What MEHKO Is and How California's Home Kitchen Permit Works

Most California cottage food producers start out under a Class A or Class B Cottage Food Operation (CFO) — the permit that lets you sell jams, baked goods, and other shelf-stable foods made at home. But CFO permits don't allow hot meals, fresh sandwiches, tamales out of your kitchen, or anything that needs temperature control.

That's where MEHKO comes in. The Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation is California's answer to home-based restaurants — a permit that lets you actually cook and serve full meals out of your residential kitchen, legally, with health-department oversight. It's a meaningfully different program from standard cottage food, with different rules, different caps, and a different customer experience.

What You'll Learn

This guide explains what MEHKO is, who qualifies, what you can sell under it, the application process with your county, and how MEHKO compares to California's standard Cottage Food Operation. By the end, you'll know which permit fits your business — or whether you want both.

What is MEHKO?

MEHKO stands for Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation. It's a California-specific permit created by AB 626 in 2018 and expanded by AB 377 in 2021. MEHKO is not available in any other state — each state has its own home-kitchen rules, and most don't yet have an equivalent hot-meals program.

A MEHKO permit lets you prepare, cook, and sell full meals out of your home kitchen, directly to consumers who order in advance or dine at your home. Unlike a standard Cottage Food Operation, which is limited to non-potentially-hazardous foods (think jams, cookies, granola), MEHKO opens up the full menu: tamales, curries, fried chicken, noodle bowls, freshly-baked morning pastries, coffee drinks — anything you can make to order.

The core distinction is simple: CFO is for shelf-stable food sold later; MEHKO is for hot meals cooked and served the same day.

Who Can Apply for MEHKO

MEHKO is designed for California residents who want to cook and sell meals out of their primary residential kitchen. You can apply if you:

• Live in California, in a county that has authorized MEHKOs (this is the critical gate — see below)
• Are operating from the kitchen in your own home
• Are willing to obtain an ANSI-accredited Food Safety Manager certification within three months of registration
• Can pass a kitchen inspection from your county environmental health department
• Plan to sell directly to end consumers (no wholesale, no farmers markets under MEHKO)

The county-authorization piece matters. MEHKO is a state law, but California requires each county to opt in before residents of that county can apply. As of this writing, counties including Riverside, San Bernardino, Alameda, Santa Barbara, Solano, Imperial, Sacramento, San Diego (pilot), and San Mateo have authorized MEHKOs, with more reviewing adoption. Check with your county environmental health department before building your plan around a MEHKO permit.

What Foods Can You Make Under MEHKO

MEHKO's food list is much broader than Cottage Food. You can prepare and sell:

Hot meals and entrees:

• Tamales, enchiladas, and other Mexican dishes
• Curries, rice dishes, noodle bowls
• Fried chicken, roasts, and other proteins
• Sandwiches, burgers, and prepared lunches
• Soups and stews

Prepared sides and salads:

• Fresh salads (allowed because they're consumed same-day)
• Cooked vegetables, rice, beans
• Mashed potatoes, pasta salads, grain bowls

Beverages:

• Coffee, tea, and other non-alcoholic drinks
• Fresh juices (consumed same-day)
• Smoothies and shakes

Desserts:

• Cakes with cream fillings
• Ice cream and frozen desserts (if properly stored)
• Custards, puddings, and refrigerated sweets

What MEHKO does not allow:

• Wholesale to stores or restaurants (direct-to-consumer only)
• Shipping or interstate sales
• Raw-milk dairy products
• Alcohol production (requires separate ABC licensing)
• Foods prepared before the day of service

The same-day rule is a genuine operational constraint — you can't prep Sunday's meals on Saturday and hold them overnight. Everything is cooked and served (or picked up) the same day.

MEHKO Requirements and Process

Initial Application

The MEHKO application process varies slightly by county, but generally includes:

1. Confirm your county has authorized MEHKOs. Call your county environmental health department or check their website before starting.

2. Complete an ANSI-accredited Food Safety Manager course. ServSafe Manager, Learn2Serve, and similar programs qualify. Expect to spend $75–$175 and an afternoon.

3. Submit your MEHKO permit application to your county environmental health department along with a floor plan of your kitchen and a sample menu.

