To sell food legally in California, you need at minimum three permits: a California Seller’s Permit from the state, food handler training for anyone handling food, and a health permit from your county’s environmental health department. Most operations also need a local business license or business tax certificate from their city. Beyond that baseline, the permits needed to sell food in California depend on how you operate: a restaurant, a food truck, a home kitchen, a packaged goods manufacturer, and a farmers’ market booth all follow different paths.
Pin Down Your Business Type First
Your permits flow directly from your business model, so sort this out before you apply for anything.
- Fixed food facilities, meaning restaurants, bakeries, cafeterias, and grocery stores with food prep areas, need the most comprehensive permits, including a county health permit, plan review, and a pre-opening inspection.
- Mobile food facilities, meaning food trucks and carts, need a mobile food facility permit from the county health department on top of standard business licenses. Operating without a valid health permit sticker on the vehicle is a misdemeanor.
- Temporary food facilities at farmers’ markets, festivals, and community events get temporary event permits through county environmental health.
- Cottage food operations are home-based businesses selling specific low-risk foods like baked goods, jams, and dried fruits. California has two classes with different rules and sales caps.
- Packaged food manufacturers who process and package food products for distribution usually need a separate registration through the California Department of Public Health.
If you sell both directly to consumers and wholesale to stores, or your operation crosses categories, expect to need permits from more than one pathway.
California Seller’s Permit
Any business selling tangible goods in California needs a Seller’s Permit from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), and food businesses are no exception.1California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Do You Need a California Seller’s Permit? (Publication 107) The permit is free and lets you collect and report sales tax.
Here’s the nuance that trips people up: most grocery-type food sold for home consumption is exempt from California sales tax. The exemption covers unprepared food products like produce, canned goods, and packaged snacks. The exemption disappears when food is sold heated, served as a meal, or eaten on your premises.2California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Common Sales and Use Tax Nontaxable Sales and Partial Exemptions Restaurants, food trucks, and catering operations collect sales tax on virtually everything. A bakery selling bread to take home might not, but the same bakery selling coffee and a sandwich to eat at a table does. You still need the Seller’s Permit either way because you have to account for which sales are taxable and which aren’t.
Apply online through the CDTFA website; the permit is typically issued immediately. You’ll need your business entity type, your Social Security Number or EIN, your business address, estimated monthly sales, and your start date.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Obtaining a Seller’s Permit
Food Handler Cards and Manager Certification
California has two distinct food safety credentials, and most food businesses need both.
Food Handler Card
Almost every employee involved in preparing, storing, or serving food must get a California Food Handler Card within 30 days of being hired.4California Legislative Information. California Code HSC 113948 The card requires completing an approved training course and passing an exam covering food safety basics: preventing contamination, proper temperatures, and personal hygiene. Cards are valid for three years and recognized statewide, regardless of whether the employee changes jobs.5Orange County California – Health Care Agency. California Food Handler Card
Under SB 476, employers must cover the full cost of food handler training, including the course fee and the employee’s time spent completing it. Several categories of food facilities are exempt from the card requirement, including grocery stores (other than separately owned food counters inside them), licensed health care facilities, and public and private school cafeterias.4California Legislative Information. California Code HSC 113948
Food Safety Manager Certification
On top of the food handler cards your staff needs, California requires at least one owner or employee at each food facility to hold a food safety manager certification. This applies to any facility that handles nonprepackaged potentially hazardous food, which covers most restaurants, catering operations, and food trucks. The certified person doesn’t need to be on-site during all operating hours, but they can’t serve as the designated certified person for a second facility.6California Department of Education. Food Safety Certification Requirements – School Nutrition
This certification is more rigorous than the food handler card. It requires passing an exam administered by an organization accredited by the American National Standards Institute under the Conference for Food Protection’s standards. The certificate is valid for five years. Common exam providers include ServSafe and the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals.
County Health Permit
Your county’s environmental health department issues the health permit that authorizes you to operate a food facility. This is the permit with the longest lead time and the most paperwork, and you cannot open your doors without it.7Orange County California – Health Care Agency. Food Facility Health Permit
The process typically works like this: you submit facility plans showing your kitchen layout, equipment, ventilation, plumbing, and waste disposal. The health department reviews those plans and may require revisions. Once the plans are approved and construction or buildout is complete, an inspector visits to confirm the facility matches the approved plans and meets the requirements of the California Retail Food Code. Your permit is issued only after you pass that final inspection.8Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Get a Permit
Mobile food facilities go through a similar plan review process, and every mobile unit must be inspected before it can serve the public. Temporary food facilities at farmers’ markets and community events get a streamlined version of this permit, usually tied to the specific event.
Plan review alone can take several weeks. Contact your county’s environmental health department early, ideally before signing a lease.
