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Orange County

OC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division

In short

OC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division issues 10 permits we publish for Orange 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

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Hazardous Materials Business Plan / Disclosureonly if it applies to youOC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division$394–$1,048 annual disclosure fee, FY2026-27, tiered by chemical count: 1 chemical $394; 2-10 $565; 11-14 $600; 15-20 $647; 21-49 $805; 50-99 $871; 100-199 $964; 200+ $1,048annual disclosure update required at minimum2026-09-27
Mobile Food Facility New-Construction Plan Check / Commissary Verificationonly if it applies to youOC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division$320–$576 one-time, FY2026-27: Food Vehicle/Carts new-construction plan check $576; Compact Mobile Food Operation Commissary Verification $320one-time per unit2026-09-27
Food Facility Health Permit — Food Market RetailOC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division$278–$2,805 annual permit, FY2026-27, by size and prep level: Food Market Retail (no prep) $278 (<2,000 sq ft) / $382 (≥2,000 sq ft); with Limited Food Prep $765 / $1,046 / $1,412 / $1,512 by size tier; with one Food Prep Area $1,424 / $1,942 / $2,621 / $2,805 by size tierannual2026-09-27
Food Facility Plan Check — new construction and remodelOC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health DivisionNew Food Facility Construction, one-time, by square footage (FY2026-27): under 2,000 sq ft $1,599; 2,000-5,999 sq ft $2,047; 6,000-29,999 sq ft $2,174; 30,000+ sq ft $2,686. Food Establishment Remodel plan check, by area of the remodel: 1-100 sq ft $640; 101-1,000 sq ft $985; over 1,000 sq ft $1,879.one-time per project2026-09-27
Underground Storage Tank Program (permit, plan check, removal)only if it applies to youOC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division$225–$3,995 FY2026-27: Permit to Operate $725 per tank; Vaulted Tank $225; Tank Installation plan check (up to 3 tanks) $3,995 plus $666 per additional tank; Tank Removal/Closure (up to 10 hours) $1,923; Tank Modification $1,237Permit to Operate is annual; plan-check and removal/modification fees are one-time per project2026-09-27
Body Art Facility Permit (tattoo, piercing, permanent cosmetics)only if it applies to youOC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division$45–$471 FY2026-27: Body Art Facility $399/year; Permanent Cosmetic or Body Piercing Facility $296/year; Temporary Body Art Facility (per booth) $181; Body Art Practitioner Registration $148; Body Art Facility Plan Check $471 one-time; Mechanical Stud/Clasp Ear Piercing Notification $45; Temporary Event Sponsor $444; Reinstatement of an expired/suspended registration $74annual for the facility permit and practitioner registration; per-event for temporary permits2026-09-27
Food Facility Health Permit — restaurant, coffee shop, catererOC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division$482–$2,043 annual permit, FY2026-27, by prep level and seats: Minimal Prep (e.g. bars) $482 (≤60 seats) / $600 (61-100) / $633 (>100); Limited Prep $792 (≤30) / $918 (31-60) / $998 (61-100) / $1,097 (101-150) / $1,241 (151-200) / $1,305 (>200); Complex Prep $1,238 (≤30) / $1,436 (31-60) / $1,560 (61-100) / $1,717 (101-150) / $1,944 (151-200) / $2,043 (>200); Caterer (Complex Prep) $1,148/$1,391/$1,455 by square footage; each additional food-prep area $512; seasonal facility $404; bed & breakfast $320annual2026-09-27
Mobile Food Facility Permit (food truck, cart)OC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division$192–$780 annual permit, FY2026-27, by category: prepackaged non-hazardous/frozen novelty, non-occupied, no plumbing/refrigeration $192; prepackaged frozen novelty (occupied) or prepackaged potentially-hazardous (non-occupied) $252; prepackaged potentially-hazardous (occupied), prepackaged non-hazardous (occupied), or fish/aquatic invertebrates $504; unpackaged non-hazardous or mobile support units $443; unpackaged potentially-hazardous food $780; grandfathered pre-2007 units or hot-dog-steaming-only units $512annual, with re-inspection at renewal2026-09-27
Hazardous Waste Generator Feeonly if it applies to youOC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division$237–$1,188 annual fee, FY2026-27, tiered by employee count: 0-10 employees $348; 11-25 $440; 26-50 $592; 51-100 $629; 101-250 $634; 251-500 $885; 500+ $1,188; Special Generator $237annual2026-09-27
Aboveground Storage Tank Program (TIUGA / APSA)only if it applies to youOC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division$296–$481 annual fee, FY2026-27: TIUGA $296; APSA Tier I $296; APSA Tier II $370; APSA non-qualified $481annual2026-09-27

