Food Manufacturer License in a Shared Kitchen in DC
Last updated: September 2, 2026. Reviewed by Barney Rubin, Union Kitchen food safety expert (certified GMP, HACCP).
About: Union Kitchen is Washington, DC’s certified shared commercial kitchen where food businesses produce from first batch to full scale — packaged brands, meal delivery, and everything in between.
If you want to manufacture food in a shared kitchen in Washington, DC, DC Health treats you as a food manufacturer. The license they care about is yours: a Certified Food Protection Manager card, a shared-kitchen food manufacturer application, a pre-operational inspection, and the rest of the District filings. The kitchen’s own certifications matter too. They tell a buyer the facillity is already USDA-certified, FDA-certified, gluten-free-certified, and Whole Foods–approved. They do not replace your manufacturer license.
This page is that food-safety layer: ServSafe and the DC CFPM card, GMP, HACCP, what the facility already holds, what still has to be approved on your product, and the manufacturer application. The full District order (DUNS, tax, Clean Hands, Basic Business License) is in Licensing a food business in Washington, DC.
Book a tour if you want to walk the production facility and chat together about your licensing process.
Certified is not the same as licensed
Licensed means DC Health and the District have approved your business to make and sell food. That approval is attached to you and to a specific production address.
Certified, as founders use it here, usually means the facility already holds inspections and third-party credentials a retailer or inspector will ask about. At Union Kitchen that is USDA, FDA, gluten-free, and Whole Foods–approved. Staff on site work to GMP and HACCP practice.
You need both. A certified building does not put a claim on your label by itself.
What the building already holds
Union Kitchen at 1625 Eckington Place NE in Eckington is a licensed commercial kitchen. The facility is USDA-certified, FDA-certified, gluten-free-certified, and Whole Foods–approved. DC Health inspects members here alongside the facility General Manager.
That is half the equation. The other half is getting your product and production processes speficially certified.
The building being gluten-free certified or USDA-meat inspected is not the same thing. That makes sense. Food safety certifications are confirming that everything about the product meets the standards of the claim - ingredients, labelling descriptions, nutrition facts, processes and procedures in addition to the facility itself.
Cottage food and home-kitchen programs are a different path. Production at Union Kitchen follows the shared-kitchen manufacturer steps.
The food-safety stack, in plain language
ServSafe and the DC CFPM card
ServSafe is the exam that shows you can manage food safety. After you pass, you upload the certificate in the DC Health portal and apply for the District’s Certified Food Protection Manager card. ServSafe is good for five years. DC makes you renew the card after three.
GMP
Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) is how people and the facility are managed every day: hygiene, allergens, traffic through the production area, how you store and clean. Union Kitchen staff hold GMP certifications and can help you set up your operations to meet GMP. GMP is often a requirement for working with larger retailers and distributors.
HACCP
A HACCP plan is a written map of where your process can go wrong and what you do at those points to control for it. If you are a CPG manufacturer, DC Health requires that plan and a variance letter for the manufacturing portion of the DC Food Code. Complete those before you file the manufacturer application. Meal delivery and meal prep using the same production space follow this manufacturer path when DC Health treats the process as manufacturing. Caterers have a shorter list on the licensing guide.
The shared-kitchen food manufacturer application
This is the food-safety qualification to produce in a shared kitchen, commercial kitchen, or commissary kitchen used for manufacturing. It is not a general business license. The form covers ingredients, process, and facility detail. You file it in the DC Health portal. Union Kitchen management signs the facility portion and provides the Certificate of Occupancy. Then you schedule the pre-operational inspection and walk the certified shared commercial kitchen with the inspector.
Shared-kitchen food manufacturer application (PDF)
DC Health guidance for shared kitchens
How Union Kitchen supports this
We do not file your licenses for you. We do the facility half.
That includes the occupancy certificate and signature on the shared-kitchen application, a walkthrough of the production facility for the pre-operational inspection, staff who already work to GMP and HACCP, and the food-safety team for product-level gluten-free approval and USDA meat work. Email support@unionkitchen.com when the manufacturer form is ready for the kitchen’s portion or if you have questions.
Kitchen membership is how you license production space in that facility. Cost. What a shared kitchen is.
Food-safety checklist
- Pass ServSafe and get your DC CFPM card.
- Write the HACCP plan and variance letter if you are on the manufacturer or meal delivery path.
- File the shared-kitchen food manufacturer application. Union Kitchen signs the facility portion.
- Complete the pre-operational inspection in the kitchen.
- If you want a gluten-free or USDA meat claim on the label, start product approval with the food-safety team.
Then finish the rest of the District order on the licensing guide.
FAQ
What licenses do I need to manufacture food in a DC shared kitchen? Your own DC Health manufacturer path and your own business licenses, plus a production address in a licensed shared kitchen, commercial kitchen, or commissary kitchen. The kitchen’s certifications do not replace that filing. Full District order: licensing guide.
What is the difference between a business license and a food manufacturer application? The Basic Business License is permission to operate the company in DC. The shared-kitchen food manufacturer application is DC Health qualifying your process to run in a shared kitchen. You need both to sell food products.
What is a HACCP plan, and do I need one? It is a written plan for the points in your process where food safety can fail and what you are doing to offset that risk. CPG manufacturers need one, plus a variance letter, before the manufacturer application. Our team is certified in HACCP and works with HACCP-vendor if you need help writing yours.
Can I produce at Union Kitchen under the kitchen’s license? Every business in the shared kitchen files separately. That's because the Health Department wants to ensure that the actual food is produced safely. Union Kitchen provides the certified production facility, occupancy paperwork, and the inspection walkthrough.
Can I put “gluten-free certified” on my label because the kitchen is gluten-free certified? The facility is half the equation. The product and the specific production procedures still have to be approved by the third-party certifing body.
If I make a meat product, is USDA already done? The building is USDA-meat inspected. Your product still needs the USDA's approval. They will review your product, labels, and procedures.
Do I need ServSafe and a DC CFPM card? Yes for the manufacturer path. Pass ServSafe, then get the DC card. DC renews that card on a three-year cycle.
Is cottage food the same thing? Cottage food is a different path. It means you are producing out of your house. There are legal limits on how much you can sell out of your house. Production at Union Kitchen follows the shared-kitchen manufacturer steps and does not have a limit on the amount you can sell. Cottage food is helpful when first starting out before you are ready to commit to a shared kitchen. It is not a long term production set up.
Where is Union Kitchen? 1625 Eckington Place NE, Washington, DC 20002, in Eckington near NoMa. Book a tour.