Before a maker can sell on Makinson Street, four things happen. (1) We resolve the law that applies to their kitchen from their verified address — county and city included, since California's MEHKO is county-by-county. (2) They qualify through one of the paths that law allows: a MEHKO or home kitchen permit (permit number, expiry, a photo of the document, and a Certified Food Protection Manager certificate), a cottage food registration, a licensed commercial kitchen, or — in food-freedom states — a signed attestation. (3) Permit paths go through automated checks (document present, expiry in the future, permit state matches the address); anything that doesn't pass cleanly goes to a person, who reviews within 72 hours. (4) The path sets a ceiling on what the maker may sell — shelf-stable only, meals without meat, meals with meat — and the system rejects any listing outside it. Permits lapse automatically on their expiry date, and a maker without a current credential can't be ordered from.
How We Verify Every Maker on Makinson Street
What happens between a maker applying and their first listing going live: address-based rules, the credential each path requires, automated document checks with human review as backup, the food-category ceiling, and automatic lapse when a permit expires.
Why the address comes first
Home food law is local. In California, a kitchen in Oakland can hold a MEHKO permit and sell full meals; the same kitchen two miles away in San Francisco can only sell shelf-stable cottage food. In Wyoming there's no permit at all, just a disclosure duty. So the first thing we do is take the maker's profile address — verified through Google Places, stored as country, state, county, and city — and look up the rules that apply there. Nothing the maker types into the application can change which rules they're held to.
The rules live in a versioned dataset covering every U.S. state, every California MEHKO county and city, the Canadian provinces, the Australian states, and New Zealand. Each entry records the legal regime, the enforcement agency, the qualification paths, any sales cap, the required buyer disclosure, and the date it was last verified. Our 50-state summary is drawn from the same data.
The paths, and what each one requires
| Path | What we collect | How it's checked | What the maker may sell |
|---|---|---|---|
| MEHKO permit (California opted-in counties) | Permit number, expiry date, photo of the permit, Certified Food Protection Manager certificate | Automated checks; human review if any fail | Full meals, including meat, poultry, and seafood |
| Home kitchen permit / licence (Utah, Iowa, West Virginia, Canadian provinces, Australia, NZ) | Permit number, expiry, document, food safety certificate | Automated checks; human review if any fail | Full meals (state-specific limits apply) |
| State registration (Arizona, Texas) | Registration number, food handler card | Automated checks | Meals without meat, poultry, or seafood |
| Cottage food | Registration or permit number where the state issues one, food safety certificate where required | Instant, on signed attestation | Shelf-stable foods only (baked goods, preserves, confections, dry goods) |
| Food freedom attestation (Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alaska) | Signed statements; business license where required | Instant, on signed attestation | Meals without meat; poultry with an additional statement in some states |
| Licensed commercial kitchen | Kitchen permit number, expiry, document, issuing agency | Automated checks; human review if any fail | Full meals |
Every path also requires the maker to accept a short set of statements that become part of the legal record — the exact wording, its version, the timestamp, IP address, and browser are stored. For a California MEHKO those are: the kitchen is at the profile address and the application is true; every meal is prepared, cooked, and handed over the same day; the permit number and enforcement agency will be shown publicly, as Health & Safety Code §114367.6 requires; and a standing list of things never sold anywhere — alcohol, raw or unpasteurized dairy, low-acid home-canned goods, raw oysters or shellfish, wild game, anything containing cannabis.
The automated checks
- Document present. For permit paths, a photo or PDF of the actual permit must be uploaded.
- Expiry in the future. The expiry date the maker entered must be a valid date that hasn't passed.
- Jurisdiction match. The state on the permit must match the state of the maker's verified address.
- Kitchen photos. Where the path asks for them, photos of the working kitchen are checked for presence and basic quality. For MEHKO makers they're optional — the county has already inspected.
- Server-side re-check. On submit, the server independently re-resolves the rules from the saved address, confirms the chosen path exists there, validates every required field and statement, and computes the food-category ceiling itself. The browser can't widen anything.
If every required check passes, the permit is activated and the maker can list. If any check fails or comes back uncertain, the application is held for a person on the team, who reviews the documents within 72 hours and either approves, asks for a correction, or declines with a reason.
California requires platforms that list MEHKO makers to register with the Department of Public Health as an internet food service intermediary. MEHKO applications on Makinson Street are held — even after passing every check — until that registration is in place for the platform. Makers see this on their application status and are notified the moment the hold lifts. The application itself is complete and nothing needs to be resubmitted.