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

Hazardous Materials Business Plan / Disclosure

A business that uses, handles or stores hazardous materials at or above 55 gallons (liquid), 500 pounds (solid) or 200 cubic feet (gas) — or any lesser amount exceeding a listed extremely hazardous substance's federal threshold — must file a hazardous materials business plan and pay this annual disclosure fee to OC HCA Environmental Health, the county's CalEPA-designated CUPA. This program reaches every city in Orange County EXCEPT Anaheim, which has run its own independent CUPA through Anaheim Fire & Rescue since July 1, 2001 — a business in Anaheim files with Anaheim Fire & Rescue instead, not OC HCA. Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach and Orange are sometimes mischaracterized as having their own independent CUPAs; they do not, and Santa Ana's own government page confirms it relies on OC HCA. The FY2026-27 fee is tiered by chemical count, from $394 for one chemical to $1,048 for 200 or more. Named exemptions include: medical gases (oxygen, nitrogen, nitrous oxide) held by a veterinarian at 1,000 cubic feet or less; lubricating oil where each type is 55 gallons or less and the total of all types is 275 gallons or less at any time (relevant to auto-repair shops); hazardous material solely contained in a consumer product for direct public distribution; in-transit material under active shipping papers for 30 days or less with no bulk storage; and propane used for personal heating at a place of business. Hazardous waste must always be disclosed regardless of these thresholds.

Mobile Food Facility New-Construction Plan Check / Commissary Verification

Building or substantially modifying a mobile food unit for use in Orange County requires a new-construction plan check, $576 in FY2026-27, before the annual operating permit is issued. A compact mobile food operation that uses a commissary for support functions pays a separate $320 commissary verification fee. Both are one-time, per-unit charges, in addition to the annual mobile food facility permit itself.

Food Facility Health Permit — Food Market Retail

A retail store selling any food — even only prepackaged goods, with no preparation on-site — needs its own OC HCA food facility permit under the Food Market Retail category, separate from the restaurant permit. A store with no on-site prep pays $278 under 2,000 square feet or $382 at 2,000 square feet or more (FY2026-27). Adding limited food preparation (for example slicing deli meat) raises the fee to $765-$1,512 by size tier, and a single dedicated food-prep area raises it further to $1,424-$2,805. Ordinary retail with no food sales needs no permit under this program at all. This is countywide, the same as the restaurant permit.

Food Facility Plan Check — new construction and remodel

OC HCA reviews plans and performs a pre-operational inspection before a food facility is newly built or remodeled, in every city and the unincorporated area alike. New construction costs $1,599 to $2,686 depending on the facility's square footage, and a remodel costs $640 to $1,879 depending on the size of the area remodeled, both FY2026-27 figures. This applies to restaurants, coffee shops and food-selling retail stores alike, in addition to (not instead of) the facility's own annual food facility permit.

Underground Storage Tank Program (permit, plan check, removal)

An auto-repair shop with an underground fuel or fluid storage tank needs a Permit to Operate ($725 per tank, or $225 for a vaulted tank) and separately pays for tank installation plan check ($3,995 for up to three tanks, plus $666 per additional tank), removal or closure ($1,923 for up to 10 hours) or modification ($1,237), all FY2026-27 figures. The Underground Storage Tank sub-program has a narrower exclusion than the rest of OC HCA's CUPA program: it excludes BOTH the City of Anaheim and the City of Orange, not Anaheim alone — a tank in either city is regulated by that city's own fire department rather than OC HCA.

Body Art Facility Permit (tattoo, piercing, permanent cosmetics)

A salon offering tattooing, body piercing or permanent cosmetics — not an ordinary hair, nail or skin salon — needs an OC HCA body art facility permit, priced separately from an ordinary salon's zoning classification: $399 a year for a standard body art facility, $296 for a permanent-cosmetic or piercing-only facility, $181 per booth for a temporary facility, $148 for a practitioner's own registration, and $471 for the one-time facility plan check, all FY2026-27 figures. A simple mechanical stud or clasp ear-piercing service needs only a $45 notification rather than the full facility permit. This program runs on OC HCA's same Environmental Health administrative structure as its hazardous-materials CUPA program; whether it excludes Anaheim in the same way is not stated on the fee schedule itself, so a body art business in Anaheim should confirm with OC HCA or Anaheim Fire & Rescue directly rather than assume either program applies.

