Are Home Kitchens Legal and Permitted?

Yes. San Diego County permits home kitchens. A cook must finish the County’s permit process, including an inspection, before selling a single meal.

How it became legal

California law created a category of food business called a Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation (MEHKO). Each county decides whether to allow them. San Diego County ran a pilot first, then made its program permanent on January 5, 2024. The program is run by the County’s Department of Environmental Health and Quality (DEHQ) — the same department that inspects restaurants.

What a cook must do before opening

• Submit a health permit application to the County.

• Submit written Standard Operating Procedures: the menu, how each dish is cooked and held, cleaning, and delivery methods.

• Hold a Food Safety Manager certificate.

• Pass a County inspection of the kitchen. The permit is issued after that inspection.

What “permitted” means for you

• The cook has been through the County’s process.

• The kitchen must follow County food-safety rules and can be inspected.

• The County can investigate complaints and reports of illness.

• A permit is not a County endorsement of the food, the cook, the price, or the experience.

How to check

SD Food Info shows the most recent routine inspection results. The County’s search instructions explain how to filter by business type and location. The site does not show current permit status. If you need to confirm a permit is active, contact the County permit desk. Are Home Kitchens Inspected? How to Check has the steps.

How to tell official information from a cook’s own information on this site

• County inspection information is shown separately from the profile the cook writes.

• We show the date we last checked public County information.

• We do not describe a kitchen as currently permitted unless we have confirmed it.

• Nothing on this site is a County endorsement.

Trust comes from clarity: official information looks different from promotional information.