Start a Home Kitchen in California

The steps, the costs, where to apply, and how to get inspection-ready — in California's own program terms.

🍳 Looking for California's permitted MEHKO meal kitchens?

MEHKO Finder is the dedicated home for California's MEHKO program — its finder, Ask Mehko, county-by-county permit help, and owner claims live there.

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Home Food Finder's California coverage leads with what MEHKO Finder doesn't cover: California cottage food (Cottage Food Operations, Class A & B) and street & mobile vendors (CMFO / sidewalk vending) — with the complete national directory, all tracks, in the finder below.

Starting outside the MEHKO track?

Cottage food: California Cottage Food Operations (Class A & Class B) register with the county environmental health department — see the cottage section of the California law guide.

Street & mobile vending: sidewalk vendors and Compact Mobile Food Operations (CMFO) need a county health permit plus local vending permits — see the street-vendor section of the California law guide.

Cottage food law Microenterprise home kitchen (MEHKO)

Sales cap: Cottage food: Class A $75,000 / Class B $150,000 in verifiable gross annual sales, adjusted annually for inflation based on the California Consumer Price Index (HSC 113758; CDPH publishes the adjusted limits). MEHKO: $100,000 in verifiable gross annual sales, adjusted annually for inflation based on the California Consumer Price Index (HSC 113825), with food preparation limited to 30 meals per day and 90 meals per week. No scheduled statutory changes beyond the annual CPI adjustment.

Allowed foods: Cottage food — Allowed: only foods on CDPH's Approved Cottage Food List (shelf-stable, non-potentially hazardous): baked goods without cream, custard, or meat fillings, candy, churros, tortillas, dried fruit and pasta, dry baking mixes, granola/cereals/trail mix, jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butter, honey, nut mixes and nut butters, popcorn, roasted coffee, dried tea, vinegar, mustard, and similar items. Not allowed: anything potentially hazardous that requires refrigeration or time/temperature control — meat, dairy, cream/custard-filled pastries, cut produce, and similar items. MEHKO — Allowed: hot or cold meals prepared, cooked, and served the same day (dine-in, customer pickup, or delivery by the operator). Not allowed: any process requiring a HACCP plan, raw milk or raw-milk products, raw oysters, production/manufacturing of milk products (cheese, ice cream, yogurt, butter, sour cream), catering operations, or wholesale/retail (indirect) sale.

🥧 Cottage track in California

🥧 Cottage Food Operation — Shelf-Stable Cottage food law — the shelf-stable track: preorder / pickup, never reservations.

Allowed foods: only foods on CDPH's Approved Cottage Food List (shelf-stable, non-potentially hazardous): baked goods without cream, custard, or meat fillings, candy, churros, tortillas, dried fruit and pasta, dry baking mixes, granola/cereals/trail mix, jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butter, honey, nut mixes and nut butters, popcorn, roasted coffee, dried tea, vinegar, mustard, and similar items.

Prohibited foods: anything potentially hazardous that requires refrigeration or time/temperature control — meat, dairy, cream/custard-filled pastries, cut produce, and similar items.

Sales cap (cottage track): Class A $75,000 / Class B $150,000 in verifiable gross annual sales, adjusted annually for inflation based on the California Consumer Price Index (HSC 113758; CDPH publishes the adjusted limits).

Labeling (from the published steps):

Design compliant labels: 'Made in a Home Kitchen' in 12-point type, the product's common name, your operation's name and city/state/ZIP, your registration/permit number, ingredients in descending order, net quantity in English and metric units, and a plain-language allergen declaration

Where you may sell (from the published rules):

Sell through allowed channels only: cottage food direct (Class A) or direct plus retail/restaurant (Class B)

🌮 Street track in California

🌮 Street Food — Sidewalk & Mobile

Street and mobile vendors do not cook from home kitchens — a different permit stack, and walk-up sales only.

California sidewalk vending was decriminalised by SB 946 (2018); SB 972 (2022) created the Compact Mobile Food Operation (CMFO) health-permit path for sidewalk vendors doing limited food preparation — hot-dog carts and cut-fruit stands are the named examples.

The permit stack:

A county health permit for your operation type — a CMFO permit for limited-preparation carts, or a Mobile Food Facility (MFF) permit for trucks and fuller-preparation carts.
A local sidewalk vending permit where your city or county requires one (SB 946 lets local programs regulate time, place, and manner — they may not ban sidewalk vending).
A California seller's permit (sales tax) for taxable sales.

Food is stored at a commissary or other approved storage/prep facility — not in a home kitchen.

Carts go through county plan check; pre-approved cart designs can be permitted without building a custom cart.

Exempt line: carts selling only whole, uncut produce or prepackaged foods from an approved source, on a cart of 25 square feet or less, are exempt from the county health permit — exempt vendors are NOT “permitted” and must never be labeled as such.

The permit steps

Class A cottage food: register with your county environmental health department with a self-certification checklist; complete Cottage Food Operator Training within 3 months; not subject to routine inspections (complaint-based only).
Class B cottage food: apply for a permit from your county environmental health department; initial inspection plus annual inspections; same training requirement.
MEHKO (opt-in counties only): submit a permit application plus written standard operating procedures (food types, prep methods, cleaning schedules, temperature controls) to the county environmental health agency; pass an initial inspection; the operator must pass an approved accredited food-safety certification exam; any other food workers need food-handler cards.
MEHKO inspections are limited to: one routine inspection per 12 months (noticed, at a mutually agreeable time), investigation inspections on just cause, and emergency inspections. The permit is nontransferable and must be displayed onsite.
Fees are set by each county and may not exceed reasonable administrative costs; e.g., Los Angeles County's MEHKO application review fee is $597 plus an annual permit fee (LA offered a one-time application-fee subsidy through June 30, 2026). CDPH charges no fees — it does not register or permit CFOs.

How it works, start to finish

Pick your path: packaged shelf-stable goods = cottage food (available statewide); hot same-day meals = MEHKO (only where your county has opted in).
Cottage food: confirm your product is on CDPH's Approved Cottage Food List.
Contact your county environmental health department for the Class A registration or Class B permit application and fee schedule.
Complete the Cottage Food Operator Training within 3 months of registration/permitting (MEHKO operators instead pass an accredited food-safety manager certification; other food workers need food-handler cards).
Design compliant labels: 'Made in a Home Kitchen' in 12-point type, the product's common name, your operation's name and city/state/ZIP, your registration/permit number, ingredients in descending order, net quantity in English and metric units, and a plain-language allergen declaration.
MEHKO: submit written standard operating procedures, pass the initial home-kitchen inspection, and display your permit onsite while operating.
Sell through allowed channels only: cottage food direct (Class A) or direct plus retail/restaurant (Class B); MEHKOs sell direct to consumers only — dine-in, pickup, or your own delivery, never wholesale.
Stay under your annual sales cap and keep verifiable sales records.

Where to apply in California — county by county

California's microenterprise home kitchen (MEHKO) program is county opt-in. Fees and application routes below are the published county details — confirm locally before you apply, as fees change.