Caterer permits and licenses in Washington

The one filing every Washington caterer starts with: a single Business License Application returns your nine-digit Unified Business Identifier and, on the same form, opens your Department of Revenue tax accounts and, once you mark that you will hire, your L&I and Employment Security employer accounts. Register your catering trade name here, and apply for any liquor caterer license later as an endorsement on this same license. You must register once you expect $12,000 a year in gross income, collect sales tax, or hire employees.

Issued by

Washington Department of Revenue, Business Licensing Service

Fee

$50 to open the business and its UBI, $10 to add a trade name or another item on the same application, and a $5 processing fee a year to renew, before any liquor endorsement

Renewal

Annual

Processing

About 10 business days online, longer if an endorsement needs review

Catered food is prepared food, so it is fully taxable and the grocery exemption does not apply. You collect sales tax on the entire bill to the client, including the food, rented equipment, decorations, and the catering service itself. The rate follows where the meal is served, not where your kitchen sits, so the same menu can carry different rates at events in different cities. You also owe sales or use tax on the reusable plates, linens, and glassware you buy, because you are the consumer of those.

Issued by

Washington Department of Revenue

Fee

No registration fee; set up with the business license. The rate is 6.5% state plus a destination-based local add-on, so confirm the combined rate for each event address at the DOR rate lookup

Renewal

Ongoing; returns filed monthly, quarterly, or annually by volume

Processing

Active as soon as the UBI issues

The tax that catches caterers from income-tax states off guard. The B&O tax falls on gross receipts, not profit, with nothing deducted for food, labor, or rent, so a thin-margin year still owes it, on top of the sales tax you already collect from clients. Catering income reports under retailing at 0.471%; food sold to a client who holds a reseller permit can instead fall under wholesaling. Washington has no state income tax.

Issued by

Washington Department of Revenue

Fee

0.471% of gross receipts under the retailing classification, with no deduction for food, labor, or rent; a small-business credit can reduce or zero it out for lower-revenue caterers and is applied automatically when you file

Renewal

Filed on the same excise return as sales tax

Processing

Active with your DOR registration

No caterer may cook for the public in Washington without a food establishment permit, required statewide under WAC 246-215 but applied for, inspected, and priced by your local health department rather than a state agency, so the dollar figure is a city-page detail. The permit anchors to a commercial commissary kitchen: a home or domestic kitchen cannot be approved, and the narrow WSDA cottage food permit covers only shelf-stable goods sold direct to consumers, never catering. Many caterers lease time in an already-permitted commercial kitchen and work under that facility, documenting the arrangement with the health department.

Issued by

Local health jurisdiction, under the Washington Retail Food Code (WAC 246-215)

Fee

Set by each local health jurisdiction and tiered by risk; see your city page for local amounts

Renewal

Annual

Processing

Weeks to months; issued only after a pre-opening inspection

Before you build or significantly remodel the commissary kitchen you cater from, you submit floor plans, an equipment list, and ventilation and plumbing details to the local health jurisdiction for review under WAC 246-215, and pass a field inspection before the permit issues. A caterer leasing space in an already-permitted kitchen usually does not need its own plan review, but should confirm that kitchen holds a current permit.

Issued by

Local health jurisdiction, under the Washington Retail Food Code (WAC 246-215)

Fee

Set by each local health jurisdiction; see your city page for local amounts

Renewal

One-time per build or remodel

Processing

Several weeks; approval and a pre-opening inspection both come before you open

Every person who handles unpackaged food or drink for your catering operation needs a Food Worker Card, which means cooks, servers, and prep staff, not just the kitchen lead. A new hire has 14 days to get one. The only valid online source is foodworkercard.wa.gov; lookalike .com sites and out-of-state cards do not count, and the card is good in any Washington county.

