By operation type

Find what applies to you

The 50 guides on this site are organized by topic, which is useful once you know what you are looking for. This is the other way in: pick the kind of operation you run, and get only what applies to it, in the order it matters.

• Restaurant or bar

  Fixed premises, seated or counter service. The path most of this site was written against.

  28 guides

• Food truck, trailer or cart

  Mobile units — and the commissary question that decides whether you can operate at all.

  13 guides

• Convenience store or gas station

  A different license from a restaurant, the same food code — and a threshold below which you need neither.

  16 guides

• Concession stand or event booth

  Festival booths, fair stands and seasonal operations — sorted by the calendar, not by the menu.

  10 guides

• Church, school or nonprofit kitchen

  Volunteer-run kitchens, where the first question is whether you need a license at all.

  11 guides

• Caterer

  Off-site service, usually commissary-based — and a risk level that transporting hot food pushes to the top.

  10 guides

• Ghost kitchen or delivery-only

  Virtual brands and delivery-first operations, where the exposure is your approved menu rather than the brand name.

  12 guides

• Home baker or cottage food

  A different agency entirely — and the shortest list on this site, honestly.

  5 guides

Not on this list?

Hospitals, senior living and corporate dining run through the same licensing as a restaurant, so start with restaurant or bar and use the jurisdiction lookup to confirm who licenses your address. If your operation genuinely does not fit any of these, that is worth knowing — tell us and it goes on the list.