Environmental Health Services Fees

Environmental Health Services

The County Board of Supervisors approves the fees charged by Environmental Health Services (EHS). Fees are established to cover program costs for conducting inspections, responding to complaints and ensuring programs comply with State laws that mandate monitoring and enforcement by EHS. You can view and download a list of fees posted at the bottom of this page.

Important Notice: On December 10, 2024, the Board of Supervisors approved a new fee schedule that took effect on January 9, 2025. See the FAQs section for more information.

IMPORTANT INVOICE PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS:

Payments cannot be made to or accepted by inspectors. Payments must be made in person at the Environmental Health Services office, by mail, by phone at (650) 372-6200, or online through the MyEHS Portal.

Pay Invoice Now

To pay your invoice online, you will need to enter the invoice number found on your invoice when prompted.

For 5-digit long invoice numbers, please add 000 before the 5 digits when entering your number.
For 6-digit long invoice numbers, please add 00 before the 6 digits when entering your number.
Please note that if you do not add 000 or 00, you will be unable to correctly pull your invoice up in the online portal.

For online payment issues, please call 650-372-6200 Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.

Notice of Public Hearing
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, during their regularly scheduled meeting, will hold a public hearing to consider adoption of a resolution amending the Environmental Health Services Division’s fee schedule to establish a permit fee of one thousand seven hundred six dollars ($1,706) for farm labor housing water systems under San Mateo County Ordinance Code Chapter 4.64, in order to cover the administrative and enforcement costs of the Board’s adoption of a comprehensive overhaul of the County’s domestic water systems ordinance, including establishment of a regulatory program for farm labor housing water systems.

The proposed fee is necessary to reflect the estimated reasonable costs of providing the associated services. The Division’s proposed amended fee schedule is available by visiting smchealth.org/ehfees, emailing envhealth@smcgov.org, or calling Environmental Health Services at (650) 372-6200.

The hearing will be held as follows:
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2026 – Proposed
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Location: HYBRID MEETING – IN-PERSON AND BY VIDEO CONFERENCE

Board Chambers Room
500 County Center
Redwood City, CA, 94063

See the Board of Supervisors’ agenda for instructions on remote participation via Zoom.

The Board of Supervisors’ agenda is published the Wednesday before the meeting at: https://sanmateocounty.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

The meeting will be open to the public and anyone interested may appear in-person or via Zoom video conference. If you plan to attend in-person, please allow adequate time for parking and security processing. All inquiries should be directed to Charles Ice at cice@smcgov.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

On December 10, 2024, the Board of Supervisors approved the new fee package that took effect on January 9, 2025.

EHS is mandated to oversee various business practices governed by local and State statutes.
EHS is self-funded through the fees we charge.
EHS is not funded through tax money.
Costs for EHS to perform services rise every year. EHS must change fees for cost recovery.
The revenues from our last fee increase were not enough to catch up to the rising costs after the fees were deferred in Spring 2020 and Spring 2022. When the fees finally were approved in November 2022, the fees didn’t go into effect until July 2023. The increase was not enough to cover cost increases, exacerbated further by significant inflation.
The proposed fee schedule and annual automatic adjustment are necessary to reflect the current and future reasonable costs of providing services.

Updates posted to the website.
Mailers to various business associations.
Multilingual mailers and emails to EHS regulated businesses.
Public Notice in the San Mateo Daily Journal.

An immediate 25% increase in fees across the board for all programs is necessary to achieve full cost recovery for providing program services. HOWEVER, to reduce the impact that this increase would have have on businesses, the proposal is for a 15% increase January 9, 2025 with an increase of 14-15% (based on future Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Board-approve workforce cost increases) January 1, 2026 to recover costs more completely within 2 years.
The fee schedule has proposed language that would increase fees annually thereafter by a Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Board-approved workforce cost increases, with the expectation that increases will be smaller, avoiding larger, albeit less frequent increases, unless the Board takes a different action.
The approved fees are posted on our website.
- Find the specific fee categories you are invoiced for by looking at your last invoice, your permit, or
- Provide the name of your business so that a search of our records can be made

The fee reflects the average amount of time and resources needed to perform the service.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Board-approved workforce cost increases are being proposed in the fee schedule to increase fees annually thereafter, unless otherwise approved by the Board.

No.

County’s policy on exemptions from annual fees is limited to:

Businesses operated by blind persons.
Charitable organizations that distribute no compensation.
Farm labor and employee housing under specific conditions.
Veterans – AB 498 provides for a veterans exemption statewide for any honorably discharged veteran who is a sole proprietor for any business selling or providing services (with some limitations).

EHS can’t provide extensions to businesses to pay fees or delay implementing fee increases. There are business resources that may be available to assist with business costs (see question below).

EHS does not offer payment plans.
US Small Business Administration — small business resources
Local chambers of commerce — check your city’s local chamber of commerce to see if any small business resources are available.

Check this webpage for more information. If you can’t find your answer, please email or call.
Email: ehsfees@smcgov.org

Call EHS at 650-372-6200. Language/interpreter assistance is available upon request.

Payment, Exemptions and Terms

The following may be exempt from payment of annual fees:

Any business or activity operated by a blind person who has a certificate issued by the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation of the State of California.
Any business or activity owned and operated exclusively for charitable purposes where no person benefits through the distribution of profits or other compensation, as evidenced by volunteer staff and/or donation of all products or proceeds.
Farm and employee housing under specific conditions.
AB 498 provides for a veterans exemption statewide for any honorably discharged veteran who is a sole proprietor for any business selling or providing services (with some limitations).
Fee exemption does not apply to fees associated with permit application fees, plan check fees, or reinspection fees.