What permits do you need to open a food truck in Los Angeles County?

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.

Conditional Use Permit — Time Extension

Requesting more time to exercise an already-approved Conditional Use Permit in unincorporated Los Angeles County costs $2,109 under the March 1, 2026 DRP fee schedule. This line item is easy to misread against the adjacent 'County Biologist Review, Biological Review' fee ($517) in the same table — the two are unrelated, and $517 is not the CUP time-extension fee.

Food Handler Card

The state does not sell the card and sets no fee of its own — it caps the market instead. At least one accredited course and examination must cost no more than $15 including the card, and if no course is available at that price the requirement does not apply at all. A handler has 30 days from hire to obtain one, it lasts three years, and it travels with the person rather than the employer. Since Senate Bill 476 the employer must treat the training and examination as paid working time, relieve the worker of other duties while they do it, reimburse the cost, and may not require a card as a condition of being hired. The exemptions are broad: grocery and convenience stores, school cafeterias, certified farmers' markets, licensed health care facilities, and any workplace covered by a collective bargaining agreement with its food handlers. Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties run their own card programmes under a pre-2009 carve-out and charge their own fees. Do not confuse this with the separate food safety MANAGER certification, which is one certified person per facility and lasts five years.

Shared with other businesses in Los Angeles County

• 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). Also required for coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Food Facility Plan Check (new construction / major remodel) — 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. Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Hazardous Materials Business Plan / Handler / Generator Permit (CUPA) — Los Angeles County Fire Department / Consolidated Fire Protection District, acting as the county's Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA), Annual fees under the Unified Program (FY2026-27): Hazardous Material Handler — Small Quantity Handler $437, Minor $633, Moderate $810, Major $1,120, Major-Large Volume $1,595, Major-Complex $2,462; Hazardous Waste Generator, by employee count, $528-$5,126; Tiered Permit — Conditionally Exempt $338, Conditionally Authorized $2,252, Permit by Rule $3,266., annual. Also required for auto repair shops, restaurants, veterinary clinics and contractors and trades; what it involves is set out on the auto repair shops page.
• Conditional Use Permit (general) — Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning, $11,899–$15,873 per application, effective March 1, 2026: $15,873 when there is no other concurrent application on the same property; $11,899 when there is a concurrent application; plus a Fire referral fee of $442, plus $259 per revision, where Fire review is required, runs with the land (LA County Code Title 22); an extension can be requested through the CUP Time Extension process below. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, childcare centres, fitness studios and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Conditional Use Permit, Minor (Commercial or Industrial) — Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning, $3,513 per application, commercial or industrial (effective March 1, 2026), runs with the land. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, fitness studios and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the fitness studios page.
• Conditional Use Permit — Modification or Elimination of Conditions — Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning, $1,353–$11,129 per request, effective March 1, 2026: $11,129 general; $1,353 for a nonprofit operator with an annual operating budget under $500,000, one-time, per modification request. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, childcare centres, fitness studios and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the fitness studios page.
• Food Facility Permit — California Department of Public Health, Food and Drug Branch, No fee, set by the local enforcement agency. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.