How to get a food truck permit in California

Who issues food truck permits in California

Food trucks, trailers and carts are "mobile food facilities" under the California Retail Food Code (Health and Safety Code section 113831). CDPH says the code is primarily enforced by 62 local environmental health agencies, with CDPH's Food and Drug Branch in a supporting role.

In most of the state, the county environmental health department issues the permit. Four cities run their own programs: Berkeley, Long Beach, Pasadena and Vernon. San Francisco is a combined city and county. CDPH's Local Environmental Health Contacts list names every agency.

A food facility may not open without a valid permit. Permits are nontransferable, and permit fees are set by the local governing body (Health and Safety Code 114381).

Since January 1, 2023, state law also defines a "compact mobile food operation": food sold from a pushcart, stand, pedal-driven cart or other non-motorized conveyance (SB 972). Los Angeles and San Diego counties handle these carts separately from trucks.

• Health permit and plan check: county or city environmental health
• Seller's permit and sales tax: CDTFA
• HCD insignia: required by counties for many enclosed units where staff work inside
• Fire permit and inspection: local fire department or fire district, where required
• Business license, zoning and street permits: the city, or the county in unincorporated areas

Business registration and sales tax

CalOSBA's quick start guide for mobile food vendors lists the usual business filings. Corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships file with the California Secretary of State. For a general partnership, the Secretary of State says filing a Statement of Partnership Authority is optional. Sole proprietors do not file formation documents there. A fictitious business name (DBA) is filed with the county. Most cities require a business license or business tax registration. In unincorporated areas, ask the county.

If you hire staff, CalOSBA notes you must register with the Employment Development Department (EDD) within 15 days after paying more than $100 in wages, get a federal EIN, and carry workers' compensation insurance.

CDTFA requires a seller's permit if you sell taxable food. CDTFA says there is no fee for a seller's permit, but it may require a security deposit. You report tax at the rate for the place where each sale is made, so a truck that moves collects any district tax at each stop.

• Taxable: hot prepared food, carbonated drinks, and food eaten at tables you provide (CDTFA Publication 287)
• Generally not taxable: cold food such as cold sandwiches and smoothies, hot bakery goods, and hot coffee or tea sold to go
• At places that charge admission, such as swap meets and trade shows, all sales are taxable
• The 80/80 rule: if 80% of your sales are food and 80% of that food is taxable, and you do not track cold to-go sales separately, all sales are taxable

Plan check, the vehicle and the HCD insignia

State law requires plans and specifications to be approved by the local agency before you build or remodel a food facility. The agency must approve or reject plans within 20 working days after receipt, or they are deemed approved (Health and Safety Code 114380).

Los Angeles County requires plan check for all new food vehicles and compact mobile food operation carts. San Diego County requires plan approval before construction and gives final approval after a field check. A unit that previously held a valid San Diego County permit may need only a consultation.

Many enclosed units need an insignia from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Sacramento County requires HCD approval before it issues a Category B or D permit to a unit designed to be occupied, and says the HCD insignia does not exempt the unit from county plan review. San Diego County says occupied units with 110-volt connections, plumbing or exhaust hoods over cooking equipment need an HCD "Special Purpose Commercial Modular" insignia. Los Angeles County says enclosed units may be required to be HCD certified.

Trucks and trailers also need DMV registration. Los Angeles County requires valid DMV registration and ID for each owner, and the permit lists the license plate and registered owner.

Commissary, restrooms and food safety training

Health and Safety Code 114295 requires every mobile food facility to operate with a commissary, mobile support unit or other approved facility, and to be stored at a commissary or other approved location. Exceptions cover units that stay in a fixed spot at community events with water and waste disposal available, and certified mobile farmers' markets that sell only certain foods.

Counties add detail. San Diego County says all mobile units must return to the commissary daily and cannot be parked at a private residence. Sacramento County requires a commissary for Category B and D units and accepts an out-of-county commissary if the daily commute is practical. Los Angeles County asks for a written commissary agreement.

When a unit stops to do business for more than one hour, staff must have an approved toilet and handwashing facility within 200 feet travel distance, unless the agency approves another arrangement (Health and Safety Code 114315). Sacramento County, San Diego County and San Francisco ask for written restroom agreements.

A unit that handles nonprepackaged potentially hazardous food needs at least one owner or employee with an accredited food safety manager certification (Health and Safety Code 113947.1). Food handlers must get a food handler card from an ANSI-accredited provider within 30 days of hire. The card is valid for three years (Health and Safety Code 113948). A few local programs that began before 2009 have their own rules.

Fire safety and propane

Fire permits are local. CalOSBA notes that some jurisdictions require a permit from the fire department. The San Francisco Fire Department says it inspects vehicles and equipment before it issues a permit.

Fees vary. The San Francisco Fire Department lists the operational permit for Mobile Food Preparation Vehicles and Carts at $446.00 (as listed on the SFFD permits page on 2026-10-03).

Safety guidelines from the San Mateo County Fire Prevention Officers Association, published by the Menlo Park Fire Protection District, show what inspectors commonly check. Ask your own fire department for its checklist before you buy or build.