Food Facility Health Permit — restaurant, coffee shop, caterer

Every restaurant, cafe, bar or caterer in Orange County needs an annual food facility health permit from OC HCA Environmental Health, whether it sits inside one of the 34 cities or the unincorporated area — HCA Environmental Health runs the program countywide. The FY2026-27 fee depends on menu complexity and seat count: Minimal Prep facilities such as bars pay $482 to $633; Limited Prep facilities pay $792 to $1,305; Complex Prep facilities (cooking with cooling, reheating or hot holding) pay $1,238 to $2,043. A caterer using Complex Prep pays $1,148 to $1,455 by square footage instead of seats. A second-or-later re-inspection or plan-check revision is billed hourly at $128 per quarter-hour ($192 after normal business hours). Plan check for new construction or a remodel is priced separately (recorded below). Alcohol sales are licensed by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, not OC HCA. HCA's published food permit materials cited here do not address whether a licensed childcare center's on-site kitchen needs this permit; ask HCA Environmental Health.

Mobile Food Facility Permit (food truck, cart)

A food truck, cart or trailer operating in Orange County needs its own OC HCA mobile food facility permit, valid anywhere in the county including inside every city — the county's own program states plainly that permits from other California counties are not valid in Orange County, so a truck moving in from elsewhere needs an OC permit even if already licensed at home. The FY2026-27 annual fee ranges from $192 (a non-occupied unit selling only prepackaged non-hazardous or frozen novelty items, with no plumbing or refrigeration) to $780 (a unit preparing unpackaged potentially-hazardous food). First-time applicants must submit a Vehicle Plan Check Submittal Checklist, and a stop lasting over an hour requires restroom access within 200 feet. Dairy sales additionally require California Department of Food and Agriculture approval, and electrical, gas or plumbing connections require HCD 415 certification.

Hazardous Waste Generator Fee

An auto-repair shop generating hazardous waste — used oil, solvents, batteries, refrigerants and similar byproducts of routine repair work — pays OC HCA's annual hazardous waste generator fee, tiered by employee count from $348 (10 or fewer employees) to $1,188 (over 500 employees) in FY2026-27, or $237 under the Special Generator category for a qualifying smaller-volume generator. This applies everywhere in the county except Anaheim, which collects its own equivalent fee through its independent CUPA. This fee is separate from, and in addition to, the hazardous materials disclosure fee recorded above.

Aboveground Storage Tank Program (TIUGA / APSA)

An auto-repair shop with an aboveground fuel or fluid storage tank pays an annual fee under OC HCA's Tanks in Underground Areas (TIUGA) or Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act (APSA) categories: $296 for TIUGA or APSA Tier I, $370 for APSA Tier II, or $481 for a non-qualified APSA facility, all FY2026-27 figures. This program follows OC HCA's general CUPA scope — countywide except Anaheim — rather than the narrower Anaheim-and-Orange exclusion that applies specifically to the underground storage tank sub-program.

Contact

Jurisdiction
Orange County
Phone
714-433-6000

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.

  1. Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA) — states the program covers the county 'except for the city of Anaheim' and lists Participating AgenciesOC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  2. County of Orange Comprehensive Zoning Code (Nov. 4, 2025 revision, posted 2026-03-30) — Sec. 7-9-104/7-9-114/7-9-134.4/7-9-146.6OC Development Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  3. Environmental Health Fees — Food and Pool, FY2026-27OC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  4. Environmental Health Fees — Hazardous Materials Management, FY2026-27OC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  5. Food Facility Health PermitOC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  6. Hazardous Materials Section — 'AFR is the only fire department in Orange County recognized by the state as a Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA),' effective since July 1, 2001Anaheim Fire & Rescue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  7. Mobile Food Facilities (trucks and carts)OC Health Care Agency, Environmental Health Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  8. Orange County Health Care Agency — confirms Santa Ana relies on OC HCA rather than an independent CUPACity of Santa Ana · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27

Other offices serving Orange 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.