12 permits · verified 2026-09-27
What permits do you need to open a food truck in Cook County?
In short
A food truck in Cook County, IL has 5 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 7 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Cook County Clerk's Office, Vital Records / Business & Notary Division charges $50 flat registration fee, one-time at filing for the assumed business name registration ("dba"). 2 of the 12 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-27 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.
Permits particular to a food truck in Cook County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temporary Food Service Establishment Permitonly if it applies to you | Cook County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division | $25 per day of operation, printed directly on the CCDPH application form | per event; charged per day of operation | 2026-09-27 |
| Retail Tobacco Licenseonly if it applies to you | Cook County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division | $200 a year, covers the license and one vending machine; each additional vending machine adds $35 | annual, calendar year (January 1 – December 31); a new retailer must obtain the license before selling tobacco products, with no proration, and renewal is due by December 31 for the following year | 2026-09-27 |
| Retail Food Establishment Permit | Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Food, Drugs and Dairies | No state fee — the permit and its price are set by the local health department | set by the local health department | 2026-09-03 |
| Food Handler Training | Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Food, Drugs and Dairies | No fee | 3 years | 2026-09-03 |
| Certified Food Protection Manager | Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Food, Drugs and Dairies | No fee | 5 years | 2026-09-03 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
Local permits that apply to every type of business in Cook County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed Business Name Registration ("DBA")only if it applies to you | Cook County Clerk's Office, Vital Records / Business & Notary Division | $50 flat registration fee, one-time at filing | no renewal or refiling cadence is stated in the Cook County Clerk's own registration materials; the initial filing requires notice published once a week for three consecutive weeks within 15 calendar days of filing, with proof of publication due back to the Clerk within 50 days | 2026-09-27 |
| County Wheel Tax / Vehicle License — Repealed June 30, 2023 (Cook County)only if it applies to you | Cook County Department of Revenue | No fee | not applicable — the county wheel tax was repealed effective June 30, 2023 | 2026-09-27 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
IL registrations that apply to every type of business
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to you | Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services | $150 one-time filing | no expiry, but an annual report is due every year | 2026-09-03 |
| Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services | $175 one-time — $150 filing fee plus $25 minimum initial franchise tax | no expiry, but an annual report and franchise tax are due every year | 2026-09-03 |
| Annual Reportonly if it applies to you | Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services | Varies — formula on the IL page | annual — an LLC files before the first day of its anniversary month | 2026-09-03 |
| Certificate of Registration (Form REG-1) | Illinois Department of Revenue, Central Registration Division | No fee | continuous — no renewal | 2026-09-03 |
| General Business License — Illinois position (city, not state) | Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity | No fee | set by the issuing municipality | 2026-09-03 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
How much does it actually cost to permit a food truck in Cook County?
There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 12 records listed for a food truck in Cook County, IL, 5 apply to every business of this type and 7 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.
2 of the 12 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 5 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:
Retail Food Establishment Permit: No state fee — the permit and its price are set by the local health department
The other 1 variable fee belongs to permits that apply to every type of business here; its formula is set out on the Cook County permits page and the IL state page.
Which offices issue these permits in Cook County?