Issued by

Washington Department of Health, issued through local health jurisdictions

Fee

$10 per card ($5 for an in-person replacement)

Renewal

First card valid 2 years, then 3 years on renewal; 5 years with approved added training

Processing

Same day; the online course and test take about 45 minutes

Do not confuse this with the $10 Food Worker Card. Since March 1, 2023, Washington requires a catering operation that cooks on site to keep at least one employee holding a nationally accredited food protection manager certificate, a separate proctored exam, with a copy on site for inspection. The manager need not be present every hour, and one person can cover multiple locations, but the certificate has to be on file before you pass your pre-opening inspection, so line it up early.

Issued by

An ANSI-accredited program such as ServSafe; required statewide under WAC 246-215-02107

Fee

About $30 to $175 through an accredited provider; the state sets and collects no fee

Renewal

Every 5 years (re-passing the accredited exam)

Processing

Set by the provider; the proctored exam result is usually same day

Catering runs on staff, so this almost always applies. Marking the employer box opens all four at once: workers compensation through the L&I state monopoly, which no private carrier can replace, plus unemployment insurance, Paid Family and Medical Leave, and the WA Cares long-term-care fund through Employment Security. A new employer pays an industry-based unemployment rate for its first few years, employers under 50 staff skip only the employer share of Paid Leave, and everything reports quarterly.

Issued by

Washington Department of Labor and Industries and Employment Security Department

Fee

No fee to open; ongoing premiums by classification and payroll. L&I workers comp is billed by the hour worked (about $1.48 an hour on average for 2026, split roughly 75% employer and 25% employee), plus unemployment insurance, Paid Family and Medical Leave at 1.13% of wages for 2026, and WA Cares at 0.58% withheld from employees

Renewal

Quarterly reporting

Processing

Opened with the business license when you mark that you will hire

Your base kitchen permit covers private, contracted jobs like weddings and corporate dinners, where you serve a client's guests under a prior contract. The moment you sell to the general public on a per-order basis at a festival, fair, or farmers market, that booth is a temporary food establishment and needs its own permit from the health department where the event is held, even though you already hold a base permit. The permit is good only for the event and location named on it.

Issued by

Local health jurisdiction where the event is held, under WAC 246-215

Fee

Set by the local health jurisdiction where the event is held; see your city page for local amounts

Renewal

Per event (some jurisdictions offer multi-event permits)

Processing

Apply well ahead of the event; varies by jurisdiction

Only if your catering business sells and serves alcohol at events. A licensed caterer holds its own Liquor Caterer License under RCW 66.24.690, distinct from the $525 catering endorsement that lets an existing restaurant or tavern serve off-site. The spirits tier requires a health-licensed commissary kitchen able to prepare full meals, and you file a monthly schedule of events with the LCB and may not cater at premises that already hold a liquor license. Do not confuse it with a banquet permit, which the event host, not the caterer, buys at $25 a day to give alcohol away free at a private gathering; a licensed caterer cannot use one to sell.

Issued by

Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB)

Fee

$1,500 a year for a spirits, beer, and wine caterer license, or $300 to $600 a year for a beer and/or wine only caterer license (fee schedule effective July 27, 2025)

Renewal

Annual

Processing

Applied for as an endorsement on your business license through the LCB; confirm the current timeline with the LCB

Only if your catering business pours alcohol. Anyone who serves, sells, mixes, or supervises alcohol at your catered events needs a MAST permit, with a new hire allowed 60 days to earn one. A Class 12 permit (age 21 and up) covers mixing, pouring, and supervising; a Class 13 permit (ages 18 to 20) covers taking and delivering drink orders only while a Class 12 holder is on duty. The permit belongs to the person, not the business.

Issued by

LCB-certified training providers, under the Liquor and Cannabis Board (WAC 314-17)

Fee

Set by the training provider, commonly about $20 to $50; the LCB charges $5 only for a replacement permit

Renewal

Every 5 years; there is no grace period, so renew before it lapses

Processing

Course is same day; the permit is mailed within 30 days, with no temporary permit in between