A food truck needs its own health permit or license for the vehicle, and in all eight places compared below the unit is reviewed or inspected before that permit is issued. Seven of the eight, all but Texas, also require the truck to work from a commissary, the licensed kitchen where it is cleaned, restocked and stored. Full-term fees run from $75 for a two-year New York City permit for a unit that does no food processing to $1,260 a year for King County’s highest-risk trucks.
These are the rules for a truck or cart that operates all year. A booth at a single fair or festival is covered by a different permit; see our comparison of temporary food event permits.
Food truck permit fees and commissary rules in 8 places
| Place | Permit and license fees (term shown where the agency states it) | Before the first permit | Commissary rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County | Mobile Food Facility $325, $598 or $761 a year by risk level; carts (CMFO) $126 to $592 | Plan check ($544–$741 for a truck), structural evaluation, final inspection, then an annual sticker | Signed commissary verification; carts return daily; home storage only for carts with a Home Storage Endorsement |
| New York City | DOHMH unit permit $200 for 2 years (units that cook or process), $75 (non-processing); plus a $50 DCWP vendor license | Pre-permit inspection at 1235 Zerega Ave, Bronx, within 6 months of applying | Return at least once every 24 hours; the commissary keeps a dated log |
| Chicago | BACP license per vehicle for 2 years: Mobile Food Dispenser $700, Mobile Food Preparer $1,000; fire safety permit $100 | CDPH consultation on menu and equipment, then a vehicle inspection before the license and decal are issued | Letter of intent from a named commissary dated within 30 days; Shared Kitchen User license if you prepare food there |
| King County, WA | $630, $1,008 or $1,260 a year (Risk 1–3), permit year April–March | Plan review, $504 for 2 hours, 8–10 weeks; pre-operational inspection booked a week ahead | Commissary agreement and restroom agreement uploaded with the application |
| Maricopa County, AZ | Type III (full cooking) $610; Type I and II fees under revision (2025 proposal) | Plan review and an in-person pre-operational inspection for custom-built units | Report to the commissary at least daily; trucks selling TCS food keep a 30-day visit log |
| Texas (Austin, Houston and all other cities) | DSHS license from July 1, 2026: application $309, $618 or $876 (Type I–III), valid 1 year | DSHS pre-licensing inspection, $400 (Type II) or $500 (Type III) | Operate from a central preparation facility or other fixed establishment where the local authority requires it |
| Multnomah County, OR (Portland) | Food cart license $760 (Class I–III) or $920 (Class IV), 2026 schedule | Plan review $790, then a pre-opening inspection | Commissary verification, restroom agreement and wastewater disposal form |
| Denver | $150 application plus $25 per food-processing activity; $50 food truck zoning permit a year | Health plan review done remotely; Denver Fire inspects the unit in person | Affidavit of commissary with the application |
Fees are from each agency’s page or fee schedule as checked on October 24, 2026; LA County’s schedule is the FY 2023-24 version. NYC and Chicago amounts cover 2 years; LA County, King County and Texas amounts cover 1 year. Several places add other fire, propane, parking or business tax fees on top.
What each place adds beyond the basic permit
Los Angeles County: route sheets and two inspections a year for high-risk trucks
Operators must give the county their route and schedule, with addresses and arrival and departure times, and update it after significant changes; failing to do so can lead to suspension or revocation (LA County food trucks and carts). High-risk trucks and carts get two routine inspections a year and all others get one (mobile food facility inspection guide). The permit categories and fees changed on March 6, 2024, when carts became Compact Mobile Food Operations (county notice). Plan check steps and the commissary form are in the plan check guidelines; fees are in the fee schedule. Mobile Food Program: (626) 430-5500. Our page on LA food truck inspection, route and commissary records shows where those records sit.
New York City: a capped permit and a supervisory license
New York limits the number of full-term citywide and outer-borough unit permits, and those permits require a supervisory license. Permits for private property or Parks locations have no cap or waitlist (NYC Health mobile food vending). Local Laws 54 and 59 of 2026 set 2,200 supervisory license applications a year from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2031: 500 citywide, 1,500 outside Manhattan and 200 citywide for veterans and people with disabilities. The license is free at first, renewal is $438 every two years, and the holder must be on site whenever the unit operates (supervisory license guide). Each vendor also needs a DCWP Mobile Food Vendor License, $50 for two years, and the Food Protection Course (NYC 311). Permit fees, including the $35 and $15 seasonal permits and the veteran fee waiver, are on the permit application, and the 24-hour return rule is on the commissary agreement. Units are graded on the same scale as restaurants, A for 0–13 points, and the grade appears on the permit decal. Inspection program: 646-632-3203. Our NYC food cart records guide explains which record belongs to the vendor and which to the cart. The 2026 expansion to 2,200 supervisory licenses a year and the waiting list order are in NYC food cart permit and supervisory license waitlist.
