Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division
In short
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division issues 9 permits we publish for Los Angeles County, last verified 2026-09-27. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food Market Retail Permit (packaged / prepared food retailer)only if it applies to you | Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division | $289–$1,341 a year, by square footage and risk tier (FY2026-27): 1-1,999 SF Low $289/Moderate $723/High $1,153; 2,000+ SF Low $388/Moderate $827/High $1,341 (fee codes 1610-1615) | annual (county fiscal year, July 1-June 30) | 2026-09-27 |
| Compact Mobile Food Operation Permit (cart) | Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division | $126–$592 a year per cart, by risk tier (FY2026-27): Low $126, Moderate $299, High $592 (fee codes 1301-1303) | annual (county fiscal year, July 1-June 30) | 2026-09-27 |
| Body Art Facility Plan Checkonly if it applies to you | Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division | $343–$568 one-time, by scope (FY2026-27): permanent cosmetics $343; remodel $343; tattooing, piercing or branding $568 (fee codes 3210-3220) | one-time per project | 2026-09-27 |
| Public Swimming Pool / Spa Permit (annual)only if it applies to you | Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division | $274–$1,007 a year per facility, by risk tier (FY2026-27): Low $274 (each additional pool $162); Moderate $672 (additional $348); High $1,007 (additional $522) (fee codes 3601-3621) | annual (county fiscal year, July 1-June 30) | 2026-09-27 |
| Body Art Establishment Permit (annual)only if it applies to you | Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division | Annual, FY2026-27 (fee codes 3001-3099): fixed establishment with 1-3 practitioners $423, 4+ practitioners $440; mobile body art facility 1-3 practitioners $423, 4+ $440; per-practitioner Body Art Registration $54; temporary event body art facility $1,640; temporary body art facility $150 per unit; billable re-inspection $162. | annual (county fiscal year, July 1-June 30); temporary event and temporary facility permits are per-event | 2026-09-27 |
| Retail Food Facility Permit — Restaurant / Coffee Shop (annual) | Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division | $319–$1,438 a year, by seat count and risk tier (FY2026-27): 0-30 seats Low $319/Moderate $719/High $1,206; 31-60 seats Low $344/Moderate $762/High $1,309; 61-150 seats Low $370/Moderate $838/High $1,375; 151+ seats Low $400/Moderate $932/High $1,438 (fee codes 1630-1641) | annual (county fiscal year, July 1-June 30) | 2026-09-27 |
| Food Facility Plan Check (new construction / major remodel)only if it applies to you | Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division | $1,044–$2,723 one-time, by facility square footage (FY2026-27): 0-500 SF $1,044; 501-1,999 SF $1,530; 2,000-3,999 SF $1,865; 4,000-9,999 SF $2,276; 10,000+ SF $2,723 (fee codes 1701-1705) | one-time per project | 2026-09-27 |
| Mobile Food Facility Permit (food truck / trailer) | Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division | $325–$761 a year per truck or trailer, by risk tier (FY2026-27): Low $325, Moderate $598, High $761 (fee codes 1309-1311) | annual (county fiscal year, July 1-June 30) | 2026-09-27 |
| Mobile Food Commissary Permit | Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division | $274–$779 a year, by service type (FY2026-27): storage-only $274; food storage plus cleaning $401; cleaning plus storage $310; food prep for 1-10 mobile food facilities $678; food prep for 11+ mobile food facilities $779 (fee codes 1330-1335) | annual (county fiscal year, July 1-June 30) | 2026-09-27 |
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
Food Market Retail Permit (packaged / prepared food retailer)
A retail store selling packaged or prepared food and beverage — a market, convenience store or similar — needs its own DPH-EH Food Market Retail permit, separate from the restaurant/coffee-shop permit, everywhere in the county except Long Beach, Pasadena and Vernon. The FY2026-27 annual fee runs from $289 for a small, low-risk store under 2,000 square feet up to $1,341 for a large, high-risk one at 2,000 square feet or more. A retail store that sells no food or beverage requiring this classification needs no DPH-EH permit at all.
Compact Mobile Food Operation Permit (cart)
A pushcart or other compact mobile food operation — for example a small espresso or hot-dog cart, smaller than a full mobile food truck or trailer — is priced separately from the mobile food facility permit: $126 a year at Low risk, $299 at Moderate and $592 at High risk under the FY2026-27 DPH-EH fee schedule. It applies everywhere in the county except Long Beach, Pasadena and Vernon, and the operator still needs a commissary agreement (see the commissary record) and route/schedule reporting to Public Health.
