What licenses and registrations do I need to start a home-cooked meal business in San Lorenzo, CA?

Angela wrote: “I cook dinners at home in my home kitchen, and I would like to legally sell my dinners to my community.”

Hi Angela, Angie's Kitchen is an exciting name to see on a new business in San Lorenzo. The smell of slow-cooked stew or bubbling enchiladas brings neighbors running, and good home cooking spreads by word of mouth. In this answer you will find the business structure, the tax registrations, and the local and industry licenses for Angie's Kitchen, plus a short recap at the end.

Hot dinners are not allowed under California's cottage food law, but the state's microenterprise home kitchen law lets you sell meals from home if your county has opted in, and Alameda County is among those that have. A MEHKO permit comes with a food safety certification, an inspection of your kitchen, and limits on daily meals and annual sales. You also need a California seller's permit, since prepared meals are taxable. San Lorenzo is unincorporated, so your local permits follow Alameda County's rules rather than a city's. The smell of a home-cooked dinner is a great sales tool, but write down a menu and stick to it.

What Angie's Kitchen needs

1. LLC (business structure) – An LLC keeps business debts and lawsuits separate from your personal home and savings. If a container of chicken sits too warm and a customer gets sick, the illness claim belongs to the meal business rather than to you and your house.
2. California fictitious business name statement – Registering "Angie's Kitchen" tells the public who stands behind the name. If you form an LLC under that exact name, the LLC filing itself protects the name and a separate DBA is usually unnecessary.
3. EIN (federal tax ID number) – You plan on 1 employee, so the federal tax ID number (EIN) is required for payroll, and you will also use it for the business bank account and supplier accounts.
4. California seller's permit – You will be selling taxable goods, so register to collect sales tax before your first sale. It also lets you buy inventory for resale without paying tax on it.
5. California employer ID – With 1 employee, you need a state employer account number for payroll withholding and unemployment insurance. It works like the EIN, but for state payroll taxes.
6. Business license – Most places require a local business license to operate, including home-based businesses. Check the rules where Angie's Kitchen will operate in San Lorenzo, and ask about home occupation and zoning rules if you work from home. Home occupation rules commonly cap client visits and delivery trucks on a residential street, so read them before you print business cards.
7. Home kitchen or catering permit – A few states allow licensed home kitchens to sell meals, but most require a permitted commercial kitchen.
8. Food handler card – Many states expect anyone cooking for the public to finish a short food safety course.

Selling cooked meals from a home kitchen is not allowed in many states unless a special home kitchen permit exists there, so most cooks use a licensed commercial kitchen.

By the numbers: Banks, insurers, and tax forms will ask for your industry code. For a home-cooked meal business it is NAICS 722320 (Caterers). With 1 employee planned, you are already creating jobs in San Lorenzo. That makes 8 items on your list.

Tip: Price out hourly rental at a shared commercial kitchen if your area does not allow home meal sales.

To recap: Angie's Kitchen in San Lorenzo, CA needs an LLC, a DBA, an EIN, a sales tax permit, a state employer ID, a business license, home kitchen or catering permit, and food handler card. Get those in place and you can spend your time on customers instead of paperwork.

BusinessNameUSA can prepare and file these registrations for you: start your order.