What licenses are needed to start a food truck in Arizona

Posted by Damian Roberti on May 20, 2022

What licenses are needed to start a food truck in Arizona

What licenses are needed to start a food truck in Arizona. And what do you need to start a food truck in Arizona? So welcome to food truck freaks. If you are looking to start a food truck business in the state of Arizona, we're gonna cover a handful of permits and licenses and seeing exactly what you need to get up and running as far as your business is concerned. And we're gonna do that right now.

All right. So welcome back to food truck freaks. This is food truck freaks episode. We are YouTube's brand new food, entrepreneur food truck, entrepreneur channel. We actually are not new to YouTube. We have several other food entrepreneur channels here on YouTube marketing food online, and a cottage foods, laws, and a few others. If you wanna check out the links down below for those other videos and other channels, definitely check in the description section, but we are gonna dive into specifically, what does it take to get up and running with a food truck in Arizona? In this video I'm gonna cover specifically permits and licensing and a few other things that you will probably need. Now, sometimes it'll vary based on city and county. There might be additional things in regards to what we're about to cover. But the first thing you need to know is number one is an E I N.

What licenses are needed to start a food truck in Arizona

That is an employer identification number. This is actually for tax purposes. You can actually apply for this free. This is one of the few permits or licenses that are actually free, but you do need to get this on the IRS website. It's kind of like a social security number for your food truck in a sense, but the employer identification number comes in handy when you file your food truck, business taxes every year. So when you reach out to your accountant every year, you're gonna need to have that E I in. And like I mentioned, it's absolutely free. You only do this once too. You don't have to renew it. It's actually an issue number that comes out only once. And you're good to go. Now, next up, you need to have a food truck, business license. Now this is actually get, nor you get this from either the city or county.

Again, it would be dependent upon where you're actually operating from. If it's the city, you need to get a business license in that city. Now, one thing to keep in mind, though, when it comes to food, truck businesses, the one unique thing about food trucks is once you cross a line over a different city or county, if you operate your food truck, which of course is, you know, would be mobile. And as you go from place to place, you actually will need to have a business license in the other city that you're going to be in. I believe there's only one state that allows you to get a business license once and you can operate any city or county that you go to. But in Arizona, you might wanna double check with the city that you live in specifically and ask them if you're going to need another business license.

What licenses are needed to start a food truck in Arizona

If you cross over into a different city or county, all number three, we need to get a driver's license. Now, of course, you're probably thinking yourself, of course, you gotta have a driver's license. That's a no brainer. You need to have a valid driver's license and you need to make sure that all the employees in your food truck business, if you've got someone working with you, make sure they have a valid driver's license, because if they get into an accident while driving your food truck and you don't happen to be with them, or they're the cause, or the reason for a food truck getting into an accident, you actually, as a food truck owner could be cited and even lose your license or even your truck. If that a truck gets into an accident and you have a license unlicensed or a person who works for you that have a driver's license, that's expired, that's not gonna be a good thing for your business.

Keep in mind. Of course your food truck is your bread and butter. It is your business on wheels. So you need to make sure that you cross all the teas and dot all the I's and, and make sure that everyone has their driver's license valid. Okay, next up seller's permit. Now, this is also known as a seller's license or reseller's license. This is actually the seller permit allows you to actually purchase like your ingredients purchase any types of food ingredients that are gonna go into your finalized food product at a tax free or a no tax rate. So what that means is, is that let's say hypothetical, you go to like Sam's club, or you go to Costco, or you go to a web store or one of these stores that are a food supply store. You want to go there and you wanna present them with a seller's permit to allow you to get tax free when you purchase it at the register, because you don't collect sales tax.

What licenses are needed to start a food truck in Arizona

If your state does do food sales tax, you will collect that when you sell the product to your customer, through your food truck window, you understand. So basically you don't wanna be taxed twice. You don't wanna pay for that tax when you buy the ingredients and then tax it again, when you sell it next up food handlers permit, or the food safety certification program. Now many cities and counties in Arizona will actually require a, either the owner, number one, the manager, or the owner of the food truck to have one of these. And you can actually get them through. What's known as serve safe, very similar to the type of certification that restaurant managers have or people who are chefs or people handling food will have to go through. Now, in some states, they actually require your food truck employees to also have the exact same process and go through the same certification program through serve safe.

