Guides
Ghost kitchen licenses: four emails that confirm your list
Ghost kitchen licenses: the four written emails a business needs to send, to the health authority, registries, facility and platforms, and what to ask each.
What to take away
- A delivery-only kitchen almost always needs four things of its own: a retail food establishment permit, a business license, a sales tax account, and a food protection manager certificate.
- The facility's health permit covers the building, not your operation. Your name goes on your own permit.
- Confirm each applicable item with the authority that issues it, and keep the written answer for inspection.
- Sales tax treatment on delivered food differs by state, and the platform's collection does not always settle your obligation.
- Track each item with a status, a date and an expiry. Renewal dates are where operators get closed.
Start from the authority, not the permit
A ghost kitchen is a retail food establishment that happens to sell through apps. The permit names used here are the ones most jurisdictions use, and the authority that issues each one confirms whether it applies to you.
Start with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's directory of state retail food codes and agencies to find the body that inspects kitchens where yours will stand.
The FDA says local, state, tribal and federal regulators use the FDA Food Code as a model for their own food safety rules. It gives you the vocabulary for the conversation, and the county's answer is the rule you follow.
Who issues which item
The table lists each authority with what it issues and the question to put to it. Send every question in writing and keep the dated reply.
| Authority | Item it issues or confirms | Question to put in writing |
|---|---|---|
| County or city health department | Retail food establishment permit, held by the operator and not the building | Which permits apply to this operator at this address, and what inspections come before the first sale? |
| Accredited program, e.g. ServSafe | Food protection manager certificate; food handler cards | Which certificates does the county require, and for whom? |
| State secretary of state | LLC or corporation filing | What entity registration does a food business need? |
| State or county | Trade name registration, for each brand name | Does each brand need its own filing? |
| State revenue department | Sales tax permit | How is sales tax handled on delivered food, and which returns are due? |
| City or county | General business license | Is it required in addition to the health permit? |
| IRS | EIN | Which records must we keep from day one? |
| Private carrier | Workers comp and liability insurance | Which cover applies before the first employee? |
| Each delivery app | Platform merchant agreement | Which documents and thresholds does onboarding require? |
Named examples show how this looks in practice. California applies its Retail Food Code, known as CalCode, through county environmental health. Texas applies the Texas Food Establishments Rules, 25 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 228, through city and county health departments. In New York City the Department of Health issues the permit. For sales tax, California uses a seller's permit from the CDTFA, Texas a sales and use tax permit from the Comptroller, and New York a Certificate of Authority from the Department of Taxation and Finance. The federal EIN comes from IRS Form SS-4. Manager certification comes from an ANSI-accredited exam such as ServSafe. This article states no fees or processing times, because each authority sets and changes its own.
Two rows are the ones new owners miss. A food protection manager certificate is a person-level credential, and the county wants a named holder on site during operation.
A trade name registration is separate from the kitchen permit, so a second brand sold from the same bay can need its own filing even when nothing about the kitchen changes.
Zoning is a further local track that can come before any permit. The article on ghost kitchen zoning approvals covers it for San Francisco and Boston.
Email one: the health authority
Contact the body you found in the FDA directory. Ask for written answers specific to your operation and facility, and keep the dated response for your records.
- Which permits and registrations apply to this operator at this address, and what are their exact application or form names?
- What inspections, certificates, or approvals must be completed before selling food?
- What fees apply, and what is the current processing interval for each application?
Questions for Health Authority
- Which permits must operator hold separately?
- Application process and inspection interval?
- Which staff need food handler training?
- Labeling and allergen requirements for packaged food?
- New approval for second brand or pickup?
- What triggers re-inspection and penalties?
Here is a version of the email you can send, with your own details added to the signature:
Subject: Permit questions for a delivery-only food business at a shared kitchen
I plan to run a delivery-only food business out of a shared commercial kitchen in your county. The kitchen's owner holds its own approvals. Please tell me in writing which permits and registrations apply to my business at this address, the exact application names, the inspections needed before my first sale, the fees, and your current processing time. Thank you. My name, business name and the kitchen address are below.
The answers come from the authority, because each one publishes its own forms, fees and schedules. The dated reply is the figure to rely on, and the one an inspector can check.
