How to Start a Restaurant in Arizona: County Health Permit, Plan Review and Liquor Option

If you are looking for how to start a restaurant in Arizona, expect two tracks running at the same time. The business track covers your legal entity, your name and your tax registrations with the Arizona Corporation Commission and the Arizona Department of Revenue. The food track is harder to rush. Your county environmental health agency has to review your plans before you build, inspect the finished space and issue the food establishment permit that lets you open. Most people searching for an arizona restaurant license are really looking for that county permit, plus a city business license and, if you want beer or wine, an optional liquor license. This guide follows the order that works in practice.

Informational content, not legal or tax advice. This article explains how the process generally works in Arizona as of October 2026. It is not legal, tax or food safety advice. Fees, forms and county rules change, so confirm every figure with the agency named before you spend money. For complex situations, such as a liquor license, a lease with unusual terms or a multi-location plan, work with a qualified attorney or CPA.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these items before you file anything. Missing documents are the most common reason a county review stalls.

• A short operating plan covering service style, hours, menu type, seating count and whether you will serve alcohol.
• A proposed legal name for your entity. Check it in the Arizona Business Center search at arizonabusinesscenter.azcc.gov/businesssearch.
• A statutory agent with a permanent, full-time Arizona address, plus the agent's signed acceptance on Form M002.
• A federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS.
• A signed lease or a purchase agreement for the site, because the county and the city both review the location.
• A floor plan drawn to scale that shows equipment, sinks, dry and cold storage, restrooms, and the customer and employee layout.
• An equipment schedule with make, model and spec sheets for cooking, refrigeration and dishwashing equipment.
• A written menu. Specialized processes such as smoking, curing or cook-chill methods often need a separate written plan, so list them now.
• A Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) certificate for your person in charge, or a plan to earn one before opening.
• A budget that covers the entity filing, the TPT license, city licensing, county plan review and permit fees, and build-out costs.

Step 1: Form Your Entity With the Arizona Corporation Commission

Most independent restaurants form a limited liability company (LLC). You file Articles of Organization (Form L010) with the Arizona Corporation Commission, Corporations Division. The regular filing fee is $50. Expedited review costs $35 above the regular fee, which brings the Articles of Organization to $85 total. Accelerated service is an additional charge on top of the filing fee: $100 for next day (received by 5pm), $200 for same day (received by 10am) and $400 for two-hour service, available 8am to 3pm. Accelerated service guarantees an examination within the stated window, not approval. A rejected filing still needs to be corrected and resubmitted.

Per the Corporations Division processing times sheet posted December 29, 2025, regular processing runs about 9 to 11 business days and expedited processing runs about 2 to 4 business days. Confirm the current times on azcc.gov/corporations before you plan an opening date.

Your name has to meet A.R.S. 29-3112. It must include "limited liability company" or "limited company," or one of the abbreviations L.L.C., L.C., LLC or LC. It must not include "association," "corporation," "incorporated" or an abbreviation of those words. It must be distinguishable from existing entity names, reserved names and registered trade names on the record. If you want to hold a name while you prepare your filing, a name reservation costs $10 and lasts 120 days.

Two more LLC points matter for a restaurant. First, an LLC must publish notice unless its statutory agent's county is Maricopa or Pima. If your agent is in another county, confirm with the Corporation Commission what publication involves and budget for it. Second, Arizona LLCs do not file annual reports. Only for-profit corporations file them, at $45 per year. If you choose a corporation instead, the annual report is a recurring cost to plan for.

Your statutory agent must keep a valid Arizona address on record at all times. An LLC cannot serve as its own statutory agent. Changing the statutory agent or the principal address costs $5 for an LLC. If the agent's address lapses, the entity can face administrative dissolution, so put the agent's renewal date on your calendar.

Step 2: Register a Trade Name If You Will Use One

Your legal entity name and your restaurant's public name do not have to match. If you will operate as something other than your LLC's legal name, register that trade name with the Arizona Secretary of State, Business Services Division. Trade name registration is optional in Arizona. It is separate from the Corporation Commission filing, so the two do not replace each other. The fee is not stated in the figures this guide relies on, so confirm it on the trade name page at azsos.gov/business/tntm before you pay.

