Legislation

* § 500-b. Licensure. No person shall maintain or operate a retail
food store, food service establishment or food warehouse unless such
establishment is licensed pursuant to the provisions of this article,
provided, however, that establishments registered, permitted or licensed
by the department pursuant to other provisions of this chapter, under
permit and inspection by the state department of health or by a local
health agency which maintains a program certified and approved by the
state commissioner of health, or subject to inspection by the United
States department of agriculture pursuant to the federal meat, poultry
or egg inspection programs, shall be exempt from licensure under this
article.

1. Application for licensure of a retail food store, food service
establishment or food warehouse shall be made, upon a form prescribed by
the commissioner, on or before December first of every other year for
the registration period beginning January first following.

2. Upon submission of a completed application, together with the
applicable licensing fee, the commissioner may issue a license to the
retail food store, food service establishment or food warehouse
described in the application for two years from the date of issuance
pursuant to the provisions of this article.

3. The license fee shall be two hundred fifty dollars provided,
however, that food warehouses shall pay a license fee of four hundred
dollars.

4. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the commissioner shall,
upon submission of a completed application for a new license by an
applicant that is a chain store, as defined by subdivision five of
section two hundred fifty-one-z-two of this chapter, issue such license
for a period ending on the same date as the licenses of the other chain
stores that are a part of the same network.

* NB Effective February 13, 2026