What Licenses and Permits Do You Need Before You Start Producing?
Getting licensed is one of the first real tests of whether a food idea can become a food business. Buyers, markets, and distributors will ask where the product is made and whether DC Health has approved you. If those answers are missing, sales stop even when the recipe is ready.
In this article, we explain which licenses and permits you need before you can sell food produced in Washington, DC, how long DC Health approval usually takes, what Union Kitchen handles for you, and how recipe work can start before every form is finished.
The official step-by-step order and agency portals are in licensing a food business in Washington, DC. This article is an overview. It is not legal advice. Confirm the current forms with the agency before you file.
What licenses do you need?
You need your own food business license. You cannot produce under Union Kitchen’s license. That’s because the health department also needs to check that the what and the way you are producing is safe for consumers. The kitchen at 1625 Eckington Place NE is the certified shared commercial kitchen. The approvals attach to your company and to that address.
If you are a packaged brand or a meal delivery business, Washington, DC treats you as a food manufacturer. You can follow the steps in our guide on licensing a food business in DC and the food safety certifications they will ask you for.
Caterers follow a shorter list. That list is also on the licensing page at the bottom. Cottage food is a different path. Cottage food is produced in a registered home kitchen under a different statute. You cannot make cottage food inside this shared kitchen or any others. Cottage food works to start but will not allow you to grow.
Can I start before I am fully licensed?
Yes, for recipe and process work. You can start developing the product at Union Kitchen before every license is finished. You cannot sell until those licenses are in your company’s name. We work through the filings with you so you are ready by the time you are selling.
How long does DC Health approval take?
There is no single date DC Health publishes for every business. A few pieces do have known wait times. DUNS can take up to 30 days. If you formed the company outside Washington, DC, the Certificate of Good Standing has to be 90 days old or newer. Tax letters arrive by mail, and you need the notice number from that letter to finish the next filing.
DC Health reviews the manufacturer application after it is complete. Then you schedule the pre-operational inspection and walk the floor with the inspector. The delay we see most often is not the inspection day. It is sending a later form before the earlier one is done. Each filing uses documents from the one before it.
If a buyer already wants a date, start DUNS and ServSafe now.
What does Union Kitchen file for me?
We do not file the business as if it were ours. We sign the facility portion of the manufacturer application and provide the Certificate of Occupancy. We walk the inspection with you. ServSafe, HACCP, and the difference between the building’s certifications and a claim on your label are covered in food manufacturer license in a shared kitchen.
When the manufacturer application is ready for our signature, email support@unionkitchen.com.
What address do I use on the forms?
Use 1625 Eckington Place NE, Washington, DC 20002. That is the production facility. It is not the grocery store on the same block, and it is not your home address. FDA will reject a DUNS number if the address does not match the kitchen.
Licensing is attached to your company and to the kitchen. If you ever switch the location of your production, you will need to refile with Washington, D.C.
For more questions, reach out to support@unionkitchen.com.
Use the licensing guide for the full sequence and the official portals.
If you have not walked the floor yet, book a tour. Forty-five minutes is enough to look at the space and map what you should file next.