Local Business License
Cities and counties in California require businesses to register and pay a business tax. Some jurisdictions call this a Business Tax Certificate rather than a business license. Los Angeles and San Diego both use the certificate terminology, but the function is the same: it authorizes you to conduct business within that jurisdiction and acknowledges payment of local business taxes.9City of San Diego Official Website. Apply for a Business Tax Certificate
Getting one is straightforward. You’ll provide your business name, address, type of operation, owner information, and estimated revenue. Most cities let you apply online. Keep in mind that the business tax certificate doesn’t substitute for any of your other permits. San Diego’s application page makes this explicit: the certificate does not authorize any business activity that separately requires a health, zoning, building, or other permit.9City of San Diego Official Website. Apply for a Business Tax Certificate
Cottage Food Operations for Home Kitchens
If you want to sell food made in your home kitchen, California’s cottage food law creates a pathway that avoids the full commercial kitchen requirement. It’s limited to specific low-risk foods that don’t need refrigeration, like baked goods, jams, granola, dried fruits, candy, and certain nut products. You can’t sell anything perishable, and all products must be properly labeled.
California divides cottage food operations into two classes with meaningfully different rules:10California Department of Public Health. Cottage Food Operation Requirements
- Class A allows direct sales to consumers only. You can sell from your home, at farmers’ markets, community events, and online within California. Annual gross sales are capped at $75,000. You register with your county environmental health department, and no home kitchen inspection is required.
- Class B allows everything Class A allows, plus wholesale to retail stores, restaurants, and other food service businesses. The annual gross sales cap is $150,000. You still register with the county, but your home kitchen must pass an inspection before you can start selling.
Both classes must register with the county and comply with labeling requirements covering the product name, ingredients, allergens, your name and address, the registration or permit number, and the phrase “Made in a Home Kitchen.” Local zoning rules can restrict home-based food production, so check with your city or county zoning office before you invest in supplies. Homeowners’ associations can impose their own restrictions as well.
Processed Food Registration for Manufacturers
If your business goes beyond retail food service and into manufacturing or packaging food products for distribution, you enter a different regulatory lane. The California Department of Public Health’s Food and Drug Branch requires a Processed Food Registration (PFR) for processors of general food commodities like baked goods, noodles, processed vegetables, seafood, snack foods, and dietary supplements.11California Department of Public Health. Processed Food Registration General food warehouses need one too.
The PFR functions as your basic health permit at the state level for manufacturing. It covers products not specifically governed by another CDPH license. This requirement is separate from your county health permit, so if you’re both manufacturing packaged goods and selling them from a retail location, you may need both.
Alcohol License From the ABC
Food businesses that want to serve alcohol need a license from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). The license type depends on what you plan to serve:12Alcoholic Beverage Control – CA.gov. License Types
- Type 41 (On-Sale Beer and Wine, Eating Place) is for restaurants serving beer and wine only. You must maintain a bona fide eating place with kitchen facilities and make substantial meal sales. Distilled spirits can’t be on the premises except brandy, rum, or liqueurs used solely for cooking.
- Type 47 (On-Sale General, Eating Place) is for restaurants serving beer, wine, and spirits. Same bona fide eating place requirements as Type 41.
- Type 75 (Brewpub-Restaurant) is for restaurants that brew beer on-site in addition to serving beer, wine, and spirits.
All of these license types require alcohol servers and their managers to be certified under California’s Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) program. ABC license applications take significantly longer than most other permits and involve public notice requirements, so start this process well ahead of your planned opening.
What to Budget
The Seller’s Permit is free. Food handler cards cost employers relatively little per employee. Everything else adds up, and the biggest variable is your county health permit.
Annual health permit fees depend heavily on your county and the size and complexity of your operation. In Los Angeles County for FY 2025–2026, a small restaurant (up to 30 seats, high risk) pays $1,206 per year, while a larger restaurant (151+ seats) pays $1,438. A high-risk mobile food facility costs $761. A Class A cottage food operation is $118, and a Class B is $292.13County of Los Angeles – Department of Public Health. FY 2025-2026 Public Health and Financial Management Fee Schedule San Diego County charges $842 for a restaurant with 1–10 employees, scaling up to $2,087 for operations with 101 or more employees.14County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health and Quality. Fee Schedule Permits and Plan Check
On top of the annual permit fee, plan review for new construction runs $1,534 and up in San Diego County, with expedited review costing double.14County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health and Quality. Fee Schedule Permits and Plan Check Budget these one-time startup costs separately from recurring annual fees.
Keeping Your Permits Current
Getting your permits is the beginning, not the end. Health permits require periodic inspections by the county health department to verify ongoing compliance with the California Retail Food Code.15California Legislative Information. California Code HSC 113725 Cottage food Class B operations are limited to no more than one inspection per year, but restaurants and other higher-risk facilities can expect more frequent visits.
Health permits, business licenses, and Seller’s Permits all require periodic renewal, typically annually. Missing a renewal deadline can trigger fines, and in the case of a health permit, a lapse means you can’t legally operate. Keep a calendar with renewal dates for every permit, and maintain organized records of inspection reports, food safety plans, employee training certificates, and tax filings.