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Food Truck Regulations by State

Licenses for foodservice establishments are normally granted by the health departments of a state or county. You will be required to have a variety of licenses to cover your truck, your prep kitchen, yourself, and, in certain cases, the individuals working for you individually. The vast majority of permits and licenses pertaining to foodservice require you to either pass a food safety test or have your establishment successfully pass a food safety inspection.

Among the licenses available for foodservice are:

The requirements for obtaining a health permit change from one state to the next. Before applying for this general permission, you are required to first secure all of the permits and licenses that are stated below. This is necessary in order to obtain your final overall health permit. Prices can range anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to around one thousand dollars, but this will depend on the scale of your operation.
Permission for a mobile food facility (or unit): In some communities, rather than the health department, the local parks department is the entity that is responsible for issuing this permit; nonetheless, it does still involve food safety requirements. Food carts, kiosks, tiny trucks, and trucks that solely serve which was before foods and non-perishable drinks are eligible for lower pricing levels in many municipalities. These communities also frequently provide these discounts. Prices fluctuate anywhere from $300 to $500 most of the time.
In most cases, you won't be able to get a health license for your company without first obtaining a certification as a food safety manager. In order to obtain one, you will be required to first complete a food safety training course and then successfully pass a food safety exam. Through ServSafe, the price ranges between $199 and $300.
Employees are required to have their own food handler permits in places such as California, which mandates that all workers in the food service industry obtain their own food handler permits. ServSafe makes them available to your employees at a cost of $approximately 20 to $18 each.
Lease agreement for a commercial kitchen In the majority of areas, in order to obtain a food service permit for your truck, you will need to have a lease contract with a licensed commercial kitchen. In certain circumstances, health inspectors may need a signed declaration from the owner of the kitchen declaring that you are in good standing as a tenant in the rental agreement. Prices will differ depending on the terms of your lease.

It is required by the regulations of many municipalities that food trucks prepare and store the majority of their food in commercial kitchens that have been granted a license. If you prepare your food in a traditional brick-and-mortar commercial kitchen, you can rest assured that it will be able to be stored at temperatures that are both below 41 degrees and over 140 degrees Fahrenheit, as required by law. This may sound like bureaucratic red tape (which can be hard to maintain on a truck).

In order to locate commissary kitchens in your area, you can either inquire with other people who run food trucks or look on websites such as Culinary Incubator and Commercial Kitchen for Rent. You do not simply have the option of using the commissary kitchens. In the majority of areas, any commercial kitchen that is licensed by the local health department and has been inspected by that department will do. It could be the kitchen of a restaurant that you hire out during its off hours, or it could be the kitchen of a school that you rent out during the evenings, weekends, or summer months. A number of fraternal and religious organizations, such as Elks lodges, VFW halls, and churches, are also equipped with commercial kitchen facilities that have been granted a license and satisfy the requirements.