Winery permits in Los Angeles, California

The city and county permits, taxes, and inspections a winery needs in Los Angeles (Los Angeles County), on top of the statewide California and federal credentials covered on their own pages.

Local feesRoughly $3,000 to $15,000 in one-time local permit and application fees for a combined production and tasting-room winery, driven by the CUB filing and the LADBS build-out, plus a few thousand a year in recurring LASAN, LAFD, and business-tax costs. Attorney, expeditor, and construction costs are on top.CountyLos Angeles County

This page covers only the Los Angeles city and county permits for wineries. The statewide California credentials and the federal credentials every winery needs are on their own pages.

All California requirementsWineries in California Federal requirementsEvery winery nationwide

What you need to run a winery in Los Angeles

Credential	Level	Fee	Renewal
LA County Food Facility Permit (only if your tasting room serves food)	County	An annual LA County fee set by risk and seating, commonly in the range of about $700 to $1,000 a year for a small retail food operation; confirm the current figure with LA County Environmental Health.	Annual
Conditional Use Beverage Permit (only for a public tasting room)	City	Set through the City Planning fee estimator (new rates took effect February 23, 2026 under Ordinance 188796), with separate ongoing monitoring and inspection fees after approval. A contested case usually needs a land-use attorney or expeditor on top.	A one-time entitlement that runs with the land, subject to ongoing monitoring
Zoning and Land Use Clearance (production versus tasting room)	City	An online ZIMAS parcel check is free, and a formal zoning letter from LADBS is a nominal fee. Adding retail tasting in a pure M1 or M2 zone can require a discretionary variance or zone change, which carries its own City Planning fee.	One-time; recheck on a use or zone change
LADBS Build-Out Permits and Certificate of Occupancy	City	Valuation-based, with no flat amount; use the LADBS permit fee calculator. A production fit-out runs from the low thousands, and converting space into an assembly-occupancy tasting room is one of the pricier tenant improvements. A permanent exterior sign also needs its own LADBS sign permit.	One-time per project; the Certificate of Occupancy stands until the use or occupant load changes
LASAN Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit (only for a production winery)	City	A one-time application fee of roughly $600 (adjusted annually; confirm with LASAN), plus an annual inspection and control fee that scales by class, commonly several hundred to a couple thousand dollars. The bigger cost is the quarterly Quality Surcharge on high-strength discharge: crush and tank-wash water carries very high biochemical oxygen demand, billed per excess pound (a $0.96 BOD rate as of January 2026), so it adds up fast.	Annual inspection and control fee; the permit stays valid while you comply
City of Los Angeles Business Tax Registration Certificate (BTRC)	City	Free to register. The rate turns on classification: wine sold wholesale to distributors and retailers is the Wholesale class at $1.01 per $1,000 of gross receipts, while tasting-room retail sales are the Retail class at $1.27 per $1,000. A winery doing both reports both, unless one is 80 percent or more, when it can elect a single primary class. A Small Business Exemption zeroes the tax at $100,000 or less in worldwide receipts if the renewal is filed on time.	Annual; the renewal is filed by the City's late-February deadline
LAFD Public Assemblage Permit (only for a tasting room of 50 or more)	Operational	An annual operational permit fee set by the City fire permit schedule; confirm the current amount with the LAFD Public Assemblage Unit or the Office of Finance.	Annual
LAFD CUPA Hazardous Materials Permit (only for a production winery)	Operational	An annual consolidated CUPA permit fee set by state and local schedules, scaled to the quantity and class of materials stored; confirm the current amount with the LAFD CUPA.	Annual

A typical winery in Los Angeles, California needs 30 separate credentials to operate legally, and that is for one location. Federal, statewide, and local Los Angeles requirements all stack on the same winery, each with its own renewal date, fee, and issuing agency.

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Each winery credential in Los Angeles, explained

Grouped by the level of government that issues it, county then city. Every credential here is specific to operating a winery in Los Angeles, California.