Body Art Facility Plan Check
Building or remodeling a body art facility in Los Angeles County (outside Long Beach, Pasadena and Vernon) needs a one-time DPH-EH plan check before the operating permit issues: $343 for a permanent-cosmetics-only facility or for a remodel, and $568 for a facility offering tattooing, piercing or branding, under the FY2026-27 fee schedule. This is separate from the annual body art establishment permit and per-practitioner registration fee recorded above.
Public Swimming Pool / Spa Permit (annual)
A fitness studio or gym with a swimming pool or spa on the premises needs an annual DPH-EH public swimming pool permit, everywhere in the county except Long Beach, Pasadena and Vernon. The FY2026-27 fee is $274 a year at Low risk, $672 at Moderate and $1,007 at High risk, for the first pool, with a lower per-additional-pool fee ($162, $348 or $522 respectively) for a facility with more than one pool or spa. A studio with no pool or spa needs no permit under this program.
Body Art Establishment Permit (annual)
A salon that offers tattooing, piercing, branding or permanent cosmetics needs a DPH-EH body art establishment permit, everywhere in the county except Long Beach, Pasadena and Vernon. The FY2026-27 annual fee is $423 for a fixed establishment with 1-3 practitioners and $440 with 4 or more, the same rates for a mobile body art facility, plus a $54 per-practitioner registration fee for each individual body artist. A one-off temporary event facility is $1,640 and a temporary body art facility is $150 per unit; a billable re-inspection is $162. An ordinary hair, nail or skin salon offering no body art service needs no permit under this program.
Retail Food Facility Permit — Restaurant / Coffee Shop (annual)
Every restaurant and coffee shop with a fixed location needs an annual retail food facility permit from LA County Public Health, Environmental Health, everywhere in the county except the cities of Long Beach, Pasadena and Vernon, which run their own environmental health departments and enforce the state Retail Food Code themselves. The FY2026-27 fee depends on seat count and a low/moderate/high risk tier reflecting food-handling complexity — a coffee shop with simple handling (espresso, prepackaged food) is typically Low tier, while full cooking and hot holding is High tier — ranging from $319 for a small, low-risk business up to $1,438 for a large, high-risk one. New construction or a major remodel also requires a separate one-time plan check fee, recorded below. Confirm risk-tier classification with the DPH-EH plan checker, (626) 430-5560, before budgeting.
Food Facility Plan Check (new construction / major remodel)
New construction or a major remodel of a restaurant, coffee shop or mobile food facility anywhere in Los Angeles County outside Long Beach, Pasadena and Vernon needs a one-time DPH-EH plan check before the operating permit is issued, priced by the facility's square footage under the FY2026-27 fee schedule: $1,044 for up to 500 square feet, rising through $1,530, $1,865 and $2,276 to $2,723 for 10,000 square feet or more. Plan check is billed separately from the annual operating permit fee (listed elsewhere for this jurisdiction) and is required before a health inspector will approve the space for occupancy. Contact the DPH-EH Plan Check Program at (626) 430-5560.
Mobile Food Facility Permit (food truck / trailer)
Every mobile food truck or trailer operating in Los Angeles County outside Long Beach, Pasadena and Vernon must hold a valid DPH-EH mobile food facility permit — the county's own page states plainly that 'all vehicles shall have a valid Los Angeles County Public Health Permit in order to operate legally.' The FY2026-27 annual fee is $325 at Low risk, $598 at Moderate and $761 at High risk. Operators must notify DPH-EH of their operating route and schedule and update it when it changes significantly, under LA County Code §8.04.403. A smaller cart is priced separately as a Compact Mobile Food Operation (see that record), and every mobile unit must also hold a commissary agreement (see the commissary record).
Mobile Food Commissary Permit
Every mobile food facility or compact mobile food operation in Los Angeles County must operate in conjunction with a DPH-EH-permitted commissary — a base of operations for cleaning, food storage or food preparation between shifts. The commissary itself, whether the food-truck operator's own facility or a third-party one, needs this separate annual permit, priced by the services it provides under the FY2026-27 schedule from $274 for storage-only up to $779 for food preparation serving 11 or more mobile units. This is a separate fee from the mobile food facility or compact mobile food operation permit itself.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Los Angeles County
- Phone
- (626) 430-5560 (plan check); (626) 430-5500 (Mobile Food Program)
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.
- Environmental Health permits overviewLA County Dept. of Public Health, Environmental Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
- Los Angeles County Department of Public Health — food trucks and carts, and the cities Public Health does not coverLos Angeles County Department of Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Public Health and Financial Management Fee Schedule, FY2026-27 (report run 08/18/2026)LA County Dept. of Public Health, Environmental Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
Other offices serving Los Angeles County
- Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning
- Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control
- Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, Building and Safety Division
- Los Angeles County Fire Department / Consolidated Fire Protection District, acting as the county's Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA)
- Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector, Business License Section
- Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
California jurisdictions
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