Chicago: a GPS device and a 200-foot rule
Every licensed food truck must carry a permanently installed GPS device that transmits its location at least every 5 minutes, under Municipal Code 7-38-115 (BACP fact sheet). Trucks may stay 4 hours on one block, must park at least 200 feet from a street-level restaurant entrance except from midnight to 2 a.m., and must stop selling from 2 to 5 a.m. Routine sanitation inspections happen at CDPH’s discretion, with an inspection at every renewal (Chicago food truck licensing, mobile food vendor licenses). Questions: 312-744-6249 or food@cityofchicago.org.
King County: a 50% penalty for opening before the pre-operational inspection
A truck that starts operating before its pre-operational inspection can be closed and charged 50% of the annual permit fee. A unit already permitted in another Washington county can skip the plan review fee (King County mobile food business permit). Fees, including the $252-an-hour plan review rate after the first two hours and late fees of 10% to 30%, are in the 2026 fee schedule. Plan review: 206-263-7833.
Maricopa County: a daily stop log and a toilet within 200 feet
The county code requires each truck to report its daily operations, with the location and time in and out of each stop, and to have a toilet within 200 feet when it parks for more than an hour (Chapter VIII, Section III). Units already approved under Arizona’s state mobile food licensing skip plan review, and first approval happens in the county where the commissary sits (Maricopa mobile food establishments). The 2025 fee proposal raises Type I from $120 to $290 and Type II from $240 to $341 (fee summary); confirm the amount in the county Permit Center before you pay. Phone: 602-506-6824.
Texas: one state license replaced city permits in 2026
Since July 1, 2026, every Texas mobile food vendor needs a Department of State Health Services license, and Austin Public Health and the Houston Health Department now inspect as DSHS partner agencies (DSHS mobile food vendors, partner agencies). Vendors file an itinerary 7 days ahead or post it on social media or a website, and display the license and latest inspection report. Houston’s city medallions were valid only until June 2026 (Houston Health Department). Our page on the Texas mobile food vendor license change covers what it did to inspection records.
Multnomah County and Denver
Portland carts must stay on wheels, store food in a licensed warehouse rather than at home, and report location changes (Multnomah food carts; fees in the 2026 fee schedule). Denver’s licensing office handles the application, with fees on the mobile retail food license page; the truck, trailer and cart guide says fabrication must be finished before you apply and adds a $200 yearly propane permit.
What a year of food truck inspections shows in King County and Chicago
Two of these places publish mobile units in the same open dataset as restaurants. These are our counts for October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.
King County’s food establishment inspection data lists 621 routine inspections at 477 Mobile Food Units, about 1.3 visits per unit in the year. 71.0% had no red critical points, against 67.2% for restaurants (General Food Services). 3.4% had more than 35 red points, the level that brings a return inspection, against 2.5% for restaurants. The two red items cited most often on trucks are about the unit’s setup and permit:
- Adequate handwashing facilities (code 0600): 56 inspections, 9.0% of routine visits
- Compliance with the permit and the required operating plan (2600): 52, 8.4%
- Person in charge present and knowledgeable, certified manager (0100): 30, 4.8%
- Cold holding above 45°F (2110): 26, 4.2%
Chicago’s food inspections dataset shows 184 inspections at 127 mobile licenses. Nearly half, 89, were license inspections, the check a truck must pass before BACP issues the license. 25 of 89 mobile license inspections ended in Fail, 28.1%, against 16.7% of 1,483 restaurant license inspections in the same year. With 89 cases the rate is rough, but it points one way: license inspections of trucks fail more often than those of restaurants.
Checklist before you apply for a food truck permit
- Which agency issues the health permit, and is it a business licensing office (Chicago, Denver), a health permit plus a vendor license (NYC), or a state license (Texas)?
- What risk level or class your menu puts you in, since that sets the fee in LA County, King County, Maricopa, Texas and Portland.
- Whether the unit needs plan review before it is built or bought, and how long review takes (8–10 weeks in King County).
- A commissary that will sign the county’s own form, and how often you must return (at least daily in Maricopa, every 24 hours in NYC, daily for LA County carts).
- Route, itinerary or location reporting rules (LA County, Maricopa, Texas, Portland, and Chicago’s GPS rule).
- Fire, propane and parking rules from agencies other than the health department.
- Who on board needs a food handler card or a certified manager; our food handler card guide by state and food manager certification comparison list the rules.
LA County, NYC Health, DCWP, Chicago BACP and CDPH, King County, Maricopa County, Texas DSHS, Houston, Multnomah County and Denver pages checked October 24, 2026.