County level

1 credential

LA County Food Facility Permit (only if your tasting room serves food)

A pour-only tasting room needs no food permit. The moment it serves food, a cheese and charcuterie board, small plates, or anything prepared, it becomes a retail food facility that LA County Environmental Health permits and inspects, even inside the City of Los Angeles, because the county administers food permits on the city's behalf. Reselling sealed, pre-packaged snacks may fall below the threshold, so confirm with the county.

Issued by: Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division
Fee: An annual LA County fee set by risk and seating, commonly in the range of about $700 to $1,000 a year for a small retail food operation; confirm the current figure with LA County Environmental Health.
Renewal: Annual
Processing: 2 to 4 weeks after an inspection

City level

5 credentials

Conditional Use Beverage Permit (only for a public tasting room)

This is the local gate, and the part most winery owners do not see coming. Before the state ABC will issue or duplicate a Type 02 license for a tasting room at a Los Angeles address, the City must approve a Conditional Use Beverage permit under LAMC Section 12.24 W.1, a discretionary entitlement decided after a public hearing, with notice to neighbors within 300 feet and the local neighborhood council. Once approved, the City records a covenant and sends ABC an effectuation notice so the state license can proceed. The faster Restaurant Beverage Program is not available to a tasting room, only to qualifying sit-down restaurants, so a winery uses the full CUB process. A pure production winery with no public pouring may not need it.

Issued by: Los Angeles Department of City Planning, Beverage and Entertainment Streamlining (BESt) Unit
Fee: Set through the City Planning fee estimator (new rates took effect February 23, 2026 under Ordinance 188796), with separate ongoing monitoring and inspection fees after approval. A contested case usually needs a land-use attorney or expeditor on top.
Renewal: A one-time entitlement that runs with the land, subject to ongoing monitoring
Processing: About 6 to 18 months through a public hearing before the Zoning Administrator

Zoning and Land Use Clearance (production versus tasting room)

Where you can make wine and where you can pour it are different zoning answers. Wine production is a manufacturing use allowed by right in the M1, M2, M3, and CM zones, while a public tasting room is a retail and assembly use. The two combine most cleanly in the CM, MR1, and MR2 zones, which allow both; a pure M1 or M2 site may need a variance to add the tasting retail. Confirm the parcel in ZIMAS before signing a lease, because the production-versus-tasting split can rule a space out.

Issued by: Los Angeles Department of City Planning and the LADBS Zoning Section
Fee: An online ZIMAS parcel check is free, and a formal zoning letter from LADBS is a nominal fee. Adding retail tasting in a pure M1 or M2 zone can require a discretionary variance or zone change, which carries its own City Planning fee.
Renewal: One-time; recheck on a use or zone change
Processing: Immediate for an online check; a formal letter takes 2 to 4 weeks; a variance runs months

LADBS Build-Out Permits and Certificate of Occupancy

The production side, crush pad, tanks, barrels, and bottling, is a Factory-Industrial (F-1) occupancy, while the public tasting room is a Business (B) occupancy under 50 occupants and flips to Assembly (A-2) at 50 or more. A-2 pulls in stricter egress, sprinklers, fire alarm, and accessibility plus its own Certificate of Occupancy, and the 50-occupant line is the one operators miss when fitting out a big industrial loft. The production occupancy has to be finaled before LASAN and LAFD will issue their permits, and the tasting-room occupancy before City Planning effectuates the CUB.

Issued by: Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS)
Fee: Valuation-based, with no flat amount; use the LADBS permit fee calculator. A production fit-out runs from the low thousands, and converting space into an assembly-occupancy tasting room is one of the pricier tenant improvements. A permanent exterior sign also needs its own LADBS sign permit.
Renewal: One-time per project; the Certificate of Occupancy stands until the use or occupant load changes
Processing: 4 to 9 months of plan check for a change of use, plus construction

LASAN Industrial Wastewater Discharge Permit (only for a production winery)

An urban winery that sends crush juice, fermentation runoff, and tank and barrel wash water to the city sewer needs a LASAN industrial wastewater permit under LAMC Section 64.30. Wine process water is high-strength and low-pH, so pH-neutralization pretreatment is usually required, and the quarterly surcharge tracks your actual load rather than a flat rate. A satellite tasting room with no production, discharging only domestic-strength sink water, generally falls below the threshold.