What the maker can sell is enforced, not assumed
Each credential carries an allowed food category set drawn from a fixed taxonomy: baked goods, confections, preserves, dry goods, pickled and fermented, refrigerated desserts, meals without meat, meals with poultry, meals with meat, meals with seafood. The path sets the maximum — a cottage food maker gets the shelf-stable tiers, a MEHKO maker gets everything — and the maker may narrow it ("baked goods only"). Every listing declares its highest-risk category. A listing outside the maker's set is rejected by the server, and if a maker's set ever shrinks, listings that no longer fit drop out of search immediately.
What you see
- The permit type, number, and enforcement agency on the maker's profile, with a verified status — for California MEHKOs this display is a legal requirement, not a courtesy.
- A clear statement that the food is prepared in a home kitchen, using the disclosure wording the maker's state requires.
- FDA top-9 allergen labels on every dish, filled in by the maker and cross-checked by an AI pass that flags likely omissions for the maker to confirm.
- Reviews only from completed orders. Nobody can rate a maker they haven't bought from.
- A Report a concern path on the contact page that reaches a person.
After activation
- Expiry is automatic. A daily job marks permits expired on their expiry date. A maker with no active credential can't be ordered from — listings drop out of search and can't be added to a cart until a renewed permit is submitted and passes the checks again.
- Reminders go out 30, 14, 7, and 1 days before expiry.
- Re-applying after an expiry or a decline pre-fills the previous details, so a renewal is a few minutes' work.
- Payouts through Stripe are optional at signup and required before a maker can accept card orders.
What we don't do
We don't inspect kitchens — the county or state does that, with trained inspectors and legal authority we don't have. We don't taste-test. We don't guarantee the food; the credential, the disclosure, and the reviews are the guarantee. And we don't let a maker list while "working on" a permit: applications are welcome at any stage, but listings wait for the credential.
If something goes wrong
If you get sick, or see something at pickup that worries you, tell us through Report a concern or by replying to your order confirmation email. We'll contact the maker, and for anything involving food safety we'll also point you to the enforcement agency shown on the maker's profile, which has the authority to investigate. Serious or repeated concerns suspend a maker's listings pending the agency's findings.
Have your permit and certificate as photos or PDFs and your profile address set, and the application takes about ten minutes; the form is tailored to your jurisdiction's requirements. If you don't have a permit yet, our county guides cover how to get one: Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Los Angeles.
Tell us where you cook. Many makers are listed the same day.
Completely free for orders paid in person (3% plus Stripe's processing fee on card payments). No listing fees, no subscription.
- Every order, pickup and message in one place.
- A verified profile customers trust.
- Found by neighbors and local search.
- Cook for your street or your whole city.
Frequently asked questions
Does Makinson Street check makers' permits?
Yes. Permit-based paths go through automated checks — document uploaded, expiry date in the future, permit state matching the maker's verified address — and anything that doesn't pass cleanly is reviewed by a person within 72 hours. The permit number and enforcement agency are displayed on the maker's profile.
Can a maker be listed without a permit?
Only where the law allows it. In food-freedom states (Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alaska) and for shelf-stable cottage food, the maker qualifies by signing a legal attestation, which is stored with its wording, timestamp, and IP address. Anywhere meals require a permit, a permit is required.
Can I see a maker's permit before ordering?
The permit type, number, enforcement agency, and verified status are on every maker's public profile. For California MEHKOs you can also look up the permit with the issuing county's environmental health department.
What happens if a maker's permit expires?
It's marked expired automatically on the expiry date. The maker's listings drop out of search and can't be ordered until a renewed permit is submitted and passes the checks again. Makers get reminders at 30, 14, 7, and 1 days before.
Does Makinson Street inspect kitchens?
No. Kitchen inspections are done by the county or state health authority as part of issuing the permit. Makinson Street verifies that the credential exists and is current, enforces what each maker is allowed to sell, and shows the permit and agency publicly.
Why is my California MEHKO application on hold?
California requires platforms listing MEHKO makers to register with CDPH as an internet food service intermediary. Applications are held until that registration is in place for Makinson Street; nothing needs to be resubmitted, and you'll be notified when the hold lifts.
- California Health & Safety Code §114367.6 — internet food service intermediaries
- California Health & Safety Code §113825 — MEHKO definition
Regulations and fees change. This guide was last reviewed on Sep 13, 2026; confirm current requirements with the issuing agency. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.