Accela Citizen Access Portal – Food Safety – Permanent Food Facilities

The Accela Citizen Access Portal is the Warren County Health District’s online permitting system which allows members of the public and regulated community to submit plans and applications for new and existing restaurants, grocery stores and food marts, food trucks, temporary food establishments, vending machines, and micromarkets. Typically, we refer to these as Food Service Operations (FSOs) and Retail Food Establishments (RFEs).

Click here to access the Accela Citizen Access Portal

How to submit plans and applications to the Accela Citizen Access Portal

• Click the link for Accela Citizen Access Portal
• Create an account
• Select Environmental Health at the top
• Select Create an Application
• Read the disclaimer and click the box at the bottom confirming you have read and accepted it
• Select Continue Application
• Select the Record Type and select Continue Application
• Complete the Application

Helpful Tips and Tricks for Submitting to the Accela Citizen Access Portal

Tip#1: Plan Ahead!

The Warren County Health District asks for 30 days to act on submitted plan review applications for new food facilities. The inspector assigned to your plan review has hundreds of food facilities, and dozens of pools, campgrounds, and other inspections they are responsible for completing. Getting your plan review submitted to our office sooner rather than later ensures that your plan review process is finished quickly and will help keep you on schedule. 

Tip#2: Prepare Your Information and Documentation!

Before you log on and try to submit a plan review application for a new food facility, ensure that you have all the required documentation.

• Address of Facility
• Contact information (can be the same person)
  • Applicant
  • FacilityFacility Owner or Parent Company
  • License Holder
• Total Square Feet of Facility
  • Total Square feet of facility devoted to food
• Construction start and end dates (if applicable)
  • Opening Date
• Proposed Food Processes
• Days and Hours of Operation
• Food Storage and contamination prevention
• Cooking processes
• Catering Information
• Equipment list showing all manufacturers’ make and model numbers for all equipment. (All equipment must be commercial-grade, NSF, ETL Sanitation, UL Sanitation, etc.)
• Finish schedule of floors, walls and ceilings in all areas of the facility
• Water Supply Information
  • If Private Water Supply, WCHD approval required
    • Acceptable water sample will be required yearly
  • If Public Water Supply (non-municipal), EPA approval required
• Sewage Treatment System Information
  • If Private Sewage Treatment, WCHD approval required
  • If Semi-Public, EPA approval required
• Grease Trap Size and Location
• Mop, service, and handing washing sink information
• Toilet facility information
• Site Plan (showing location of the business, the roads and alleys, and of any outside equipment such as grease traps and dumpsters)
• Facility floor plan. The floor plans must be drawn reasonably to scale and must include:
  • Square footage of facility
  • Locations of entrances and exits, loading docks, etc.
  • Location and layout of all proposed pieces of equipment
  • Location of dry storage and chemical storage
  • Designated area for storage of employee belongings
  • Interior and exterior seating
• Lighting Schedule showing the location of all overhead lighting, including inside walk-in coolers/freezers

Tip#3: Accela Citizen Access Portal Step 3- Business Information

When submitting the equipment list and interior finish section of Step 3- Business Information please do not input each piece of equipment or the finish schedule manually. In Figure 1. below, you can see the “Add a Row” option that allows you to a row and input each individual piece of equipment / interior finish. This is NOT required by the WCHD. The Accela Citizen Access Portal requires at least 1 row added to each of these sections to move to the next steps. For your convenience, please add only 1 row to the Equipment List and 1 row to the Interior Finishes section. Then you may upload the complete Equipment List and Interior Finishes to Section 4- Documents.

Tip#4: Pay Your Plan Review Fee!

The plan review fee for new permanent food facilities is $150.00. You can pay online at by clicking this link.  Failure to pay your plan review fee will likely result in delays in the plan review process.