Issued by: City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Sanitation (LASAN), Industrial Waste Management Division
Fee: A one-time application fee of roughly $600 (adjusted annually; confirm with LASAN), plus an annual inspection and control fee that scales by class, commonly several hundred to a couple thousand dollars. The bigger cost is the quarterly Quality Surcharge on high-strength discharge: crush and tank-wash water carries very high biochemical oxygen demand, billed per excess pound (a $0.96 BOD rate as of January 2026), so it adds up fast.
Renewal: Annual inspection and control fee; the permit stays valid while you comply
Processing: 4 to 8 weeks, including a field inspection

City of Los Angeles Business Tax Registration Certificate (BTRC)

Anyone doing business inside City of Los Angeles limits registers for a BTRC, and a winery is a split case: its wholesale production side and its tasting-room retail side sit in different tax classes, so a winery doing both files under both. A satellite tasting room at another address needs its own BTRC. Most small wineries still owe nothing under the small-business exemption, as long as they file the yearly renewal on time.

Issued by: City of Los Angeles, Office of Finance
Fee: Free to register. The rate turns on classification: wine sold wholesale to distributors and retailers is the Wholesale class at $1.01 per $1,000 of gross receipts, while tasting-room retail sales are the Retail class at $1.27 per $1,000. A winery doing both reports both, unless one is 80 percent or more, when it can elect a single primary class. A Small Business Exemption zeroes the tax at $100,000 or less in worldwide receipts if the renewal is filed on time.
Renewal: Annual; the renewal is filed by the City's late-February deadline
Processing: Immediate online; the certificate is mailed in about 2 weeks

Operational level

2 credentials

LAFD Public Assemblage Permit (only for a tasting room of 50 or more)

Once the tasting room hits an occupant load of 50 or more it is an A-2 assembly, and the LAFD Public Assemblage Unit requires an annual operational permit, with an inspection of exits, the posted occupant load, suppression, and egress. A tasting room kept under 50 occupants is a Business occupancy and does not need this specific permit, though the LAFD's general inspection authority still applies.

Issued by: Los Angeles Fire Department, Public Assemblage Unit
Fee: An annual operational permit fee set by the City fire permit schedule; confirm the current amount with the LAFD Public Assemblage Unit or the Office of Finance.
Renewal: Annual
Processing: Inspection-based, coordinated with the Certificate of Occupancy

LAFD CUPA Hazardous Materials Permit (only for a production winery)

Bulk wine in tanks and barrels is a Class IIIA combustible liquid, so storing it above the fire-code exempt amounts requires an annual consolidated CUPA permit from the LAFD for hazardous materials, with a separate project permit for transfer operations. Fermentation also gives off carbon dioxide, which can make an enclosed cellar oxygen-deficient, so the fire review may ask for a confined-space safety plan. This is a production-side permit, not something a pour-only tasting room needs.

Issued by: Los Angeles Fire Department, Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA)
Fee: An annual consolidated CUPA permit fee set by state and local schedules, scaled to the quantity and class of materials stored; confirm the current amount with the LAFD CUPA.
Renewal: Annual
Processing: About 30 to 60 days for the initial permit

See how other wineries in Los Angeles are managing every permit, license, and renewal in one place with CredentiAlert.

Los Angeles-specific things to watch for

1The Conditional Use Beverage permit is the gate before the state ABC will act. Los Angeles requires its own CUB, decided after a public hearing before the Zoning Administrator with notice to neighbors within 300 feet and the neighborhood council, before ABC will issue or duplicate the Type 02 at a tasting-room address. It runs 6 to 18 months, and the faster Restaurant Beverage Program is not available to a tasting room, only to sit-down restaurants, so there is no administrative shortcut.

2Production and a tasting room are different zoning uses. Making wine is a manufacturing use allowed by right in the M1, M2, M3, and CM zones, but a public tasting room is a retail and assembly use, and adding it in a pure M1 or M2 zone can take a variance or zone change. Combined production-plus-tasting space works most cleanly in CM, MR1, and MR2 zones, so check ZIMAS before you sign a lease.

