The two laws, side by side
California home food laws at a glance, 2026 | MEHKO (AB 626, expanded by AB 1325) | Cottage Food (AB 1616, expanded by AB 1144) |
|---|
| What you can sell | Full meals, including hot food and TCS (time/temperature-controlled) foods | Shelf-stable, non-TCS foods only (no meat, no dairy-based fillings, no cooked rice) |
| Where it applies | Only counties and cities that have opted in | Statewide |
| Meal limits | 30 meals/day, 90 meals/week | None |
| Sales cap | $100,000/year gross, inflation-adjusted | $88,878 (Class A) / $177,756 (Class B) in 2026, CPI-indexed |
| Employees | One full-time-equivalent non-family employee | One full-time-equivalent employee |
| Delivery | Maker or maker's employee delivers; third-party delivery apps are prohibited | Direct sale; Class B can sell wholesale to shops |
| Certification | Food Protection Manager certificate (ServSafe Manager or equivalent) | Food Handler card (Class A/B) — Class B needs Manager cert in some counties |
| Inspection | Initial inspection; one routine inspection per year | Class A: none (self-certify). Class B: annual inspection |
| Same-day sale required? | Yes — food must be prepared, cooked, and served the same day | No |
What MEHKO actually lets you do
MEHKO was created by AB 626, signed in 2018, and is the law that made California the first state to let home cooks sell real meals — not just cookies. It treats your home kitchen as a small restaurant. In 2023, AB 1325 raised the original limits (60 meals/week, $50,000/year) to the current 30 meals per day, 90 meals per week, and $100,000 per year in gross sales.
The catch is that MEHKO is opt-in by jurisdiction. Your county (or in some cases your city) has to pass an ordinance before its health department can issue permits. As of mid-2026, jurisdictions accepting applications include Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Solano, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Imperial, Lake, San Benito, and the cities of Berkeley and Long Beach. San Francisco and Orange County have not opted in.
MEHKO rules that trip people up
- Same-day only. Everything is prepared, cooked, and served (or picked up) on the same day. No batch-cooking Sunday for Wednesday orders.
- No third-party delivery. DoorDash and Uber Eats can't deliver MEHKO food (HSC §114367.5; the only exception is for a customer whose disability prevents pickup). You or your one employee deliver, or the customer picks up. Marketplaces like Makinson Street that only handle listing, ordering, and payment are allowed under the law's "internet food service intermediary" rules.
- No processes that need a HACCP plan. Sous vide, curing, smoking for preservation, and canning are out.
- No raw milk or raw oysters, and no fugu.
- One MEHKO per residence, and you can't run a Cottage Food Operation from the same address at the same time.
What Cottage Food lets you do
The California Homemade Food Act (AB 1616) took effect in 2013 and applies in every county. It covers foods that don't need refrigeration to stay safe: breads, cookies, cakes without cream or custard, jams and jellies, granola, dried pasta, roasted coffee, candy, dried fruit, and a specific approved list published by CDPH. If your dish needs to be kept hot or cold, it isn't cottage food.
- Class A — you sell directly to customers (farmers markets, your door, online with pickup). Self-certification, no inspection. 2026 cap: $88,878.
- Class B — you can also sell indirectly through shops, restaurants, and cafés. Requires an annual inspection. 2026 cap: $177,756.
- Both caps are indexed to CPI and published by CDPH each January — the base statutory amounts are $75,000 and $150,000.
Which permit do you need?
- Do you want to sell meals — anything hot, anything with meat, rice, or dairy? You need MEHKO. Cottage food can't cover it.
- Is your county on the MEHKO list? If yes, apply through your county Environmental Health department. If no, your options are Cottage Food for shelf-stable items, a commissary/commercial kitchen rental, or lobbying your county supervisors to opt in.
- Only selling baked goods, jams, or snacks? Cottage Food Class A is faster and cheaper — no inspection, and it works statewide.
- Selling to cafés or shops too? Cottage Food Class B.
What it costs and how long it takes
Fees are set by each county. MEHKO application and annual permit fees in the Bay Area and LA generally run between roughly $300 and $700 for the initial review and a few hundred dollars a year to renew; Los Angeles County charges $597 for the application and $347 annually, and has been waiving the application fee for early applicants. Some counties (Santa Clara during its launch, LA through 2026) have offered fee waivers to seed the program. On top of that, budget about $100–$150 for a Food Protection Manager course and exam.
Timeline from application to first sale is typically 3 to 8 weeks: a week or two for document review, then scheduling the initial kitchen inspection, then permit issuance. Cottage Food Class A is often same-week.
Yes. AB 626 specifically regulates "internet food service intermediaries" — the apps that list MEHKO makers. A compliant platform has to register with CDPH, display your permit number, make it clear the food is made in a home kitchen, and can't arrange third-party delivery — and some counties, including Alameda, will only permit you to sell through a CDPH-registered intermediary. Makinson Street verifies every maker's permit before a listing goes live and shows the permit status on the maker's profile; you can read exactly how in How we verify every maker.
ready to cook?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.