Commissary kitchen requirements come from the FDA Food Code as adopted by your local health department, and they cover two things at once: the physical facility (floors, plumbing, ventilation, equipment, pest control) and the paperwork you bring as the operator (food safety certification, insurance, business registration, and a signed agreement with the kitchen). An inspector will verify both before issuing a food service permit.
Getting the permit itself is straightforward. Making sure the kitchen and your paperwork actually hold up to a walkthrough is where most applicants get stuck.
Who Needs to Work Out of a Commissary
If you sell food from a truck, cart, trailer, or temporary event setup, your local health department will almost certainly require you to name a licensed commissary as your base of operations. The commissary is where you store ingredients, prep food, clean equipment, fill potable water tanks, and dump wastewater. Many jurisdictions require mobile operators to return to their commissary at least once per operating day for servicing, and skipping that check-in can trigger fines or permit suspension.
Caterers without their own licensed commercial kitchen face the same requirement. Renting time in a shared commissary gives you the licensed infrastructure without the buildout.
One boundary worth naming: every state has a cottage food law that lets home-based producers sell certain low-risk items — typically baked goods, jams, and candy — directly to consumers without a commercial kitchen. Eligible products, sales caps, and labeling rules vary significantly by state. If your product qualifies, you may not need a commissary at all. Check your state’s agriculture or health department before signing a kitchen lease you don’t actually need.
What the Facility Itself Has to Meet
Chapter 6 of the FDA Food Code sets the structural standards, and this is where inspectors spend most of their walkthrough time.1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 – Full Document
Floors, Walls, and Ceilings
Surfaces in food preparation areas must be smooth, durable, and easy to clean. In areas exposed to moisture — prep zones, walk-in coolers, warewashing stations — they must also be nonabsorbent. Stainless steel, ceramic tile, and fiberglass-reinforced panels all satisfy the standard. Carpet is explicitly prohibited in food preparation and warewashing areas.
Where water-flush cleaning is used, floors must be graded to drain, and floor-to-wall junctures must be coved and sealed so moisture can’t seep into gaps where bacteria grow. Floor drains connect to grease traps that capture fats and oils before they reach the sewer.
Lighting and Ventilation
Lighting at work surfaces where employees handle food, utensils, or sharp equipment like slicers and grinders must reach at least 50 foot-candles. At lower levels, staff can’t reliably spot spoilage, contamination, or foreign objects.
Ventilation hoods over cooking equipment must comply with NFPA 96. That means hoods sized to capture and remove grease-laden vapors, listed grease filters (mesh filters are not allowed), fire-actuated dampers, and a minimum 18 inches between the grease removal device and the cooking surface.2National Fire Protection Association. NFPA 96 Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations
Plumbing
Handwashing sinks must be dedicated — separate from prep sinks and warewashing sinks — and must deliver water at a minimum of 85°F through a mixing valve or combination faucet.3U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 Chapter 5 – Water, Plumbing, and Waste Some local codes go higher, so confirm your jurisdiction’s adopted version. Warewashing runs through a three-compartment sink: wash, rinse, sanitize. Inspectors will verify the physical layout keeps handwashing, prep, and warewashing distinct.
Backflow prevention is the plumbing detail first-timers miss. Every point of use in the kitchen must have either an air gap or an approved backflow prevention device to stop contaminants from being siphoned back into the water supply. Air gaps must be at least twice the diameter of the water supply inlet and no less than one inch. Carbonated beverage machines need a dual check valve with an intermediate vent and a mesh screen upstream from the carbonator. Backflow devices have to be accessible for annual testing.3U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 Chapter 5 – Water, Plumbing, and Waste
Equipment
Every commercial appliance in the kitchen must carry NSF certification. NSF International sets the sanitation and performance standards for food equipment ranging from refrigerators and cooking units to warewashing machines and food prep surfaces.4NSF. NSF Food Equipment Standards Inspectors look for the NSF mark as the baseline indicator that equipment can withstand commercial-grade cleaning and volume. Residential appliances will get flagged.5NSF. Food Equipment Certification
Refrigeration must hold food at 41°F or below; freezers at 0°F or below.6U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Refrigerator Thermometers – Cold Facts About Food Safety Both units need accurate thermometers visible without opening the door, and temperature logs are standard daily paperwork. Inspectors will ask to see them.
Dry goods and packaging must be stored at least six inches off the floor in a clean, dry location protected from splash. Shelving should be corrosion-resistant — chrome-plated steel or heavy-duty plastic. In shared commissaries, each user gets labeled storage zones to prevent cross-contamination between businesses.
Pest Management
Health departments expect a formal pest management plan, and many require it to follow Integrated Pest Management principles. An IPM plan starts with a professional inspection identifying entry points, harborage areas, and conditions attracting pests. Non-chemical methods come first: sealing cracks, eliminating standing water, and using traps and monitoring devices before turning to pesticides.