3The 50-occupant assembly threshold triggers a cascade. A tasting room flips from a Business occupancy to an A-2 assembly at 50 or more occupants, which adds egress, sprinkler, fire-alarm, and accessibility requirements, a change-of-occupancy permit, its own Certificate of Occupancy, and an annual LAFD assembly permit. It is a floor-area calculation, so a big industrial loft can cross the line before you expect it.

4Crush water is a recurring high-strength surcharge, not a flat fee. An urban winery that sends crush juice and tank-wash water to the sewer needs a LASAN industrial wastewater permit, and because the water carries very high biochemical oxygen demand, the quarterly Quality Surcharge scales with your actual load (a $0.96 per excess pound BOD rate as of January 2026). pH-neutralization pretreatment is usually required, and the surcharge adds up during crush.

5The business tax splits across two classes, and each tasting room is its own stack. Wholesale wine sits in the Wholesale class at $1.01 per $1,000 and tasting-room retail in the Retail class at $1.27 per $1,000, so a winery doing both reports both unless one clears 80 percent. A satellite tasting room at another address needs its own BTRC, its own CUB, and its own Certificate of Occupancy, a full local stack per location.

How long does it take?

Plan on 18 to 30 months for an urban winery with a public tasting room. The Conditional Use Beverage permit is the long pole at 6 to 18 months through its public hearing, and the state ABC will not license the premises until City Planning sends its effectuation notice, so the CUB gates everything. The LADBS production and tasting-room build-out runs alongside at 4 to 9 months of plan check plus construction, with the LASAN and LAFD permits following the Certificate of Occupancy. A pure production winery with no public tasting can move much faster, since it skips the CUB.

Frequently asked questions

Can you open an urban winery in Los Angeles?

Yes. Making wine, crushing, fermenting, barreling, and bottling with fruit trucked in, is a manufacturing use allowed by right in the City of Los Angeles M1, M2, M3, and CM zones, so the production itself needs no special use permit. You do need LADBS build-out permits and a Certificate of Occupancy for the F-1 production space, a LASAN industrial wastewater permit for process water, an LAFD hazardous-materials permit for bulk wine storage, and a City business tax certificate. The bigger hurdle is the public tasting room, which needs a Conditional Use Beverage permit.

Do I need a conditional use permit for a wine tasting room in Los Angeles?

Yes, without exception. LAMC Section 12.24 W.1 requires a Conditional Use Beverage permit for any premises that serves alcohol for on-site consumption, and it is decided after a public hearing before the Zoning Administrator. There is no administrative shortcut for a tasting room: the faster Restaurant Beverage Program is limited to sit-down restaurants with a full kitchen and continuous food service. The CUB is also the gate the state ABC requires before it will license or duplicate a Type 02 at a Los Angeles address.

How long does it take to open a winery tasting room in Los Angeles?

Budget 18 to 30 months from decision to opening. The Conditional Use Beverage permit is the controlling step at 6 to 18 months through its public hearing, and the LADBS production and tasting-room build-out runs alongside at 4 to 9 months of plan check plus construction. The state ABC will not license the premises until City Planning sends its effectuation notice confirming the CUB is in effect, so the CUB gates everything else.

How much does it cost to open a winery in Los Angeles in local permits?

Local government fees for a combined production and tasting-room winery run roughly $3,000 to $15,000 in one-time permits and applications, covering the CUB filing (use the City Planning fee estimator), the LADBS build-out, the LASAN wastewater application of about $600, the sign permit, and the business tax registration. Recurring local costs add a few thousand a year for LASAN inspection and surcharges, LAFD permits, the business tax, and a county food permit if you serve food. Attorney, expeditor, and construction costs are separate and far larger.

Does the Restaurant Beverage Program apply to a winery tasting room in LA?

No. The Restaurant Beverage Program is limited to qualifying sit-down restaurants with an operational kitchen and continuous food service, where alcohol is served by employees to seated diners. A winery tasting room, where the main activity is wine service and retail rather than dining, does not qualify, so it cannot use the faster administrative path and must go through the full Conditional Use Beverage permit with its public hearing.

Official sources

Last verified 2026-06-14. Requirements change. Always confirm with the issuing department before applying.