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

Mobile Food Unit Permit (Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department)

LLCHD's Rates, Fees and Other Charges page lists 'Mobile Food Unit (New or Renewal) as additional facility' at $210.00, effective September 2026 per the page's own date column (previously $205), separate from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture's statewide $122 mobile-vendor figure covered at the Nebraska state level. The fee page prices this as an 'additional facility' add-on to a base Food Establishment Permit (new $660.00 / renewal $450.00) rather than as a standalone base rate, and LLCHD's farmers-market vendor permit chart uses the same framing: a mobile or temporary operation tied to an existing Lincoln food establishment is permitted 'as an additional facility', while the chart treats a temporary operation with no licensed food establishment as a separate row needing Food Manager/Handler permits. The fee page lists no separate rate for a freestanding, year-round mobile unit with no base establishment; contact LLCHD at (402) 441-6280 for how such a unit is permitted. A Food Catering Service is priced identically ($210.00) under the same 'additional facility' structure.

Fire Code Operational Permit — Mobile Food Preparation Vehicles

The Bureau of Fire Prevention's operational-permits page names 'mobile food preparation vehicles' as an activity requiring an operational permit, separate from the LLCHD food-safety permit listed as a separate Lincoln requirement. The §19.03.113 Schedule of Permit Fees (Section 105.6.2) prices the other named operational-permit categories (places of assembly, hazardous materials, LP-gas, temporary structures, child care facilities, hotels, and more) and lists no fee line for mobile food preparation vehicles, so no fee figure is published for this permit; contact the Bureau of Fire Prevention through Building & Safety at (402) 441-7521 for the current charge.

Certified Food Protection Manager

No state fee — the certificate is bought from an accredited private programme, and the state's own guidance points directly to the national accreditation list rather than running a programme of its own. Nebraska sets no individual food handler card requirement at state level at all; the only statewide mandate is that each establishment have a certified food protection manager as its person in charge. Some local health departments go further than the state floor — Lincoln-Lancaster County, for one, issues its own food handler and food protection manager permits under local rule — so check locally for anything beyond the manager requirement.

Shared with other businesses in Lincoln

• Restaurant and Drinking Places Occupation Tax — City of Lincoln Finance Department, City Treasurer, 2% of total monthly gross receipts from the sale of food, to the extent those receipts are subject to city and state sales tax under LMC §3.16.010. A 10% penalty plus 1% interest per month (or part of a month) applies to a late-filed return, compounded quarterly., ongoing — filed and remitted by the 25th of the following month (quarterly by written City Finance Director permission, due the 25th of April/July/October/January). Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Retail Food Establishment Permit — Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Consumer Protection, $122 a year for a limited retail food establishment; further preparation areas add $61 each, annual — renewal payments are due by 1 August. Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.