13 permits · verified 2026-09-28
What permits do you need to open a food truck in Hennepin County?
In short
A food truck in Hennepin County, MN has 3 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 10 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services Division charges $135 one-time filing by post; $155 online or in person for the articles of incorporation. 3 of the 13 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-28 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.
Permits particular to a food truck in Hennepin County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special / Short-Term Event Food License (10 days or fewer)only if it applies to you | Hennepin County Public Health, Epidemiology and Environmental Health | Per single event, by food category and preparation location (2026 schedule): high-risk food sold on-site $102 for the first day plus $11 per additional day; high-risk food prepared off-site and not sold on-site $204 first day plus $32 additional; low-risk food sold on-site $51 first day plus $11 additional; low-risk food prepared off-site $102 first day plus $32 additional. A $51 late-processing fee applies if the application is filed fewer than 10 days before the event. | per event; up to 10 days | 2026-09-28 |
| Liquor License — City Issues; County Role Limited to Fort Snelling (Hennepin County)only if it applies to you | Hennepin County Licenses & Certificates | No fee | not applicable outside the Fort Snelling unorganized territory | 2026-09-28 |
| Mobile Food Unit License (food truck, cart, trailer) | Hennepin County Public Health, Epidemiology and Environmental Health | $612 for the first mobile food unit at a location, $305 for each additional unit under the same ownership at that location (2026 schedule). A unit already licensed by the Minnesota Department of Health, or by Minneapolis, Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Edina, Minnetonka or Richfield, pays a $223 reciprocity rate to operate temporarily in a Hennepin-jurisdiction city instead of the full fee. | annual; license period April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 | 2026-09-28 |
| Certified Food Protection Manageronly if it applies to you | Minnesota Department of Health, Food, Pools and Lodging Services | $45 certification or renewal, plus a $5 technology fee | 3 years | 2026-09-03 |
| Food and Beverage Establishment License | Minnesota Department of Health, Food, Pools and Lodging Services | $300 base plus a category fee of $185 low risk, $430 medium or $670 high, plus a $50 statewide hospitality fee and a $5 technology fee — or a delegated county's own schedule | annual | 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 Hennepin County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Business License — Hennepin County Positiononly if it applies to you | Hennepin County Licenses & Certificates | No fee | not applicable — the county's business licenses and certificates page lists no general business license | 2026-09-28 |
| Well Permit — Minnesota Department of Health Notification (Hennepin County)only if it applies to you | Hennepin County Public Health, Epidemiology and Environmental Health | No fee | not applicable at the county level — Minn. Stat. §103I.205 preempts county well permitting unless the Commissioner of Health has delegated it under §103I.111 | 2026-09-28 |
| Building Permit / Zoning Approval — City Issues (Hennepin County)only if it applies to you | Hennepin County Licenses & Certificates | No fee | not applicable — the county's ordinance index lists no building or zoning ordinance; each city issues building permits and zoning approvals | 2026-09-28 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
MN registrations that apply to every type of business
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services Division | $135 one-time filing by post; $155 online or in person | perpetual, subject to a free annual renewal every December | 2026-09-03 |
| General Business License — Minnesota state positiononly if it applies to you | Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services Division | No fee | set by the city | 2026-09-03 |
| Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to you | Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services Division | $135 one-time filing by post; $155 online or in person | perpetual, subject to a free annual renewal every December | 2026-09-03 |
| Annual Renewalonly if it applies to you | Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services Division | No fee | annual — due by 31 December every year after the year of formation | 2026-09-03 |
| Sales and Use Tax Account | Minnesota Department of Revenue, Business Registration | No fee | valid until cancelled or revoked | 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 Hennepin County?
There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 13 records listed for a food truck in Hennepin County, MN, 3 apply to every business of this type and 10 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.
3 of the 13 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 7 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:
Special / Short-Term Event Food License (10 days or fewer): Per single event, by food category and preparation location (2026 schedule): high-risk food sold on-site $102 for the first day plus $11 per additional day; high-risk food prepared off-site and not sold on-site $204 first day plus $32 additional; low-risk food sold on-site $51 first day plus $11 additional; low-risk food prepared off-site $102 first day plus $32 additional. A $51 late-processing fee applies if the application is filed fewer than 10 days before the event.
Mobile Food Unit License (food truck, cart, trailer): $612 for the first mobile food unit at a location, $305 for each additional unit under the same ownership at that location (2026 schedule). A unit already licensed by the Minnesota Department of Health, or by Minneapolis, Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Edina, Minnetonka or Richfield, pays a $223 reciprocity rate to operate temporarily in a Hennepin-jurisdiction city instead of the full fee.
Food and Beverage Establishment License: $300 base plus a category fee of $185 low risk, $430 medium or $670 high, plus a $50 statewide hospitality fee and a $5 technology fee — or a delegated county's own schedule
Which offices issue these permits in Hennepin County?
