Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
Los Angeles County food-facility health permits run about $319–$1,438 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $1,044–$2,723. Confirm the exact amount with Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division before you budget.
Confirm the authority for your exact address. Some cities run their own health division, and building, planning, fire, sewer/grease and business-license approvals are separate even when Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division issues the health permit.
Cities with their own health department: Pasadena, Long Beach, Vernon. Food businesses inside these cities apply to the city health department (with its own fees and rules), not Los Angeles County. Confirm which authority covers your exact address.
About 23,463 food & drinking establishments operate here, serving a population of about 9,663,345. (U.S. Census 2023 estimate; County Business Patterns 2022, NAICS 722)
Tiered by seat count AND an EH-assigned risk level; Separate owner-initiated inspection fees also exist
LA County posts A (90-100) / B (80-89) / C (70-79) letter-grade placards from a 100-point inspection; scores below 70 post the numeric score.
Carts = CMFOs, trucks = MFFs (2024 restructuring); Mobile units generally must operate from an approved commissary, which carries its own separate permit + plan-check fee
Fees/payment and forms are on the department site; application steps vary by concept — see the checklist below.
Comparison uses the lowest published annual restaurant-permit figure in each county; confirm your exact tier with the department.
U.S. Census 2023 population; County Business Patterns 2022 (NAICS 722).
Plus building, fire, and business-license fees that vary locally — use the cost calculators and the checklist below to budget the full stack.
A code-compliant kitchen in Los Angeles County needs more than the health permit — these approvals are handled by separate offices. Confirm current requirements with each.
| Building / plans | Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) · 311 |
| Fire marshal | Los Angeles Fire Department - Bureau of Fire Prevention & Public Safety |
| Zoning / planning | Los Angeles City Planning |
| Sewer / grease | LA Sanitation & Environment (LASAN) - Industrial Waste Management / grease control |
| Business license | City of Los Angeles Office of Finance - Business Tax Registration Certificate · 844-663-4411 |
| Category | Annual fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Caterer | $2,179 | Caterer 0-999 sq ft $2,179 (1601); 1,000-1,999 $2,379 (1602); 2,000+ $3,018 (1603); Host Facility with Catering Oper $358 (1608); Motion Picture Catering Operations $1,160 (1350) |
| Commissary | $274 | Commissary Storage Facility $274 (1330); Food Storage & Cleaning $401 (1331); Cleaning & Storage $310 (1332); Food Prep 1-10 mobile food fac $678 (1334); Food Prep 11+ $779 (1335) |
| Shared kitchen complex | $2,252 | Shared Kitchen Complex <9,999 sq ft $2,252 (1826); 10,000+ sq ft $2,775 (1827); SKC tenant wholesale food processor annual $222 (1828) |
| Bakery | — | No standalone bakery permit; bakeries permitted as food processor or food market |
| Bar / tavern | — | No standalone bar/tavern permit; permitted as restaurant |
| Market / grocery | $289 | Food Market Retail (1-1,999 sq ft) low risk $289 (1610); (2,000+ sq ft) low risk $388 (1613); MM Food Mkt Retail (25-1,999 sq ft) low risk $289 (1530) |
| Temporary / special event | $59 | TFF Demonstrator $59 (1420); TFF Prepackaged $82 (1421); TFF Prepackaged w/ sampling $116 (1422); TFF Preparation $184 (1423); TFB single-loc annual preparation $507 (1424); Community Event Organizer $358 (1427); Certified Farmers' Market 1-20 vendors $215, 21+ $323 (1401-1402); Swap Meet Prepackaged Food Stand $182 (1410) |
| Pushcart / low-risk / limited | $126 | Compact Mobile Food Operation low risk $126 (1301); Personal Hawker $224 (1440) |
| Food processing / wholesale | $984 | Food Market Wholesale $984 (1801); Wholesale Food Complex $1,438 (1810); Food Processing Wholesale 1-1,999 sq ft $2,300 (1820), 2,000-5,999 $2,707 (1821), 6,000+ $3,018 (1822); Food Processing Low Risk $1,098 (1825); Food Warehouse 1-4,999 sq ft $405, 5,000+ $445 (1660-1661); Food Salvager $2,090 (1450) |
Health-department plan review looks for specific, code-compliant fixtures. Compare spec-filtered options, then confirm counts and sizes with your local requirements. See the full list in what equipment a commercial kitchen requires.
Permit costs and rules change at the county line — compare Los Angeles County with its neighbors.
This is a typical sequence — confirm the exact sequence with your authority having jurisdiction.
Official plan-check requirements: plan-check guide →