What permits do you need to open a food truck in San Jose?

Ice Cream Truck Business Permit, Employee License and Truck Inspection

Applies only to ice cream trucks as defined in SJMC §6.39.030: a DMV-licensed motor vehicle used to sell prepackaged or soft-serve frozen dairy or water-based products. Under §6.39.080 an ice cream truck business needs a business permit, §6.39.090 requires an employee or trainee license from the chief of police for anyone else who drives or rides on the truck, and §6.39.280 requires each truck to be inspected and certified by the chief of police every two years. Such trucks may sell only prepackaged food (§6.39.260) and are exempt from the Chapter 6.54 peddler permit (§6.39.340). Figures are from the 2026-2027 Fees and Charges Police section, unchanged by the August 4, 2026 adopted-fees memorandum, and match SJPD's permit fee schedule effective July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027.

Mobile Food Facility Permit

Priced by how much food preparation actually happens on board, not by employee count the way a fixed restaurant is — a genuinely different axis from the food-establishment permit above. Santa Clara County DEH is the same sole health permitting authority for mobile units as for fixed facilities. The City separately regulates where and how food is sold from vehicles and carts: under San José Municipal Code Chapter 6.54 a peddler business selling food on public streets needs a peddler business permit from the chief of police (and §6.54.215.D requires food peddlers to display this County permit), ice cream trucks are permitted under Chapter 6.39, and §20.80.810 requires a Planning administrative permit for a stationary vending facility on private property — those City permits are separate records.

Peddler Business Permit and Peddler Employee License (street and sidewalk vending, including food trucks)

Under SJMC §6.54.110 no one may operate a peddler business in the city without a peddler business permit issued by the chief of police; §6.54.070 defines peddling as selling goods or food from place to place by foot, motor vehicle or mobile unit on any street, sidewalk, right-of-way, park or other public place, and §6.54.130 requires every peddler other than the permittee to hold a peddler employee license. The City's Outdoor Vending page lists 'Mobile Vendors (Food Trucks, Pushcarts, etc. That Are in Motion)' as needing a permit from SJPD, and SJPD's Permits Unit page lists a single 'Peddler Application - Mobile and Fixed Peddler'. Figures are the 2026-2027 adopted fees: the 2026-2027 Fees and Charges Police section (unchanged by the August 4, 2026 Adopted Fees and Charges memorandum) and SJPD's permit fee schedule effective July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027 show the same amounts. Operating rules include a 15-minute limit per stop for vehicles and no stops within 500 feet of a school (§6.54.240). Food peddlers must also hold and display a Santa Clara County DEH permit (§6.54.215.D). Ice cream trucks are permitted under Chapter 6.39 instead (§6.39.340).

Peddler Approved Location Permit (fixed cart or stand on a public sidewalk)

Under SJMC §6.54.140 no one may peddle from a fixed location on a public street, sidewalk or right-of-way without an approved location permit from the chief of police. Under §6.54.260 these permits cover only the sidewalk portion of a public street, are issued with a site plan, are not issued to a peddler peddling from a motor vehicle (§6.54.260.J), and are not issued in exclusively residential zones. The $344 permit, $86 re-inspection and the note on additional locations are from the 2026-2027 Fees and Charges Police section, unchanged by the August 4, 2026 adopted-fees memorandum, and match SJPD's permit fee schedule effective July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027. This is in addition to the peddler business permit and any Santa Clara County DEH permit for food.

Outdoor Vending Facility Administrative Permit (stationary vending on private property)

Under SJMC §20.80.810 a stationary vending facility serving the public outdoors on a privately owned lot needs an administrative permit, countersigned by the property owner; 'stationary' means operating on one lot for more than a total of two hours in any 24-hour period, and one permit is needed per facility. The vendor must share a site with a fixed-base host business (§20.80.840), and a vehicle or cart that is a mobile food facility must display its current Santa Clara County health permit (§20.80.890.A). §20.80.820.B exempts vending only whole, uncut, fresh fruit and vegetables that meets its listed conditions. The City's Outdoor Vending page summarises this as an Administrative Permit issued by the Planning Department for vending for more than 2 hours on private property, outside Residential and Commercial Office zones. The fee is from the Planning Application Filing Fee Schedule effective August 10, 2026 (Administrative Permit — Other, $3,184 + $413), which applies the 13.00% Citywide Planning Fee adopted with the 2026-2027 budget.

Food Handler Card

The state does not sell the card and sets no fee of its own — it caps the market instead. At least one accredited course and examination must cost no more than $15 including the card, and if no course is available at that price the requirement does not apply at all. A handler has 30 days from hire to obtain one, it lasts three years, and it travels with the person rather than the employer. Since Senate Bill 476 the employer must treat the training and examination as paid working time, relieve the worker of other duties while they do it, reimburse the cost, and may not require a card as a condition of being hired. The exemptions are broad: grocery and convenience stores, school cafeterias, certified farmers' markets, licensed health care facilities, and any workplace covered by a collective bargaining agreement with its food handlers. Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties run their own card programmes under a pre-2009 carve-out and charge their own fees. Do not confuse this with the separate food safety MANAGER certification, which is one certified person per facility and lasts five years.

Shared with other businesses in San Jose

• Food Facility Permit — California Department of Public Health, Food and Drug Branch, No fee, set by the local enforcement agency. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.