Sources and how links are checked
Every state link on this site comes from one of the federal directories below. We do not copy fees, deadlines or requirements from third-party blogs.
| Source | Used for | Last verified |
|---|---|---|
| TTB: Alcohol Beverage Authorities in the United States | State alcohol authority links | 2026-10-17 |
| FDA: State Retail and Food Service Codes and Regulations by State | State food-service program links | 2026-10-17 |
| IRS: State government websites | Per-state page of business, tax and employer links | 2026-10-17 |
| U.S. DOL: Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees by State | Tipped wage table, document revised 2026-07-01 | 2026-10-17 |
| SBA: Apply for licenses and permits | General reference | 2026-10-17 |
| Reddit r/KitchenConfidential: permits thread | Owner account | 2026-10-17 |
| Fairfax County Board Auditor: restaurant permitting study | Public study | 2026-10-17 |
| Institute for Justice: Restaurant | Public report | 2026-10-17 |
Link checks
Last full check: 2026-10-19. Every outbound link on the site (240) was requested once by a rate-limited checker that identifies itself, reads each site's robots.txt first and stops at the first sign a site does not want automated visits. 204 loaded normally. The rest were not confirmed this time because the site showed a block or bot check, its robots.txt could not be read, or the site returned an error page to the checker. That does not mean the page is gone; a normal browser visit usually works. Agency links that could not be confirmed are labeled "link not confirmed". There are no links that point only to an agency home page. Raw status per link is in states.json.
The U.S. DOL page could not be read directly, so the tipped-wage table was read another way and transcribed by hand; the DOL document was dated 2026-07-01.
Agency notes and permit-issuer table
The notes shown under some state sections and the who-issues-permits table paraphrase the agency page named in each note. Each was read on 2026-10-17; the agency's own wording controls and can change.
State restaurant associations
Each state page links the state restaurant association named in the National Restaurant Association state directory, read 2026-10-18. Links were re-checked on 2026-10-18; a few sites block automated checks and are labeled. Listings are informational, not endorsements.