting

• Smooth, durable, nonabsorbent, easily cleanable surfaces in prep, walk-in, warewashing, and toilet areas (§6-101.11), with floor-to-wall joints coved and sealed (§6-201.13) and no carpet in prep areas (§6-201.14).
• Light of at least 50 foot-candles where staff prepare food or use knives and slicers, 20 at display and self-service areas, inside reach-ins, and in handwashing, warewashing, and toilet rooms, and 10 in walk-ins and dry storage (§6-303.11).

Equipment, pests, and refuse

• Equipment certified to an ANSI sanitation standard (§4-205.10), enough refrigeration and hot holding for your menu (§4-301.11), and a thermometer in every holding unit (§4-204.112).
• Self-closing, tight-fitting outer doors, with screens or air curtains on any opening kept open (§6-202.15).
• An outdoor refuse area on smooth concrete or asphalt sloped to drain, lidded containers, and a covered waste container in every toilet room.
• Lockers or a dressing area for staff belongings (§6-305.11).

Once you're open, routine inspections follow; our restaurant health inspection checklist walks a kitchen the way an inspector does.

Free checklist

Opening a restaurant? Get the plan review checklist

Get our one-page checklist of what health departments ask for in plan review and check at the preopening inspection, from the FDA Food Code, free. We'll also email you when the Food Code or your state's food rules change, a few times a year; unsubscribe anytime.

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Fees and Timelines: Real Examples

Each health department sets its own fees, timelines, and extra requirements. These are from their own websites, checked October 12, 2026.

Not every city works this way. In New York City, we found no health department plan review: construction goes through the Department of Buildings, and the health department inspects after you apply for your permit.

A Plan Review Timeline

1. Before you sign a lease: call the health department, ask for its plan review packet, and confirm what the space needs (grease interceptor, restrooms, water heater). Check which edition of the Food Code your state uses.
2. Finalize the menu, then the equipment list and layout. The menu decides the sinks and refrigeration you need.
3. Submit plans, spec sheets, and the fee 6 to 10 weeks before construction, and answer review comments quickly.
4. Build to the approved plans. Changes usually need approval too.
5. Apply for the operating permit at least 30 days before opening, and schedule the preopening inspection.
6. Have your paperwork ready for the inspector: written procedures, an employee illness policy, a certified food protection manager, and temperature logs.

The paperwork in step 6 is where the Food Safety Plan Kit fits: it has editable written procedures, an employee illness policy, training records, and eight logs, built on the 2026 Food Code. For the certified manager, see our food manager certification guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a health department plan review?

A review of your restaurant's plans by the local or state health department before you build, convert, or remodel. You submit your menu, layout, finishes, and equipment list; the department approves them, and then inspects before you open to check that the kitchen matches.

How much does restaurant plan review cost?

It depends entirely on the health department. Florida's state restaurant agency charges nothing, Austin charges $312 for new construction, Maricopa County $728 to $885, and Los Angeles County $1,044 to $2,723 depending on size, as of October 2026.

How long does plan review take?

From a few weeks to two months. Los Angeles County reviews within 20 working days, Florida in about 30 days, and King County, Washington says up to 8 to 10 weeks. Submit early and answer comments quickly.

Do I need plan review to buy an existing restaurant?

Often not, if you keep the kitchen as it is, but you'll need a new permit and usually an inspection. Remodeling, changing the menu type, or reopening after a long closure can trigger plan review, so ask your health department before you buy.

Do I need NSF-certified equipment?

The Food Code accepts equipment certified to an ANSI-accredited sanitation standard (§4-205.10). NSF is the most common, and many health departments also accept UL EPH or ETL Sanitation listings. Keep the spec sheets for your plan review submission.

Bottom Line

Get your health department's plan review packet before you sign a lease, let your menu drive the layout, and submit early. The Food Code's list is short, but local rules add sink sizes, water heaters, and grease traps, so build to your county's checklist. Download our free one-page checklist above to track it all.

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