When pesticides are used, gel baits and targeted crack-and-crevice treatments are the standard. Fogging, broadcast spraying, and total-release foggers are generally prohibited in commercial kitchens because they contaminate food contact surfaces. The pest control professional should leave a signed report after every visit documenting findings, actions taken, and any pesticides applied by brand name and active ingredient.
What You Have to Bring as the Operator
Food Safety Certification
At least one person in your operation — typically the owner or manager — must hold a Food Protection Manager certification from an accredited program like ServSafe. The exam runs $39 to $99 depending on format, and with study materials and training added in, total costs can approach $200.7ServSafe. Manager Online Training and Certification Exams Individual staff members who handle food also need Food Handler Permits, available through local health department portals after a short training course.
Insurance
General liability insurance is a practical necessity even where it isn’t required by statute. Commercial kitchens, event venues, and municipal permitting offices almost always demand proof of coverage. The industry standard is $1 million per occurrence with a $2 million aggregate. Commissary owners will require you to list them as an additional insured on your policy, which protects them from claims arising out of your activities in their space; your broker adds this endorsement to your existing policy. If you have employees, nearly every state also requires workers’ compensation, regardless of whether the employee is full-time, part-time, or seasonal.
Business Registration and EIN
Your health department application will ask for your legal business entity name and federal Employer Identification Number. An EIN is free directly from the IRS, and the online application processes immediately for most entity types.8Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number If you’re forming an LLC or corporation, register the entity with your state first, then apply for the EIN. The IRS warns against third-party sites that charge for this service; if someone wants you to pay for an EIN, you’re on the wrong site.
The Commissary Agreement
The formal contract between you and the kitchen owner is sometimes called a Commissary Letter of Agreement, and your health department will want a copy as part of your permit application. The agreement must identify the commissary’s name, address, and food service license number, along with your business name and contact information. It should specify the hours you’re authorized to access the kitchen, the storage you’re assigned (shelf numbers or designated space in refrigerated units), and which services you’ll use.
A workable agreement covers more than food prep and storage. It should address:
- Warewashing: access to three-compartment sinks and any commercial dishwashers.
- Water and wastewater: filling potable tanks and dumping wastewater for mobile units.
- Waste disposal: trash removal, used cooking oil disposal, and grease trap access.
- Vehicle and equipment storage: where your truck, cart, or trailer parks when not in use.
The scope-of-use section should clearly describe whether the space is being used for catering, mobile food prep, packaged food production, or some combination. Health departments treat this agreement as legal evidence that you have a sanitary home base, so vague or incomplete agreements will delay your permit.
How Inspection Violations Are Graded
When an inspector finds a problem, the severity dictates how fast you have to fix it. The FDA Food Code uses a three-tier classification that replaced the older critical/non-critical labels:1U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Food Code 2022 – Full Document
- Priority items: violations that directly affect elimination or reduction of foodborne illness hazards. Correction is required during the inspection; the inspector may grant up to 72 hours if the fix is complex.
- Priority foundation items: violations that support or enable priority items, like a broken handwashing sink. Also to be corrected during the inspection, with extensions up to 10 calendar days.
- Core items: general sanitation, maintenance, and operational issues without immediate health risk. Up to 90 calendar days to address.
Consequences escalate for repeat offenders. Multiple civil penalties within a 12-month period, or being found in violation during the majority of inspections in a year, can trigger proceedings to suspend or revoke your permit. An imminent health hazard — a sewage backup, extended loss of water or power, or evidence of a foodborne illness outbreak — can result in immediate shutdown, and you cannot resume operations without the health department’s explicit approval.
The practical takeaway: priority items are where permits die. An inspector who finds food held at unsafe temperatures, no hot water at the handwashing sink, or evidence of rodent activity isn’t scheduling a follow-up in two weeks. You either fix it on the spot or you don’t open that day.
Submitting the Permit Application
Once the kitchen meets the standards and your documentation is together, submit the full package through your local health authority’s portal or administrative office. Expect to include:
- The completed application form.
- Your Food Protection Manager certificate.
- Food Handler Permits for staff.
- Proof of general liability insurance.
- Your commissary lease agreement.
- Business registration documents, including your EIN.
Most jurisdictions charge a plan review or permit fee that varies by location and operational complexity. Budget a few hundred dollars for this step. After paperwork review, the health department schedules a pre-operational inspection: an inspector walks through to verify that equipment works, the layout matches the submitted plans, and everything from temperatures to plumbing to pest control meets code.
From a successful inspection to permit in hand typically runs two to four weeks while the agency processes findings and issues the physical permit for display. If the inspector finds violations, the clock resets. Priority items must be fixed before the permit can issue, and you’ll need to schedule a reinspection. The two most common causes of delay are incomplete paperwork and equipment that doesn’t match the application, both avoidable with a thorough self-audit before you submit.