Step 3: Get Your EIN and Your TPT License

Apply for an EIN from the IRS. You will need it for bank accounts, payroll and the state tax registrations that follow.

Next, apply for a Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) license from the Arizona Department of Revenue at azdor.gov/business/transaction-privilege-tax/tpt-license. The state license costs $12 per location. Arizona has no single general business license, so this TPT license is the state document most businesses need. It is a tax license, not a permit to operate.

Restaurants fall under the TPT restaurant classification in A.R.S. 42-5074, which applies to gross sales. TPT is owed by the business on its gross sales. Many restaurants show the tax on the check, but the obligation is the business's, so price your menu and your books with it in mind. Your city also has its own licensing and tax requirements on top of the state license, which Step 4 covers.

How the business is taxed depends on your entity. An LLC is typically a pass-through, so its income flows to the members, who pay Arizona's flat 2.5 percent individual income tax. An LLC that elects corporate treatment pays the corporate income tax of 4.9 percent of net income or $50, whichever is greater (A.R.S. 43-1111). Ask a CPA which structure fits your numbers. If you have employees, you will also set up withholding and unemployment accounts with the state, so add those to your checklist.

Step 4: Confirm Zoning and City Licensing Before You Sign the Lease

This is the step people skip, and it is the one that costs the most when it goes wrong. Counties in Arizona issue no general business license. Cities and towns often require their own business license on top of the state TPT license, and some also regulate restaurant use, seating, parking, signage and hours through zoning.

Call the city's planning, zoning or business licensing office with the exact address before you commit to a lease. Ask four questions. Is restaurant use permitted at this address? Does the city require a business license, and what is the current fee? Does the space need a zoning or use confirmation for alcohol service? Are there conditions on hours, outdoor seating or grease discharge? Get the answers in writing, or note the name and date of the person who gave them. Regulated professions have separate board licensing, so check that too if your concept includes them.

Step 5: Submit Plans to Your County for Plan Review

The county issues the food establishment permit, and it reviews plans before you start construction. Which agency you use depends on where the restaurant is located: Maricopa County Environmental Services, Pima County Consumer Health and Food Safety, or Yavapai County Environmental Health. Find the agency that covers your address on the county's website. The rules of one county do not carry over to another.

Submit your plans before you start build-out or change the layout. A plan review package typically includes the scaled floor plan, the equipment schedule with spec sheets, the finish schedule for floors, walls and ceilings, the handwashing and warewashing setup, food storage, the water supply and wastewater arrangements, and a description of any special processes. Reviewers may return written comments that require changes. Fixing a layout on paper costs far less than tearing out a finished kitchen, so respond to every comment in writing.

Plan review and permit fees are set in each county's fee schedule, and the schedules changed in 2026. Maricopa County proposed new plan review and permit fees effective August 19, 2026. Pull the current fee table from the county before you budget, because older figures you find online may no longer apply. Do not treat any figure in this guide as the final county fee.

Step 6: Build Out With Licensed Contractors

Arizona's Registrar of Contractors licenses contractors. Before you pay a deposit, verify each contractor's license status with the Registrar. Ask the Registrar and your city whether any work you plan to do yourself falls outside contractor licensing for your project. Keep the approved plan on site during construction, and tell the county when the work will be ready for inspection. If your build-out changes anything shown in the approved plan, submit the change before you make it.

Step 7: Put a CFPM on Staff

In Maricopa County, the rule is specific. At least one Certified Food Protection Manager must be on staff, and the person in charge must be a CFPM who is on site during operating hours. The CFPM certificate must be kept at the establishment. Schedule the exam early, because the inspector may ask for proof at the pre-opening visit. If you open in Pima or Yavapai County, confirm that county's own certification requirements with its agency rather than assuming they match Maricopa's.

Step 8: Pass the Pre-Opening Inspection and Post Your Permit

When construction is complete, request the pre-opening inspection from your county. The inspector checks the space against the approved plan and the equipment against the spec sheets. Expect a close look at handwashing sinks, temperature control, food storage, the dish machine, the CFPM certificate and your written procedures. The permit is issued after you pass. Do not serve customers, host a soft opening or take payment for food before the permit is in hand. Post it where the county directs.