So check on your food handlers permit in your food safety certification, okay. In Arizona next up your department of health. So the local health department, before you can begin to sell through your food truck window, out to your customers, you're gonna have to have an inspection from the health department, of course. So you're gonna need to get that. Now, normally that ranges in price anywhere from about a hundred, to maybe to 120 $550 a year. The health department permits are not very expensive, but they are something that if I'm not mistaken, you're gonna renew every year. I know in our facility, we have to do ours annually. Some states might operate differently, but here in Georgia we have an, an inspection for the department of agriculture and that's yearly. And you do have to pay for that and renew that every single year.

What licenses are needed to start a food truck in Arizona

Okay, next up you've got fire certificate or a fire inspections certificate. So the fire department will come in and they're gonna wanna look at your food truck and check to make sure that if you've got generators, for example, Z, and they're operating from propane or gas, making sure that they're hooked up and safely secured, but they're functioning and operating correctly. They may even come in and turn on all your stoves, all your ovens, making sure that the lines and electrical lines and gas lines, everything is working properly. You will also have to have a fire extinguisher in the vehicle itself. That's like 99% of the time. I don't think I've actually ever heard of any state that doesn't allow or doesn't require a food truck to actually have a fire extinguisher, but you'll have to have that fire inspection and the fire extinguisher available as well.

Next up brand trademarking. Now this is something that's really unique. It's kind of in the lines of permits and licensing, but if you have, you've gotta look. If you've got a brand, if you're trying to create a branded, look for your truck, you have a logo, you have a catchphrase, you have some type of slogan. You need to submit that to the us P T O office. That's the United States patent and trademark office. You can actually do that submission online, but you need to get that brand trademark initiated as soon as possible, because it takes six to eight months to clear through the process of the us PTO office. So down the road, if you happen to be looking to sell merch and you wanna sell hats with your logo, you've got a local following and they want t-shirts or they want aprons. If you've got any type of merch, that's got your logo on it.

What licenses are needed to start a food truck in Arizona

You wanna make sure though, that's trademarked because you don't wanna obviously people to take that trademark logo away from you or infringe on it next up a mobile food facility permit. So the majority of states, and I believe also Arizona does this as well. You're going to need or require an actual commissary kitchen to be attached to your food truck. So this would be your food trucks, kind of home base, if you will. And every single day, when you go out or whatever days that you're choosing to use your food truck, you would go to that commissary. You make sure everything's clean sanitized. You would prep all your ingredients. You get all your refrigeration stuff. If you need storage. That's what a commissary is for all of these things come into play and the majority of states require you in order for you to actually get the approval and thumbs up to operate, you gotta have some type of commissary attached to your food truck.

Now it's also a good thing too, because when you're done with the day and your food truck is finished, that's where you normally park your food truck overnight. That's where you safely keep it. A lot of commissary kitchens also have gated areas where they can keep food trucks in there securely. So a mobile food truck facility permit is something you'll need as well. Also very important next up food truck insurance. So when you start your food truck business in Arizona, you're gonna need to have food, truck insurance. Now, the types of policies that you give will vary dependent on your needs. Of course, and I'm not an insurance salesman. So I'm not gonna tell you what you need to have as far as policy, but many cities and counties require a specific type of policy with a, a certain amount of coverage. So check with your city specifically in Arizona, cuz they kind of vary.

What licenses are needed to start a food truck in Arizona

Make sure that you get the, at least the required minimum of insurance. And of course you can buy additional add-ons to your insurance as well. But food truck insurance is something you'll definitely have. Lastly, we're gonna cover is PO box address. So now if you have a business, a food truck business, and you have your food truck, business license, there's a good likelihood that you're gonna have to actually use the commissary kitchen and you can't use a PO box. Okay? A vague PO box number attached to a food truck is normally not allowed. So if it happens to be the commissary kitchen or commercial kitchen you're working from, there's a very good likelihood that's gonna be it. And that's something you need to have as well. So you need to make sure you get one of those also. So that is a handful of permits and licenses, including some insurance coverage ideas that you will need to have. If you're looking to figure out what do you need to start a food truck in Arizona with Arizona food truck requirements are as such and I'll have some more information down below in the description section over to the Arizona state's website to help you out. So if this is your first video, definitely subscribe to food, truck freaks. We've got tons of great content on how to start, run, grow, and develop a food truck business. I'll see you guys on our next video.