Permits for a food truck in Cook County, IL come from 7 separate offices: Cook County Clerk's Office, Vital Records / Business & Notary Division, Cook County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division, Cook County Department of Revenue, Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Food, Drugs and Dairies, Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services, Illinois Department of Revenue, Central Registration Division, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
- Cook County Clerk's Office, Vital Records / Business & Notary DivisionIssues 1 permit on this page: Assumed Business Name Registration ("DBA")www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/vital-records/business-notary/assumed-business-name-registration
- Cook County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health DivisionIssues 2 permits on this page: Temporary Food Service Establishment Permit, Retail Tobacco License10220 S. 76th Ave, Room 250, Bridgeview, IL 60455 · 708-974-7107cookcountypublichealth.org
- Cook County Department of RevenueIssues 1 permit on this page: County Wheel Tax / Vehicle License — Repealed June 30, 2023 (Cook County)revenue.cookcountyil.gov/LicensePortal
- Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Food, Drugs and DairiesIssues 3 permits on this page: Retail Food Establishment Permit, Food Handler Training, Certified Food Protection Manager525-535 West Jefferson Street, Springfield, IL 62761 · (217) 782-4977dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/food-safety/retail-food.html
- Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business ServicesIssues 3 permits on this page: Articles of Organization (LLC), Articles of Incorporation, Annual Report501 South Second Street, Room 351, Springfield, IL 62756 · (217) 524-8008www.ilsos.gov/departments/business_services
- Illinois Department of Revenue, Central Registration DivisionIssues 1 permit on this page: Certificate of Registration (Form REG-1)Central Registration Division, Illinois Department of Revenue, PO Box 19030, Springfield, IL 62794-9030 · (217) 785-3707mytax.illinois.gov
- Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic OpportunityIssues 1 permit on this page: General Business License — Illinois position (city, not state)(800) 252-2923dceo.illinois.gov/smallbizassistance/beginhere/stepbystepguide.html
What does a food truck need in Cook County that other businesses do not?
Temporary Food Service Establishment Permit
A restaurant, coffee shop or food truck operating a one-off or pop-up food service at an event needs this CCDPH permit anywhere in suburban or unincorporated Cook County — Chicago runs its own separate temporary-food-permit process instead, and a business straddling both needs both permits. The $25-per-day fee is printed directly on CCDPH's own application form. This is distinct from CCDPH's permanent Retail Food Establishment License and from its Mobile Food Vendor permit, both of which cover ongoing operation rather than a single event, and whose own fee tiers are not shown here.
Retail Tobacco License
This license's scope is corrected from an earlier pass, which placed it among CCDPH's broader suburban-plus-unincorporated food and environmental programs. It is not one of those: CCDPH's own Retail Tobacco License application states the Cook County Youth Tobacco Control Ordinance 'applies to retailers of tobacco products in unincorporated Cook County,' and it is codified in Chapter 54 alongside the unincorporated-only General Business License and Alarm Permit, not under the state Food-Code-style delegation that gives CCDPH's food, pool and body-art programs their suburban reach. A retailer inside Chicago or any other incorporated suburb is licensed by that municipality instead. The fee is $200 a year, covering the license and one vending machine, with $35 added per additional vending machine. Selling tobacco products without the required license carries a fine of $500 or more under Sec. 54-303(b)(2).
Certified Food Protection Manager
No state fee, because the state does not run the certification — an accredited body does, and its course and exam fees are what you actually pay. Illinois food establishments must be under the supervision of a certified manager, which is a higher bar than food handler training: it needs an accredited course and a passed exam, and it lasts five years rather than three. Chicago runs its own parallel certification, so an operator inside the city must check city rules and not only state ones. The older name, food service sanitation manager certificate, still appears on some guidance.
Shared with other businesses in Cook County
- Retail Food Establishment Permit — Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Food, Drugs and Dairies, No state fee — the permit and its price are set by the local health department, set by the local health department. Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.
- Food Handler Training — Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Food, Drugs and Dairies, No fee, 3 years. Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
The other 2 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Cook County, IL; what each one involves is set out on the Cook County permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across IL and are covered on the IL state page.
How does a food truck compare with other businesses in Cook County?
The closest match is a coffee shop, which shares 5 of these permits. A coffee shop needs Commercial Sign Permit (unincorporated Cook County) and Weights and Measures Device Inspection — State and Chicago Programs (Cook County), which a food truck does not.
| Business | Its own permits | Shared with a food truck | Only a food truck needs | Only it needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coffee shops | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Restaurants | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Retail stores | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Auto repair shops | 3 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Childcare centres | 3 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Contractors and trades | 6 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| Fitness studios | 3 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Salons and barbers | 3 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Veterinary clinics | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
Sources
Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits shared with other businesses are listed with their explanations on the restaurants page and coffee shops page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Cook County permits page and the IL state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- Application for Temporary Food Service Establishment PermitCook County Department of Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
- Retail Tobacco License — Instructions and ApplicationCook County Department of Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
- Illinois Department of Public Health — certified food protection manager certificationIllinois Department of Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
Related
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.