10 permits · verified 2026-10-09
What permits do you need to open a food truck in North Charleston?
In short
A food truck in North Charleston, SC has 5 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 5 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. City of North Charleston One Stop Shop, Finance Department charges $10 administrative fee per set-up application for the transient merchant set-up application and inspection. 5 of the 10 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-10-09 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.
Permits particular to a food truck in North Charleston
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile Food Vendor (MFV) Fire Permit | North Charleston Fire Department, Fire Marshal's Office | The permit fee is not published on the Fire Department's Mobile Food Vendor fire permit page; contact the Fire Marshal's office at (843) 740-2625. | annual — expires April 30 of each year | 2026-10-09 |
| Transient Merchant Set-Up Application and Inspectiononly if it applies to you | City of North Charleston One Stop Shop, Finance Department | $10 administrative fee per set-up application | per set-up; the application must be made at least 24 hours before the proposed operation | 2026-10-09 |
| Retail Food Establishment Permit | South Carolina Department of Agriculture, Retail Food Safety and Compliance | $100 to open plus an annual inspection fee of $100 to $450 banded by gross food sales — $100 up to $250,000, rising in $50 steps to $450 above $1.75 million | annual — the inspection fee is invoiced and due thirty days from the billing date | 2026-09-03 |
| Certified Food Protection Manageronly if it applies to you | South Carolina Department of Agriculture, Retail Food Safety and Compliance | No fee | set by the certifying programme — South Carolina's rules specify none | 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 North Charleston
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business License (Business License Tax) | City of North Charleston One Stop Shop, Finance Department | Varies — formula on the North Charleston page | annual — the license year runs May 1 to April 30 (City Code § 10.5-18); the tax is due on or before April 30 each year (§ 10.5-19) | 2026-10-09 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
SC registrations that apply to every type of business
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Annual Report and License Feeonly if it applies to you | South Carolina Department of Revenue | Varies — formula on the SC page | annual — due on the fifteenth day of the fourth month after the tax year ends | 2026-09-03 |
| Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to you | South Carolina Secretary of State, Division of Business Filings | $110 one-time filing | perpetual — an LLC files no annual report in South Carolina | 2026-09-03 |
| Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | South Carolina Secretary of State, Division of Business Filings | $135 at filing — $110 to the Secretary of State plus the $25 initial license fee | perpetual, but an annual report and license fee are due every year | 2026-09-03 |
| Retail License | South Carolina Department of Revenue | $50 for each permanent location, and it is not refundable | no expiry while the same person trades at the same location | 2026-09-03 |
| Local Business License | South Carolina Department of Revenue | Varies — formula on the SC page | 1 May to 30 April, the same in every South Carolina jurisdiction | 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 North Charleston?
There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 10 records listed for a food truck in North Charleston, SC, 5 apply to every business of this type and 5 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.
Of the 5 that always apply, 1 carry a flat fee, coming to $50.00. That is a floor, not a total. 5 of the 10 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 1 has no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:
Mobile Food Vendor (MFV) Fire Permit: The permit fee is not published on the Fire Department's Mobile Food Vendor fire permit page; contact the Fire Marshal's office at (843) 740-2625.
Retail Food Establishment Permit: $100 to open plus an annual inspection fee of $100 to $450 banded by gross food sales — $100 up to $250,000, rising in $50 steps to $450 above $1.75 million
The other 3 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the North Charleston permits page and the SC state page.
Which offices issue these permits in North Charleston?