Email two: business and tax registries
The registries decide the entity, the tax account and the general license. Ask each one separately, because their answers do not cover each other.
- Secretary of statewhat entity registration does a food business need?
- State or county trade name officedoes each brand name need its own trade name filing?
- State revenue departmenthow is sales tax handled on delivered food, on orders where the platform collects payment, and on orders through our own site? Which returns, and how often?
- City or countyis a general business license required in addition to the health permit, and does a home address change the answer?
- IRSwhich records must we keep from day one for payroll and for the sales tax we remit?
The licensing and compliance guide maps how these layers stack and links the federal starting points.
Subject: Registration questions for a new delivery-only food business
I am opening a delivery-only food business and need to confirm my registrations. Please tell me in writing what entity filing, trade name filing, sales tax permit and general business license the business needs, which forms to use, the fees, and the filing and return deadlines. I also need to know how sales tax applies when a delivery app collects payment. Thank you. My name and business details are below.
Email three: the facility
Whoever you rent hours or a bay from holds approvals for the building. Ask in writing:
- Which approvals for the building cover our operation, and do we need a separate health permit?
- What storage, hours, or other facility rules apply to our use of the kitchen?
- What arrangements are available for accessible customer pickup?
Questions for the Facility
- Which permits does the facility hold?
- Which approvals extend to operators?
- Storage, labeling, cleaning and allergen separation?
- Hours, driver access and customer pickup rules?
Subject: Approvals and rules for our use of the shared kitchen
I am considering renting kitchen hours from you. Please confirm in writing which approvals for the building cover my operation, whether I need my own health permit, what storage, hours and cleaning rules apply, and how a customer using a wheelchair can pick up an order. Thank you. My name and business name are below.
That last point is a real obligation, not a courtesy. The Department of Justice's ADA primer for small business says the ADA requires small businesses to remove architectural barriers in existing facilities when it is readily achievable to do so.
A pickup counter in a shared kitchen is customer-facing, and so is your ordering site.
Email four: each platform
Onboarding asks for documents, and the merchant terms set private rules that change without notice. Before applying, note which registrations, tax identification and health approvals the onboarding requires.
Also note what insurance certificate the terms ask for, and what rating or cancellation thresholds affect visibility or suspension.
Platform Onboarding Checklist
- Registrations, tax ID and health approvals required
- Insurance certificate the terms ask for
- Rating or cancellation thresholds affecting visibility
- Keep the version you signed
Keep the version you signed. The licensing question is only what onboarding refuses without.
Subject: Onboarding requirements for a new restaurant partner
I am preparing to apply as a restaurant partner. Please send in writing the licenses, tax identification, health approvals and insurance certificate the onboarding requires, any rating or cancellation thresholds that affect visibility or suspension, and the date of the current merchant terms. Thank you. My name and business details are below.
Consequences of missing a requirement
Operating without an approval the health authority requires can mean closure until you obtain it, plus fees or penalties that authority sets. Selling on a platform without the required documents means the listing is not approved or is suspended, which removes an order stream with no notice.
Employing people before the payroll and insurance setup is in place carries its own penalties.
Each authority publishes its own schedule of fees and penalties, so ask for it in the same email as the permit question.
Keeping the list current
Write the table with authority, item, status, date and expiry. Update it before any change in format, hours, delivery radius or facility. Each change sends you back to one of the four emails.
Staffing is where the answers feed next. Which roles need food handler training decides who you hire first, and the hiring and training guide builds that into the scorecards.
Common questions
Is there a single ghost kitchen license?
No. A delivery-only kitchen is licensed as a retail food operation, a registered business and an employer, and those come from different authorities. The table above is the working list; the county confirms which rows apply to your facility.
Can I open on the commissary's permit alone?
Only if the health authority says so in writing for your facility and your operation. Most operators hold a retail food establishment permit in their own name, because the facility's permit covers the building and not the business selling from it.
How long does approval take?
The health authority sets the interval for the specific application and facility. Ask for its current processing estimate before submitting, and build that interval into the launch plan rather than guessing. Start the entity and tax registrations while you wait.
Do I need a separate license for each brand?
Ask the health authority and the business registry, because the answer splits. The kitchen approval often covers a second brand, while the trade name filing usually does not.
