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What is a catering or home-based food business?
Catering provides food service at a remote site, such as a hotel, office, or event venue. King County requires that a catering business operate from an approved commissary kitchen. The commissary is an important part of a caterer's operation. It must have dedicated areas for supply storage, equipment cleaning, and food preparation.
Many catering operations lease space at an existing approved commercial kitchen facility. Examples of facilities that you can use are:
- Rental kitchens
- Existing restaurant kitchens with time and space available
- Churches
- Schools
- Community kitchens
Restaurants and other permitted food businesses don't need a separate permit for catering. But, the catering activities must take place in the existing permitted kitchen.
To construct your own catering kitchen, see Permanent food service business permit.
How do I get a new food catering business permit?
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Make an agreement with the owner of the shared kitchen
Print and complete a commissary agreement form, and include it with your application in the next step. The owner of the facility must sign it.
We encourage you to reach out to the Plan Reviewer at for more information:
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Submit your food catering permit application
Use the Public Health Permit Center to apply to operate and open your catering business.
The application process will include submission of:
- Full application
- Use of Commissary/ Shared agreement
- Commissary kitchen equipment floor plan
- A copy of the menu
- Payment
If you prefer a paper form, please complete the Application for permanent food establishment (377 KB) and mail it in with payment to our office.
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Request a Field Plan Review Inspection
Request a field plan review inspection through the Public Health Permit Center.
You can also call our offices to request.
We require a Field plan review to make sure that the kitchen facility will meet your food and equipment needs. Your inspector will ask:
- What types of foods you will be preparing
- How you will make and store them
- About the equipment that you will be using
All equipment must meet the standards of the Washington State Retail Food Code.
The fee for a Field plan review is $486 (2-hour base fee) + $243 per hour after 2 hours.
How to renew an existing food catering business permit
If you are renewing an existing catering food business permit (with no changes to ownership, facility, or menu) you can use the Public Health Permit Center.
Can I use my home kitchen as a catering kitchen?
You cannot use a home kitchen for food service unless there are 2 separate kitchens. A commercial kitchen must be separate from the kitchen used by the people who live there. An approved home kitchen would have to meet all the requirements for any commercial food service. You can find these requirements in the Food Service Plan Guide (970 KB).
Private chefs do not need to get a food service permit if:
- You do all food preparation at the client's residence for private events.
- You do not store or prepare any food ahead of the event.
If you are unsure if your food catering service needs a permit, contact us at 206-263-9566.
Employee requirements
- Food Worker Card
All employees of a food business must get a Washington State Food Worker Card. You can take the class and test online or go to any of our in-person classes. - MAST / alcohol server permits, Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board
Anyone who serves, mixes, sells, or supervises the sale of alcohol at a business with a liquor license must take the Mandatory Alcohol Server Training (MAST).