Apply for a Food Service License
Any business owner looking to serve food needs to apply for a license. This includes people who are building a new retail food facility and those who are taking over an existing food facility.
A retail food facility is any business or entity that sells or gives food or drinks to the public, which could include customers, students, patients, inmates and people in need.
Apply for a License: New Businesses
If you own a business or lead an organization that plans to build a new retail food facility, you must apply for a license first.
Application Process
- Submit your plans to the Environmental Health Plan Review section.
- After your plans are approved, you must obtain any necessary permits from the local building department.
- Once you have your building permits, you can begin construction.
- Arrange for Environmental Health to conduct the required construction inspections.
- Once your final construction is approved, complete the Health Permit Application: Food Facility and Public Pool and pay the permit fee.
- You will be mailed a placard pending to post in a conspicuous location. After your first routine inspection, this placard will be replaced with a placard reflecting the result of the inspection.
Apply for a License: Existing Businesses
If you're taking over a business or moving into an existing retail food facility, you also need to submit an application and get a license.
- Contra Costa Health's environmental health staff must evaluate the facility before the ownership change is approved.
- Don't rely entirely on past inspection reports to determine if the facility will need any upgrades.
Related Resources
- Change of Ownership – Retail Food FAQs
- Facility Evaluation Application – Food Facility and Public Pools (ownership change)
- Permit Fee Exemption & Self-Attestation Form
- Plan Review vs. Food Facility Code Evaluation Questionnaire
- Prospective Owner of a Retail Facility Informational Sheet
- Risk Category Questionnaire