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

Temporary Food Service Permit (less than 15 days per calendar year)

Sanitary Code §873.441 requires a permit for a food service establishment, and §873.2103 sets the temporary food service permit for operation of less than 15 days in a calendar year at $105. The charge is in Article XXI (Article XXI, Supp. No. 47, amended February 19, 2026 and in effect from May 1, 2026) and appears in the county's May 1, 2026 fee sheet. Because the permit is limited to less than 15 days in a calendar year, the length of the operation is part of the permit's scope and a longer seasonal operation is outside it.

Mobile Food Unit Permit (food truck)

Sanitary Code §873.491(1) provides that no person may engage in the business of operating a mobile food unit without first obtaining a permit from the department. The $400 fee is set in Article XXI §873.2103 (Article XXI, Supp. No. 47, amended February 19, 2026 and in effect from May 1, 2026) and appears in the May 1, 2026 fee sheet. Under §873.491(4), the route is filed with the application and significant route changes are reported within ten days. Under §873.491(2), the unit's name, address and permit number must be displayed on both sides in letters not less than four inches tall. Under §873.491(3), a food vendor operating as part of a permitted food service establishment does not need a separate mobile food unit permit.

Food Service Establishment Permit

Delegated, so there is no statewide fee and none is shown here. The permit comes from the county or city health department with jurisdiction; where a county has no health department the state's own regional or district health director issues it instead, and in those cases the state portal lists a band of $75 to $175. New York City is a separate regime under the city health department. The term is unusual and worth planning around: up to two years rather than a fixed annual cycle, with the permit-issuing official setting the length based on your compliance record, the risk your operation presents, and whether you run an acceptable self-inspection programme — so a good record literally buys you a longer permit. One statutory fee does exist statewide and is easy to miss: $25 a year to manufacture frozen desserts for retail sale, collected alongside whatever the local permit costs. Approved day care centres, hospitals and nursing homes need no separate food service permit unless a third party runs the food service.

Shared with other businesses in Westchester County

• Food Worker Training — Local Option under 10 NYCRR 14-1.73 (New York) — New York State Department of Health, Bureau of Community Environmental Health and Food Protection, No fee, set by the permit-issuing official where one is imposed. Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.