Kern County
Kern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services Division
In short
Kern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services Division issues 6 permits we publish for Kern County, last verified 2026-10-02. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazardous Materials Business Plan / CUPA Programonly if it applies to you | Kern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services Division | Application fee: $155.00 (code EH05). Hazardous waste generator: Small Quantity $210.00/yr (code CG07); Large Quantity $855.00/yr (code CG03). Business Plan fee, tiered by volume/frequency: $120.00 (small facility, triennial inspection, code CB1T) up to $7,075.00 (large facility, more than 5 units, annual inspection, code CB9A). Underground Storage Tank: Operating Permit $800.00/tank/yr (code CS00); Construction application $6,140.00 (code CS03); Modification $2,700.00 (code CS04). | annual (Business Plan, generator fee, UST Operating Permit); one-time per activity (UST Construction/Modification) | 2026-10-02 |
| Massage Establishment Permitonly if it applies to you | Kern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services Division | Kern County Code §§8.70.050(A), 8.70.070(C) and 8.70.120 set this permit's fee through the Director of Public Health's own fee ordinance rather than stating a dollar amount in the code text itself, and that fee ordinance is not published in any document on Kern County Public Health Services Department's website. Contact Kern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services Division, for the amount currently invoiced before applying. | annual, non-transferable, invoiced each July 1 | 2026-10-02 |
| Tobacco Retailer's Permitonly if it applies to you | Kern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services Division | Low risk $155.00 + $290.00 = $445.00; Moderate $155.00 + $595.00 = $750.00; High $155.00 + $870.00 = $1,025.00 (codes TB01/TB11/TB12). | annual | 2026-10-02 |
| Retail Food Facility Health Permit | Kern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services Division | Food Facility (restaurant): Low risk $155.00 application + $295.00 permit = $450.00; Moderate $155.00 + $625.00 = $780.00; High $155.00 + $920.00 = $1,075.00 (codes RE09/10/11). Food Facility - Market (grocery/bakery): Low $155.00 + $265.00 = $420.00; Moderate $155.00 + $520.00 = $675.00; High $155.00 + $795.00 = $950.00 (codes FM09/10/11). Limited prepackaged non-potentially-hazardous food display: $155.00 + $155.00 = $310.00 (code FL01). Plan Review (one-time): $865.00 for 1,000 sq ft or less, $1,300.00 for 1,001-10,000 sq ft, $1,670.00 for over 10,000 sq ft (codes FP09/10/11). Vending machine: $155.00 + $170.00 = $325.00 (code VE03). | annual, July 1 - June 30 | 2026-10-02 |
| Mobile Food Facility / Food Truck Permit | Kern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services Division | Mobile Food Facility: Low risk $155.00 + $175.00 = $330.00/yr; Moderate $155.00 + $665.00 = $820.00/yr; High $155.00 + $1,005.00 = $1,160.00/yr (codes MF09/10/11). Non-dedicated commissary: $155.00 + $945.00 = $1,100.00/yr (code MC01). Mobile Plan Review (one-time): $865.00 flat (code MP13). Single-event tier: $55.00-$100.00. | annual | 2026-10-02 |
| Temporary Food Facility / Community Event Sponsor Permitonly if it applies to you | Kern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services Division | Temporary Food Facility: Low $155.00 + $205.00 = $360.00; Moderate $155.00 + $240.00 = $395.00; High $155.00 + $295.00 = $450.00 (codes TF01/02/03). Single-event tier: $65.00-$120.00. Community Event Sponsor Permit (the event organizer's own permit, separate from each vendor's permit): $515.00-$1,340.00, depending on vendor count (1-5 up to 16 or more) and event duration (codes SS09-SS17). | per event | 2026-10-02 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Hazardous Materials Business Plan / CUPA Program
Kern County Public Health Services/Environmental Health is Kern County's Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA), an assignment independently corroborated by CalEPA's own CUPA program materials rather than resting on Kern County's self-description alone. An auto-repair shop storing or handling solvents, used oil, refrigerants or parts-washer chemicals above the applicable threshold must file a Hazardous Materials Business Plan, pay the $155.00 application fee (code EH05), and pay the tiered Business Plan fee, which ranges from $120.00 for a small facility on a triennial inspection cycle up to $7,075.00 for a large facility with more than 5 reportable units on an annual inspection cycle. A shop generating hazardous waste additionally pays the generator fee — $210.00/yr for a Small Quantity Generator or $855.00/yr for a Large Quantity Generator — and a shop with an underground storage tank pays $800.00/tank/yr for the Operating Permit, $6,140.00 for a Construction application, or $2,700.00 for a Modification, all per the Hazardous Materials Fees schedule's current, July 1, 2026 figures. This program reaches a qualifying business countywide, including every incorporated city, the same scope as EHS's food program above.