Permits for a food truck in Hennepin County, MN come from 5 separate offices: Hennepin County Licenses & Certificates, Hennepin County Public Health, Epidemiology and Environmental Health, Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services Division, Minnesota Department of Health, Food, Pools and Lodging Services, Minnesota Department of Revenue, Business Registration. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
- Hennepin County Licenses & CertificatesIssues 3 permits on this page: General Business License — Hennepin County Position, Liquor License — City Issues; County Role Limited to Fort Snelling (Hennepin County), Building Permit / Zoning Approval — City Issues (Hennepin County)Hennepin County Government Center, 300 South 6th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55487www.hennepincounty.gov/services/licenses-certificates/business
- Hennepin County Public Health, Epidemiology and Environmental HealthIssues 3 permits on this page: Special / Short-Term Event Food License (10 days or fewer), Mobile Food Unit License (food truck, cart, trailer), Well Permit — Minnesota Department of Health Notification (Hennepin County)479 Prairie Center Dr, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 · 612-543-5200www.hennepincounty.gov/services/licenses-certificates/business/food-pools-lodging-licenses
- Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, Business Services DivisionIssues 4 permits on this page: Articles of Incorporation, General Business License — Minnesota state position, Articles of Organization (LLC), Annual Renewal332 Minnesota Street, Suite N201, Saint Paul, MN 55101 · (651) 296-2803www.sos.mn.gov/business-liens
- Minnesota Department of Health, Food, Pools and Lodging ServicesIssues 2 permits on this page: Certified Food Protection Manager, Food and Beverage Establishment LicensePO Box 64975, St Paul, MN 55164-0975 · (651) 201-4500www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/food/license/index.html
- Minnesota Department of Revenue, Business RegistrationIssues 1 permit on this page: Sales and Use Tax Account600 North Robert Street, St Paul, MN 55146 · (651) 282-5225www.revenue.state.mn.us/minnesota-tax-id-requirements
What does a food truck need in Hennepin County that other businesses do not?
1 of the 5 permits particular to a food truck here applies to no other business type we cover in Hennepin County: Mobile Food Unit License (food truck, cart, trailer).
Special / Short-Term Event Food License (10 days or fewer)
A restaurant, coffee shop or food truck selling food at a one-off event of 10 days or fewer in a Hennepin-jurisdiction city — a fair, festival or pop-up — uses this short-term license instead of the annual food establishment or mobile unit license. The fee depends on whether the food is high-risk (needing cooking, cooling or hot-holding) or low-risk, and on whether it is prepared and sold at the same location or prepared elsewhere and transported in; filing close to the event date adds a $51 late fee on top of the base amount. This license, like the annual food licenses above, applies only in a city under Hennepin County's food program — not in Minneapolis, Bloomington, Edina, Richfield, Minnetonka or Brooklyn Park, each of which runs its own temporary-event food permit instead.
Mobile Food Unit License (food truck, cart, trailer)
A food truck, cart or trailer operating in a Hennepin-jurisdiction city needs its own annual mobile food unit license, on a different license year (April to March) than the general food establishment license. The reciprocity rate applies to a unit that already holds a current license from the state or from one of the six cities that run their own independent food programs — Minneapolis, Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Edina, Minnetonka or Richfield — and wants to operate temporarily in a county-jurisdiction city without paying the full local fee twice. Wayzata is a county-jurisdiction city for this purpose (it joined the county's program February 1, 2025), so a unit based in Wayzata pays the standard county mobile-unit fee, not the reciprocity rate. Where a truck may physically park is a separate zoning/right-of-way question set by each city, not this license.
Shared with other businesses in Hennepin County
- Liquor License — City Issues; County Role Limited to Fort Snelling (Hennepin County) — Hennepin County Licenses & Certificates, No fee, not applicable outside the Fort Snelling unorganized territory. Also required for restaurants, coffee shops and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
- Certified Food Protection Manager — Minnesota Department of Health, Food, Pools and Lodging Services, $45 certification or renewal, plus a $5 technology fee, 3 years. Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
- Food and Beverage Establishment License — Minnesota Department of Health, Food, Pools and Lodging Services, $300 base plus a category fee of $185 low risk, $430 medium or $670 high, plus a $50 statewide hospitality fee and a $5 technology fee — or a delegated county's own schedule, annual. Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
The other 3 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Hennepin County, MN; what each one involves is set out on the Hennepin County permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across MN and are covered on the MN state page.
How does a food truck compare with other businesses in Hennepin County?
The closest match is a coffee shop, which shares 4 of these permits. A food truck also needs Mobile Food Unit License (food truck, cart, trailer). A coffee shop needs Food Establishment License (annual), 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 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Restaurants | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Retail stores | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Auto repair shops | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Childcare centres | 4 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| Contractors and trades | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Fitness studios | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Salons and barbers | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Veterinary clinics | 3 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
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 coffee shops page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Hennepin County permits page and the MN state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- 2026 Food, Beverage & Lodging License Fees (PDF)Hennepin County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
- Food Protection Ordinance (Ordinance 3), effective March 12, 2019Hennepin County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
- Environmental Health jurisdiction map (PDF) — marks per-suburb county-program start dates, including Wayzata 2025Hennepin County · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-29
Related
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.