4. Pay the permit fee. This varies significantly — typically $500–$1,200 depending on the county.

5. Pass your initial kitchen inspection. An inspector visits and checks that your setup meets MEHKO standards.

6. Receive your permit and begin operating.

Operational Rules

MEHKO permits carry real operational constraints:

• Maximum 30 meals per day, 90 meals per week
• Maximum $100,000 in annual gross sales
• All food must be prepared, cooked, and served the same day — no holding overnight
• Maximum one non-family-member employee working in the kitchen
• One MEHKO permit per home — you can't run multiple MEHKOs from a single residence

Kitchen Requirements

Your residential kitchen must meet specific standards your inspector will evaluate:

• Adequate refrigeration with working thermometers
• Proper handwashing facilities separate from food prep
• Sanitary surfaces and cleanable equipment
• Adequate ventilation (your existing range hood is usually sufficient)
• No live animals in the kitchen during prep or service
• Proper waste disposal

Most California kitchens pass inspection without major modifications. If yours needs work, your inspector will typically give you a list and a chance to fix it before re-inspecting.

MEHKO vs. California Cottage Food Operations

Both permits let you sell food from home — but they're designed for very different businesses.

California Cottage Food (CFO):

• No kitchen inspection required for Class A
• Class A: $80,000 annual cap, direct-to-consumer only
• Class B: $160,000 annual cap, wholesale + direct
• Limited to non-potentially-hazardous foods (baked goods, jams, candies, dried goods)
• Can sell at farmers markets, online with in-state shipping, and via wholesale (Class B)
• Must label products "Made in a Home Kitchen"
• No same-day requirement — products can be made ahead and stored

MEHKO:

• Kitchen inspection and annual permit required
• $100,000 annual cap
• 30 meals/day, 90 meals/week cap
• Allows hot meals, cold salads, drinks, and full menus
• Direct-to-consumer only — no wholesale, no farmers markets, no shipping
• Food must be prepared, cooked, and served the same day
• Requires ANSI Food Safety Manager certification

The two permits can coexist. Plenty of makers run a Class A CFO for their jam or granola business and a MEHKO for their Sunday supper club.

Costs and Fees

MEHKO carries more upfront cost than Cottage Food:

• Annual permit fee: $500–$1,200 (varies significantly by county)
• ANSI Food Safety Manager course: $75–$175
• Kitchen upgrades if needed: Variable
• Business license and seller's permit: Typically $50–$100 to register with the state

Compared to renting a commissary kitchen ($500–$2,000/month) or leasing a brick-and-mortar restaurant space, MEHKO is dramatically cheaper — which is why it's become attractive to tamale makers, supper club hosts, and neighborhood cooks who want to go legal without signing a commercial lease.

Benefits of MEHKO

A Legal Path for Hot-Meal Home Cooking

MEHKO is the only permit in California that lets you legally cook and sell hot meals from a residential kitchen. Before AB 626, thousands of home cooks operated in a gray zone — selling tamales out of coolers, running informal supper clubs, catering friends-of-friends — without a clear legal framework. MEHKO gives that work a permit path.

Lower Barrier Than a Commercial Kitchen

A fully-permitted commercial kitchen runs $500–$2,000/month in rent, plus commissary fees. A MEHKO permit runs $500–$1,200 a year. For a home cook who wants to test demand before committing, that difference is the difference between starting and not starting.

Direct Customer Relationships

Because MEHKO is direct-to-consumer only, every customer is someone who chose you specifically. Buyers pick up (or dine-in) at your home, which builds a kind of trust and community you can't get through a delivery app or wholesale channel.

Is MEHKO Right for You?

MEHKO makes sense if you:

• Live in a California county that has authorized the program
• Want to sell hot meals, fresh-prepared food, or drinks
• Are comfortable with inspection and annual permit renewal
• Plan to cook and sell regularly — at least a few times a month
• Are prepared to serve customers directly from your home

MEHKO may not be the right fit if you:

• Live outside California, or in a California county that hasn't authorized MEHKOs yet
• Want to sell shelf-stable products like jams, baked goods, or granola (Cottage Food Operation is simpler and cheaper for those)
• Plan to wholesale to stores or restaurants
• Want to ship your food anywhere
• Aren't comfortable having buyers come to your home

For shelf-stable products, a Class A or Class B CFO is almost always the better starting point. For hot meals, MEHKO is the only legal home-based option in California.

Next Steps

If MEHKO sounds like a fit, your first call is to your county environmental health department. Ask whether they're currently accepting MEHKO applications and request the application packet. While you wait for the packet, sign up for an ANSI Food Safety Manager course — it'll take a few hours and checks one requirement off the list.

Ready to start listing your food alongside other California makers? Visit kotimade.com/sell to see how Koti helps cottage food and MEHKO producers build their storefronts, reach buyers, and run orders — with no listing fees, 8% on marketplace orders, and 0% when your existing customers order through your direct link.