How to get a food truck permit in North Carolina

Who issues food truck permits in North Carolina

North Carolina uses the term mobile food unit for food trucks and pushcart for small carts. Both fall under the statewide Rules Governing the Food Protection and Sanitation of Food Establishments (15A NCAC 18A .2600). The NC DHHS Environmental Health Section publishes guidance on these rules. The health permit comes from the local health department (county or district) that inspects the commissary your unit operates from (15A NCAC 18A .2670). Its environmental health program reviews your plans, inspects the unit and issues the food service permit. Units that sell only items such as coffee, tea or lemonade are regulated by the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services instead, according to Wake and Brunswick counties.

Under state rule 15A NCAC 18A .2670, the health permit comes from the authority that inspects your commissary, and you give every other county where you sell a list of your locations. Cities and fire officials can add their own permits. Other agencies handle the rest: the NC Department of Revenue handles sales tax, the NC Secretary of State handles business entities and NCDMV handles the vehicle. Some counties also want an NCDA&CS propane inspection, but NCDA&CS says these inspections are suspended until further notice.

• Mobile food unit: a food establishment with no permanent utility connections except an onsite electrical connection, designed to be moved and vend food, and with no seating for customers (Brunswick County definition).
• Pushcart: limited to hot dogs, and to food that was prepared, pre-portioned and individually pre-wrapped at a permitted food establishment or commissary.
• Guilford County describes a food truck as a fully enclosed unit, similar to a restaurant, that can cook food on location.

Plan review and the documents counties ask for

Every county page we checked requires plan review before a unit is permitted. Guilford County says all mobile food units and pushcarts must submit an application and go through plan review. Wake County says it responds to a complete application in about 10 business days. Once the plans are approved and the unit is built, you request a construction evaluation of the finished unit. Independent units submit plans to the local health department. Under 15A NCAC 18A .2658, franchised or chain units submit plans to the Environmental Health Services Branch of the NC Division of Public Health instead.

Guilford County says equipment on a mobile food unit must meet ANSI/NSF standards or an equivalent, as in a restaurant. The required equipment depends on your menu. Units need hot and cold pressurized potable water for handwashing and utensil washing.

Under the NC food rules, the person in charge must be a certified food protection manager who passed an accredited exam, a requirement in place since January 1, 2014. New permit holders get 210 days after the permit is issued to comply, and Risk Category I establishments are exempt (15A NCAC 18A .2652 and .2659). Guilford County offers ServSafe exams.

• Mobile food unit or pushcart plan review application
• Complete menu
• Plans of the unit drawn to scale, including a profile view and the equipment layout (Brunswick County asks for at least 1/4 inch = 1 foot)
• Plumbing schematic (Durham County)
• Manufacturer specification sheets for all equipment
• Commissary agreement or commissary form
• Operating schedule with locations, dates and times
• Plan review fee (Durham County invoices it once the application is complete)

Commissary and pushcart rules

A 2012 NC DHHS memo quotes the state law. A permitted restaurant or commissary must serve as the base of operations for a pushcart. A mobile food unit must either have a permitted restaurant or commissary as its base, or meet all the sanitation requirements of a permitted commissary itself. In practice, Wake County says you need an approved commissary to receive your permit. State rule 15A NCAC 18A .2670 says units must report at least daily to their commissary for supplies, cleaning and servicing. Guilford County says units must work with a permitted commissary or restaurant that they return to daily.

Home kitchens do not qualify. Guilford County says you may not work out of your home or a non-permitted facility such as a church. The NC DHHS memo notes that the Food Code prohibits using private homes in connection with food establishment operations.

If you want the truck to serve as its own commissary, it must provide what a commissary normally does. That includes storage, warewashing, enough potable water and water heating, wastewater disposal and access to a toilet facility. NC DHHS suggests talking this through with county staff before you apply and pay the plan review fee. For an existing unit, the change is handled as a remodel.

• Pushcarts may serve only hot dogs and food that was prepared, pre-portioned and individually pre-wrapped at a permitted establishment or commissary.
• A 2015 state law (S.L. 2015-104), explained in an NC DHHS position statement, lets pushcarts and mobile food units based at a permitted commissary or restaurant on the premises of a facility with at least 3,000 permanent seats, such as a stadium or arena, prepare and serve a wider menu on those premises. Conditions apply. For example, raw meat, poultry and fish must arrive pre-portioned or ready to cook, and units that handle raw ingredients need a handwashing sink.

Propane and fire safety

Local fire officials handle fire code permits and inspections. In Durham, for example, the property address decides whether the Durham County Fire Marshal or the City of Durham Fire Department handles them. A code change document published by the NC Office of State Fire Marshal shows Section 105.5.32 of the 2024 North Carolina Fire Code, an operational permit for mobile food preparation vehicles with appliances that produce smoke or grease-laden vapors, marked as an optional permit. Whether you need it depends on the local fire code official. Durham County says it has adopted all required and optional operational permits in the NC Fire Code.

For propane, NCDA&CS says some jurisdictions require its Standards Division to inspect and approve the propane system before they issue a permit. Brunswick County, for example, says an NCDA&CS LP-gas piping inspection should be completed before a permit is issued. As of 2026-10-03, NCDA&CS says all food truck inspections are suspended until further notice, and it asks operators to call its Division office at 984-236-4750. Ask your county what it accepts in the meantime.