Step 9 (Optional): Apply for a Series 12 Restaurant Liquor License

A liquor license is optional. Skip this step if you will not sell alcohol. If you want it, the Series 12 restaurant license comes from the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control. The published costs are a $100 application fee, a $1,500 issuance fee and a $500 annual renewal fee, plus surcharges set under A.R.S. 4-209. Confirm the current base fees and surcharge amounts with the department before you budget, because liquor license fees are not settled figures in this guide.

The application goes to the local governing body for your location first, so expect local review before the state acts. Plan for that timeline separately from your health permit. Do not assume one approval will move the other.

A Series 12 license carries a food revenue requirement. The restaurant must average at least 40 percent of its revenue from food, and the department can audit this under A.R.S. 4-213. Keep sales records that separate food and liquor from the first day you open. A menu built around alcohol-heavy sales can fail the audit even if your overall sales look healthy.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Signing a lease first. If the city will not permit restaurant use or the space cannot meet county requirements, the lease becomes a cost you carry with no restaurant in it.
• Building before plan approval. Reviewers may require changes to the layout, plumbing or finishes. Changes after construction are expensive.
• Assuming Arizona has a general business license. The state TPT license is a tax license, and cities often add their own requirements.
• Skipping equipment spec sheets. Plan review stalls when the reviewer cannot confirm what is being installed.
• Treating expedited filing as approval. Accelerated service guarantees an examination window. It does not guarantee the filing will be approved.
• Using old county fee tables. County fee schedules changed in 2026, so pull the current table from your county.
• Leaving the CFPM for the last week. Without a certified person in charge on site, the inspection can fail or the opening can slip.
• Mixing food and liquor records. The 40 percent food revenue test is an audit, so clean bookkeeping from day one protects the license.
• Applying your neighbor's county rules. Maricopa, Pima and Yavapai run their own programs, so confirm the rules for the county where you will open.

What Results to Expect

Completing these steps may put you in a position to open a restaurant that meets Arizona's business filing, tax, zoning and food safety requirements. A typical path produces an approved entity filing, a trade name if you use one, a TPT license, a city business license where required, a plan review that your county has accepted, a food establishment permit after the pre-opening inspection and, if you chose it, a Series 12 license. The county permit is the main gate. Nothing in this process predicts how much revenue your restaurant will earn, and no license is a promise of success. Outcomes depend on the site, the concept, the staff and the operator.

Many county food rules are based on the FDA Food Code, but each jurisdiction adopts its own version. Read the rules your county enforces, not a general summary, including this one.

Where to Confirm Each Step

Agency or resource	What it handles	Where to confirm
Arizona Corporation Commission, Corporations Division	LLC and corporation filings, name checks, annual reports	azcc.gov/corporations and Arizona Business Center
Arizona Secretary of State, Business Services Division	Optional trade name registration	azsos.gov/business/tntm
Arizona Department of Revenue	TPT license, withholding, individual income tax	azdor.gov
County environmental health agency	Plan review, food establishment permit, CFPM rules	Maricopa County Environmental Services, Pima County Consumer Health and Food Safety, or Yavapai County Environmental Health, through your county website
Department of Liquor Licenses and Control	Series 12 restaurant liquor license	Contact the department directly for current fees and surcharges
Registrar of Contractors	Contractor licensing	Contact the Registrar directly to verify a contractor
Your city or town	Business license, zoning and use confirmation	The city planning, zoning or business licensing office
Arizona Small Business Development Center Network	Free and low-cost advising on planning	arizonasbdc.com

Final Checklist Before You Open

Before you schedule a public opening, confirm that you have your filed entity and the stamped filing, your trade name if you use one, your TPT license, your city business license, your county plan review approval, your food establishment permit, your CFPM certificate on site and, if applicable, your Series 12 license. If any item is missing, do not open until it is in hand. Operating without a required license or permit is harder to fix than a delayed opening.

This is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Confirm the current rules with the agencies above, and work with a qualified attorney or CPA on your entity choice, lease, tax position and any liquor license decision.