The fee waiver ended June 30, and a wave of LA home kitchens is now fully permitted with nowhere to sell. Chefry is the storefront: 0% commission pre-orders, a MEHKO Permitted badge on your profile, and you get paid the second someone buys, not a check next month.
California's AB 626 created the Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation (MEHKO), a legal way to cook hot, made-to-order meals in your home kitchen and sell them to the public. It's a big step up from a cottage food permit, which only covers shelf-stable items like baked goods.
With a MEHKO, you can serve up to 30 meals a day and 90 meals a week, with up to $100,000 in gross annual sales. That's exactly the model for weekly meal-prep drops, Sunday pre-order plates, and small-batch home cooking, no commercial kitchen, no storefront, no landlord.
Why now? The county set aside funding to cover the $597 application fee for the first 1,000 operators. Once those subsidies are claimed, or the clock hits June 30, 2026, the fee comes back. There's no reason to pay $597 when you can pay $0 by moving early.
A permit is the goal, not the starting line. Creating your Chefry profile is free, and you can build your menu, share your link, and grow a customer list right now, while your MEHKO is processing, or before you have even applied.
Plenty of LA cooks start by selling cottage-food items they are already allowed to sell, test what people actually want, and switch on hot, made-to-order plates the day their permit clears. Just get your MEHKO before you sell cooked meals that require it.
Your kitchen is in unincorporated LA County or a participating city (not Pasadena, Long Beach, or Vernon, which run their own programs). MEHKO net revenue must stay under $50,000 per year.
MEHKO operators need a food handler card and must follow AB 626 safety rules, cooked-to-order meals, same-day service, 30 meals/day and 90 meals/week limits, and up to $100,000 in gross annual sales.
Submit the Public Health Permit Application for MEHKO ($597 review fee, the 2026 waiver ended June 30). You have up to 3 months to send all required documents, but your home can’t be scheduled for evaluation until everything is in.
While your permit processes, set up your free Chefry menu so you’re ready to take pre-orders and weekly drops the day you’re approved. Once permitted, toggle on your MEHKO badge, and you get paid the moment someone buys.
Apply through the LA County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division. Chefry is an independent marketplace and isn't affiliated with LA County, always confirm current fees, deadlines, and eligibility on the county's official MEHKO page before applying.
New to all this? Read our beginner's guide to selling food from home in Los Angeles , no jargon, no pressure.
The first 200 chefs on Chefry become Founding Chefs, with the lowest platform fees we'll ever offer, locked in for the life of your account. Pair a $0 MEHKO permit with founder pricing and you've built a legal home food business with almost nothing out of pocket. Only 22 founding spots left.
List your menu and take orders with no monthly fee. You only pay a small fee when you actually get paid for an order.
Get paid fast, money for completed orders is paid out daily, with instant-to-debit options. No waiting two weeks, no chasing screenshots.
Price weekly meal-prep plates and pre-orders the way home cooks actually sell, typically $25-$35 per person, with a clean menu and checkout.
Open a pre-order window, let customers pay up front, and cook to confirmed orders. Perfect for the 30-meals-a-day MEHKO model.
A Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation (MEHKO) is a home-based food business legalized under California AB 626. Unlike a cottage food permit (which only covers low-risk, shelf-stable items like baked goods and jams), a MEHKO lets you cook and sell hot, restaurant-style meals made to order from your home kitchen.
The initial application review fee is $597, plus a $347 annual health permit. LA County ran a fee waiver program that ended June 30, 2026, so new applications now pay the standard fee. Many operators earn the fee back in their first week or two of pre-order sales.
Turn it into income. Set up a free Chefry menu, take pre-orders with 0% commission on your plates, and your profile shows a MEHKO Permitted badge so customers know you are fully legal. You get paid the moment someone buys, and you can cash out instantly with a debit card.
Cooked, ready-to-eat meals prepared to order, the kind of food you’d serve at a restaurant. MEHKOs can serve up to 30 meals per day and 90 meals per week, with up to $100,000 in gross annual sales. It’s ideal for weekly meal-prep drops, pre-order plates, and small-batch home cooking.
It varies, but you can submit your supporting documents within 3 months of applying. Your home will be scheduled for an evaluation once all paperwork is received. Many operators set up their menu and start building a customer list while the permit is processing so they can sell the day they’re approved.
You can create your free Chefry profile and build your menu anytime, it costs nothing to start. We recommend getting your MEHKO permit before you begin selling cooked meals so you’re operating legally under AB 626. Use the wait time to photograph your dishes and line up pre-orders.
Set up your free Chefry menu today so you're ready to take orders the moment your MEHKO permit clears. Founding spots are almost gone.
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