What permits do you need to open a retail store in San Joaquin County?

Cottage Food License (Business-License Variant)

A home-based cottage food operation in unincorporated San Joaquin County licenses through this business-license variant, distinct from the separate EHD Cottage Food Class A/B health permit that registers the specific food products made. The current fee is $667.39 a year ($471.00 CDD, $25.00 Public Works, $25.00 EHD, $42.39 technology fee, $104.00 other/TTC), per the Planning Application Permit Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2025, and the same CDD-to-TTC routing, annual renewal cycle and $10 late-renewal fee described for the General Business License apply to this license as well.

Solicitor License

A retail-store operator soliciting orders door-to-door in unincorporated San Joaquin County — taking orders for future delivery rather than selling goods on the spot — needs a Solicitor License under Ordinance Code No. 2334 §§7-1013–7-1024. The license costs a non-refundable $180.00 for the 1-year term, plus a $1,000 surety bond and a separately billed $35.00 San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office background-check fee, both required for this category per the application form's own text. Military honorable-discharge applicants are exempt from the license fee, and if edible items are involved an Environmental Health permit is additionally required.

Retail Market (Food) Health Permit

A retail store selling food anywhere in San Joaquin County, including inside any of the 8 incorporated cities, needs this EHD permit, tiered by store size and number of food departments from $125 at the smallest incidental-food tier up to $537 for a store over 1,000 square feet with two or more departments, with intermediate tiers of $268, $306 and $341 (two tiers at $341), per the EHD Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027. A retail store that sells no food needs no permit under this program at all.

Cottage Food Permit — Class A/B (EHD)

A home-based cottage food operation registers its specific food products with EHD under this health permit, separate from the Cottage Food business-license variant that the Treasurer-Tax Collector issues for unincorporated-area operators. Class A, limited to direct-to-consumer sales, costs $186 a year; Class B, which also permits indirect sales through a third party such as a retail store, costs $358 a year, per the EHD Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027. This EHD permit is countywide and reaches operators inside any of San Joaquin County's 8 incorporated cities as well as the unincorporated area, the same scope pattern as the rest of EHD's food program.

Food Facility Permit

California writes one statewide standard and delegates the permit. No food facility may open without one, but section 114381(d) puts the price in local hands: any fee "shall be determined by the local governing body" and may only cover the actual cost of enforcement. So there is a statewide RULE and no statewide FEE — no amount is recorded here because the state sets none. The figure that applies to you is your county environmental health department's, and it varies widely between counties. The permit is non-transferable, tied to the specific person, location and activity, and must be displayed. Cottage food operations, child day care facilities and community care facilities sit outside the definition of a food facility.

Shared with other businesses in San Joaquin County

• Peddler License — San Joaquin County Treasurer-Tax Collector, $180 non-refundable, per 1-year license; the $1,000 surety bond required for the Solicitor and Service License categories below applies only to those two categories, per the application form's own text, 1 year. Also required for food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Food Establishment Permit — Without Seating — San Joaquin County Environmental Health Department, $364–$394 annual, by facility size: under 500 sq ft $364, 501–1,000 sq ft $364, over 1,001 sq ft $394, per the EHD Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027, annual. Also required for coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Vending Machine Health Permit — San Joaquin County Environmental Health Department, $31 annual, per machine, per the EHD Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027, annual. Also required for fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the fitness studios page.
• Food Handler Card — California Department of Public Health, Food and Drug Branch, $15 statutory maximum for at least one accredited course, 3 years. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.