• NCDA&CS uses NFPA 58 (the LP-Gas Code) as its minimum standard. Propane containers on these units may not exceed 200 gallons, individually or combined.
• Propane cylinders must be requalified within 12 years of manufacture and every 5 years after that.
• NCDA&CS notes that fire extinguisher and extinguishing system requirements come from NFPA 1, 10 and 96, and that all jurisdictions require them.
• At permitted events in Charlotte, each cooking tent needs a K-type fire extinguisher with a current inspection tag, and LP gas cylinders must be secured so they cannot tip.

Inspections, grades and keeping your permit

Once the unit passes the health department's evaluation, it issues the food service permit. Durham County says the first grading inspection takes place a few weeks after the permit is issued. Later inspections are unannounced, and how often they happen depends on the risk category set during plan review. Brunswick County says grade cards are posted.

Under 15A NCAC 18A .2670, you give the health department that issued your permit a list of the counties and locations where you will operate. Before you sell in another county, give that county's health department a list of your locations and keep it current. Guilford County asks for dates and times as well and says selling without this notice violates your permit and can lead to suspension. It also says units found operating without notice may be asked to leave.

Permits do not transfer to a new owner. Durham County says a new owner must get a new permit before opening. NC DHHS runs an online payment page for food and lodging permit fees, so ask your county whether a yearly fee applies to your permit.

Business registration, taxes and the vehicle

If you use an LLC or corporation, file it with the NC Secretary of State. If you trade under a name other than your legal name, file an assumed business name certificate with a register of deeds. One certificate can list every county where you do business. The Secretary of State keeps a statewide searchable database of filings made on or after December 1, 2017.

Register for sales and use tax with the NC Department of Revenue, online or with Form NC-BR. NCDOR says its online business registration system is free to use and most applicants get an account ID number right away. The state rate is 4.75%, and local and transit rates are added on top. As listed on NCDOR on 2026-10-03, total rates in effect from July 1, 2026 include 8.25% in Mecklenburg, 7.25% in Wake, 7.5% in Durham and 6.75% in Guilford.

Some counties add a prepared food and beverage tax. Wake County lists a 1% tax on prepared food and beverages that covers mobile vendors. It is reported monthly, by the 20th of the following month, after you register through the county's Gross Receipts Tax application.

NCDMV requires a title before a vehicle can be registered. You title and register at a license plate agency or by mail, and you must pay the highway-use tax. NCDMV notes that extra requirements may apply to trailers. Every vehicle registered in North Carolina needs continuous liability insurance from a company licensed in the state.

City rules in Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and Greensboro

The county health permit is only part of the picture in larger cities. Check zoning and vending rules with each city before you choose where to park and sell. Brunswick County, for example, tells operators to contact the zoning office for every proposed location.

• Raleigh (Wake County): Wake County issues the health permit. You must have the county and state food-service permits before you apply for the City's Food Truck Permit for Vendors, which you need to operate on private property. Property owners who host trucks need their own Mobile Retail permit. To serve from the right-of-way you need a Streetside Vending zoning permit and $1,000,000 in liability insurance with the City listed as additional insured. You must also stay at least 100 feet from the main entrance of a restaurant, an outdoor seating area or a competing permitted pushcart business, and at least 15 feet from fire hydrants, within areas the City Council has designated.
• Charlotte (Mecklenburg County): for permitted city events, food vendors apply to the Mecklenburg County Health Department for a temporary food establishment permit at least 15 days before the event, and all food vendors are inspected by the County Health Department and the City Fire Prevention Bureau before the event opens. For regular food truck vending, check zoning rules with the City of Charlotte.
• Durham (Durham County): send plan review documents to the Durham County Department of Public Health at food@dconc.gov. The fire marshal for your property's address (county or city) handles fire permits.
• Greensboro (Guilford County): Guilford County Environmental Health reviews plans and permits units. It also needs your schedule of dates, times and locations before you operate in the county.

Official fees we could confirm

Fees are set locally and change. The amounts below are as listed on each agency's site on 2026-10-03. For any county not listed, check that county's environmental health fee schedule.

• Durham County Environmental Health: mobile food unit, push cart or caterer plan review $250; re-review of food service plans $200; multiple trip fee $50. Durham County says all fees are non-refundable.
• Guilford County Environmental Health: mobile food unit plan review $200; multi trip fee $100.
• Durham County Fire Marshal: permit for mobile food preparation vehicles $150 (FY 2026-27 fee schedule).
• NC Department of Revenue: no fee to use the online business registration system.
• Wake County publishes its plan review and permit fee schedule as a separate document on its Plan Review & Permits page.

Before you buy a truck: checklist

Most costly mistakes happen before the first inspection. Use this list before you pay for a truck or trailer.

• Read your county's mobile food unit requirements and talk to its environmental health staff first.
• Line up a permitted commissary or restaurant base and get the agreement form signed.
• Check that the unit is fully enclosed, has hot and cold pressurized water, and has ANSI/NSF (or equivalent) equipment that fits your menu.
• Check the propane setup against NFPA 58: no more than 200 gallons in total, and cylinders within their requalification dates.
• Ask the local fire marshal about fire permits, hood suppression and extinguishers before you buy.
• Get the title signed over by the seller (or the manufacturer's certificate of origin for a new unit) so NCDMV can title and register it.
• Remember that a used truck's health permit does not transfer to you. Budget time for plan review and inspection.
• Check zoning and vending rules in each city where you plan to sell.