What permits do you need to open a food truck in Tulare County?

Mobile Food Vendor Business License (unincorporated area)

Ordinance Code §6-20-1020 requires 'Any person engaging in, or vehicle used in, the business of a mobile food vendor' to hold a valid county license, and §6-01-1050 applies Part 6 licenses to business carried on 'within the County and outside the limits of any incorporated city'; a truck working only inside a city follows that city's rules. Under §6-20-2010 the application must include a copy of the Health Officer's certification that the business complies with food and health laws (the application form says to attach the Health Department Certification), and the fingerprinting and photograph rule of §6-01-2020 does not apply. Under §6-20-2020 a separate license is issued for each vehicle and licenses are renewed annually at the fee in effect at renewal. §6-20-1030 excludes a mobile food facility operating at a community event under Health and Safety Code §114295. §6-01-3020 exempts qualifying honorably discharged veterans and tax-exempt nonprofits from the fees (they still file an application). The $52 application, $50 annual and $25 per-vehicle amounts are per the County of Tulare Schedule of Fees FY 2026/27 (Treasurer-Tax Collector lines, effective March 1, 2016); the $4 is a state fee under Government Code §4467(a)(2)(A), not a county fee.

Peddler / Itinerant Vendor Business License (unincorporated area)

Ordinance Code §6-25-1010 defines a peddler as 'a person who travels about selling previously fabricated or prepared food, produce, or wares for contemporaneous delivery', including a hawker or other itinerant vendor, and §6-25-1020 requires a valid license for the person and each vehicle used. This record applies to an itinerant seller only: §6-25-1030 exempts anyone with a permanent established place of business in the unincorporated area of the County (and that business's employees), farmers selling their own produce, qualifying charitable organizations and wholesale commercial travellers, so a store operating from fixed premises does not need it. Under §6-25-2010 the Health Officer investigates applicants selling food or beverages. The license applies outside city limits (§6-01-1050). The $52 application, $50 annual and $25 per-vehicle amounts are per the County of Tulare Schedule of Fees FY 2026/27 (Treasurer-Tax Collector lines, effective March 1, 2016), and the application form states '$50.00 plus $25/Vehicle per year'; the $4 is a state fee under Government Code §4467(a)(2)(A), not a county fee.

Mobile Food Facility Health Permit

A food truck or cart needs a mobile food facility permit from Tulare County Environmental Health; the Division's food-permit page lists Mobile Food Facilities among the operations that need an Environmental Health permit. A unit operating from a commissary or shared kitchen also involves the commissary permit or the commissary addendum shown here. Environmental Health's permit-holder notice states the Board of Supervisors approved the fee increases on April 14, 2026, effective July 1, 2026, and names 'Mobile Food Unit Preparation – $731' and 'Commissary Addendum to Food Permit – $561' among the lines raised at a higher rate. Figures are per EH's Fee Schedule FY 2026-2027, and the county-wide Schedule of Fees (as of July 1, 2026) prints the same amounts. The Environmental Health Officer's certification is also a prerequisite for the county Mobile Food Vendor business license in the unincorporated area (Ordinance Code §6-20-2010).

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 Tulare County

• Temporary Food Facility, Event Organizer and Catering Permits — Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency, Environmental Health Division, Temporary Food Single Event – Vendor: Low Risk $47; Moderate Risk $96; High Risk $143. Temporary Food Multi Event – Annual Vendor: Low Risk $65; Moderate Risk $283; High Risk $533. Temporary Food Single Event – Organizer $241; Temporary Food Multiple Event – Organizer $641. Caterer $448; Catering Host Permit $481., per event (single-event permits) or annual (multi-event, caterer and catering host permits). Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• 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.