• An automatic fire extinguishing system meeting UL 300 over cooking that produces grease-laden vapors, serviced every 6 months with proof of service
• A Class K extinguisher in vehicles with kitchen hoods, plus a portable extinguisher rated at least 2A10BC, all with current service tags
• Portable propane tanks secured upright and kept away from public access
• Parking at least 10 feet from buildings and 20 feet from tents; generators at least 10 feet from buildings, vehicles and tents

Documents counties usually ask for

Lists vary by county. Los Angeles County's "How to Get Started" sheet asks for the items below, and its guidelines add valid DMV registration and ID for each owner.

San Diego County asks for plans, written operating procedures, commissary and toilet use agreement letters, and the proposed operating location. Sacramento County asks for a Restroom Verification Form for each location where the unit operates longer than one hour. Your city may add a business license, insurance or a site plan.

• Public health permit application
• Plan check service request application
• Route information
• Commissary contract
• Ownership documents
• Standard operating procedures (SOP)
• Menu
• Applicable fees

Inspections, renewals and fees

The agency issues the permit once it confirms the unit matches the approved plans or meets the code (Health and Safety Code 114381). Routine inspections follow. Los Angeles County schedules two inspections a year for high-risk mobile food facilities and one for others, and approved trucks should show a letter grade and certification sticker. San Diego County has graded trucks and carts that prepare and serve food since December 2012. Long Beach inspects vehicles with plumbing twice a year, in February and August.

Health permits are renewed each year. Sacramento County permits expire on December 31. Permits do not transfer to a new owner. Food handler cards last three years.

Fees are set locally. The examples below are as listed by each agency on 2026-10-03. Confirm current amounts before you apply.

• Los Angeles County (fee summary effective March 6, 2024): annual mobile food facility health permit $325 low risk, $598 moderate risk, $761 high risk; plan submittal for a new unit $544 low or moderate risk, $741 high risk
• San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality: current fees took effect July 11, 2026 and are on its approved fee list
• City of San Diego Mobile Food Truck Permit (only where required on private property): General Plan Maintenance fee $737.00, mapping fee $12.16, plan check fee $706.27, paid annually
• San Francisco Fire Department: $446.00 operational permit for mobile food preparation vehicles and carts
• CDTFA seller's permit: no fee, though a security deposit may be required

City rules in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento and Long Beach

State law lets cities add time, place and manner rules for where trucks operate (Health and Safety Code 114315(b), citing Vehicle Code 22455). Check each city where you plan to sell.

• Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Environmental Health permits trucks in the City of Los Angeles and most of the county, but not in Long Beach, Pasadena or Vernon. Operators must file a route sheet listing each stop with arrival and departure times, and update it when the route changes significantly.
• San Diego: the County Department of Environmental Health and Quality issues the health permit. The City of San Diego requires a Business Tax Certificate. It does not allow daily truck operations in the Gaslamp Quarter or Little Italy unless part of a special event, and keeps trucks out of the public right-of-way in the beach and campus Parking Impact Overlay Zone. Alcohol sales are not allowed. Furniture, umbrellas, generators and other objects may not be placed outside the truck, except on private property where no Mobile Food Truck Permit is required (such as industrial zones or school property) or with a Neighborhood Development Permit (Information Bulletin 148, July 2026).
• San Francisco: Public Works issues Mobile Food Facility permits for locations in the public right-of-way (streets and sidewalks). Trucks must stay 75 feet from existing restaurant primary entrances, 7 feet from fire hydrants and 12 feet from bus zones, and 500 feet from public middle schools and 1,000 feet from most public high schools from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Applications go through a 30-day public notice, and an unresolved objection leads to a hearing. After tentative approval you need San Francisco business registration, general liability insurance of at least $2,000,000, DMV registration, a DPH Certificate of Sanitation and a Fire Department certificate.
• Sacramento: the Sacramento County Environmental Management Department permits mobile food facilities in four categories. Category D units, which cook unpackaged potentially hazardous food, must be fully enclosed. Permits expire December 31 and do not transfer.
• Long Beach: the city's Bureau of Environmental Health issues permits, not Los Angeles County. Units selling unpackaged perishable food need at least one person with a food safety manager certificate, and other employees need food handler cards.

Before you buy a truck: a checklist

Permits belong to the operator and the approved unit, not the vehicle sale. Check these points before you pay.

• Call the health agency in the county where you will operate and ask whether the unit needs new plan check. San Diego County, for example, requires plan review for a unit it has not permitted before.
• Ask the seller for the approved plans and the current health permit. The permit itself will not transfer to you.
• If the unit is enclosed and staff work inside, look for the HCD insignia. Sacramento County will not issue a Category B or D permit to an occupied unit without HCD approval.
• Check that the DMV registration and title match the seller.
• Check the hood suppression system and extinguishers for current service tags, and confirm propane tanks can be secured upright.
• Line up a commissary and restroom agreements before you apply.
• Read the rules in each city where you want to sell, such as San Francisco's clearances or San Diego's restricted districts.
• Budget for plan check, the annual health permit, any fire permit and city permits.