Massage Establishment Permit
Since Ordinance G-8730 (2017), Kern County no longer issues a permit to individual massage practitioners — a practitioner instead holds certification from the state California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC). The county still requires this separate, non-transferable permit for the massage establishment's business location itself, obtained from the Director of Public Health and invoiced each July 1 (half-fee if a new permit issues January through June, per §8.70.070(C)). Kern County Code §8.70.040(C) exempts 'barbers, beauticians, and cosmetologists who are duly licensed under the laws of the state of California,' including manicurists, nail technicians and estheticians, when their work is limited to massaging the neck, face, scalp, hands up to the wrist, or feet up to the ankle — so an ordinary nail or hair salon operating within that scope needs neither CAMTC certification nor this permit, while a dedicated massage or day-spa business does. This permit is a Kern EHS program and reaches a qualifying business countywide, the same scope as EHS's food and hazardous-materials programs below.
Tobacco Retailer's Permit
A retail store, restaurant or coffee shop selling tobacco products anywhere in Kern County, including inside any of the 11 incorporated cities, needs this EHS permit under Kern County Code Ch. 8.60. The annual fee runs from $445.00 at the Low-risk tier to $1,025.00 at the High-risk tier, per the Tobacco Fees schedule, which carries the same July 1, 2026 'Published Time' header as EHS's Food Fees schedule and required no correction from its prior version, unlike the food-related schedule. A business without any tobacco products for sale has no obligation under this permit.
Retail Food Facility Health Permit
Kern County Code §8.04.020 requires this permit for any business the Director of Public Health regulates 'within or without an incorporated city,' so this EHS program reaches a restaurant, coffee shop or food-selling retail store anywhere in Kern County, including every incorporated city, not only the unincorporated area. The figures above are drawn from the current version of EHS's Food Fees schedule, which carries an HTTP 'Published Time' header of July 1, 2026, its effective date. Fees run on an annual cycle from July 1 through June 30, with a one-time Plan Review fee charged before a new facility opens and a 50% penalty for a payment made after the invoice due date. A market or limited prepackaged-food retailer pays a separate, lower tier than a full-service restaurant under the same schedule.
Mobile Food Facility / Food Truck Permit
This countywide EHS permit, reaching every incorporated city as well as the unincorporated area under Kern County Code §8.04.020, is required of a food truck, cart or trailer before it opens for business anywhere in Kern County. The annual fee runs from $330.00 for a Low-risk unit up to $1,160.00 for a High-risk unit, with a $1,100.00/yr tier for a unit using a non-dedicated commissary, per the current Food Fees schedule's July 1, 2026 figures. A new unit also pays a one-time $865.00 Mobile Plan Review fee, and a single appearance outside normal operations can instead be covered by the $55.00-$100.00 single-event tier. A food truck also needs its commissary location to be properly zoned, though the truck itself is not a discrete zoning use under Title 19.
Temporary Food Facility / Community Event Sponsor Permit
A restaurant, coffee shop or food truck selling food at a fair, festival or other short-run event anywhere in Kern County, including inside any of the 11 incorporated cities, needs this permit for that specific engagement under EHS's countywide food program (Kern County Code §8.04.020). A vendor's own Temporary Food Facility permit runs $360.00-$450.00 by risk tier, or $65.00-$120.00 at the single-event tier, per the current Food Fees schedule's July 1, 2026 figures. Separately, the event's organizer — not each individual vendor — needs the Community Event Sponsor Permit, priced $515.00-$1,340.00 depending on how many vendors participate and how long the event runs. An operator who already holds an annual Mobile Food Facility permit still needs this separate permit for a one-off event outside that unit's normal operating pattern.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Kern County
- Phone
- Not verified — use the website
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- CUPA program contacts and materials — identifies Kern County Public Health Services/Environmental Health as Kern County's Certified Unified Program AgencyCalifornia Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- Food Fees schedule (Food Facility, Mobile Food Facility, Temporary Food Facility, Community Event Sponsor, Vending Machine), Published Time July 1, 2026Kern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- Hazardous Materials Fees schedule (Business Plan, hazardous waste generator, Underground Storage Tank), Published Time July 1, 2026Kern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- Kern County Code Chapter 8.04 (Environmental Health Permits and Service Fees) — §8.04.020's 'within or without an incorporated city' scope languageKern County, via Municode (Kern County Municipal Code) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- Kern County Code Chapter 8.70 (Massage/Bodywork Practitioner Permits and Regulations) — the Massage Establishment Permit requirement, the CAMTC practitioner-certification shift under Ord. G-8730, the barber/cosmetologist/salon exemption in §8.70.040(C), and the fee-deferral language in §§8.70.050(A), .070(C) and .120Kern County, via Municode (Kern County Municipal Code) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
- Tobacco Fees schedule (Tobacco Retailer's Permit), Published Time July 1, 2026Kern County Public Health Services Department, Environmental Health Services Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
Other offices serving Kern County
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
California jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.