Permits for a food truck in North Charleston, SC come from 5 separate offices: North Charleston Fire Department, Fire Marshal's Office, City of North Charleston One Stop Shop, Finance Department, South Carolina Department of Agriculture, Retail Food Safety and Compliance, South Carolina Department of Revenue, South Carolina Secretary of State, Division of Business Filings. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
- North Charleston Fire Department, Fire Marshal's OfficeIssues 1 permit on this page: Mobile Food Vendor (MFV) Fire Permit(843) 740-2625fire.northcharleston.org/services/fire_permits.php
- City of North Charleston One Stop Shop, Finance DepartmentIssues 2 permits on this page: Business License (Business License Tax), Transient Merchant Set-Up Application and Inspection2500 City Hall Lane, 3rd Floor, North Charleston, SC 29406 · (843) 740-2639www.northcharleston.org/business/business_licenses.php
- South Carolina Department of Agriculture, Retail Food Safety and ComplianceIssues 2 permits on this page: Retail Food Establishment Permit, Certified Food Protection Manager350 Ballard Court, West Columbia, SC 29172 · (803) 896-0640agriculture.sc.gov/permits-and-inspections/retail-food-safety
- South Carolina Department of RevenueIssues 3 permits on this page: Corporate Annual Report and License Fee, Retail License, Local Business LicensePO Box 125, Columbia, SC 29214 · (803) 898-3153dor.sc.gov/businesses
- South Carolina Secretary of State, Division of Business FilingsIssues 2 permits on this page: Articles of Organization (LLC), Articles of Incorporation1205 Pendleton Street, Suite 525, Columbia, SC 29201 · (803) 734-2158sos.sc.gov/online-filings/business-entities
What does a food truck need in North Charleston that other businesses do not?
1 of the 4 permits particular to a food truck here applies to no other business type we cover in North Charleston: Mobile Food Vendor (MFV) Fire Permit.
Mobile Food Vendor (MFV) Fire Permit
The Fire Department's Mobile Food Vendor fire permit page states that mobile food vendor permits are authorized for one calendar year, expire on April 30 of each year and must be renewed every year, and that a business license cannot be issued until the Fire Marshal has given an approved inspection. Vendors are grouped as Category A (no cooking or warming and no portable power or fuel), B (warming or reheating, or portable power or fuel) or C (cooking that produces grease-laden vapours). Required attachments include the current City business license, photos of the set-up and, for B and C, fire extinguisher service records and LP-gas certification; C also needs hood cleaning and suppression reports. Inspections are at City Hall by appointment and a fire permit decal is issued.
Transient Merchant Set-Up Application and Inspection
Under City Code § 10.5-23(d), a transient merchant may not operate from a site until a set-up inspection has been applied for at least 24 hours in advance, with a $10.00 administrative fee; the City's Transient Merchants Permit page states that the vendor files this separate set-up application each time it proposes to start operations on a site. The site must already be an approved 'transient merchant host location': under § 10.5-23(a)-(b) the owner of commercially or industrially zoned property applies for each parcel with a $15.00 application fee, and the City's page states that host approval is good for one year unless ownership changes. A set-up must be at least 75 feet from the nearest fuel pump and leave five customer parking spaces, and no transient vending may occur between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. The City's Starting a Business page states that roadside vendors and mobile businesses need this permit before doing business in the City.
Shared with other businesses in North Charleston
- Retail Food Establishment Permit — South Carolina Department of Agriculture, Retail Food Safety and Compliance, $100 to open plus an annual inspection fee of $100 to $450 banded by gross food sales — $100 up to $250,000, rising in $50 steps to $450 above $1.75 million, annual — the inspection fee is invoiced and due thirty days from the billing date. Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
- Certified Food Protection Manager — South Carolina Department of Agriculture, Retail Food Safety and Compliance, No fee, set by the certifying programme — South Carolina's rules specify none. Also required for restaurants and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
The other 1 local permit in the tables apply to every type of business in North Charleston, SC; what each one involves is set out on the North Charleston permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across SC and are covered on the SC state page.
How does a food truck compare with other businesses in North Charleston?
The closest match is a coffee shop, which shares 2 of these permits. A food truck also needs Mobile Food Vendor (MFV) Fire Permit and Transient Merchant Set-Up Application and Inspection. A coffee shop needs Sign Permit, Hospitality (Food and Beverage) Tax — Collect and Remit, Gas Permit and Sidewalk Café Permit (Old Village Business Overlay District), 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 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Restaurants | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Retail stores | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Auto repair shops | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Childcare centres | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Contractors and trades | 5 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Fitness studios | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Salons and barbers | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Veterinary clinics | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
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 North Charleston permits page and the SC state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- North Charleston Fire Department — Mobile Food Vendor Application for Fire PermitNorth Charleston Fire Department · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
- City of North Charleston Code of Ordinances, Chapter 10.5, Article II — Business Licenses (§§ 10.5-16 to 10.5-40, incl. Appendix A rate schedule and Appendix B class schedule; Supp. No. 76, codified through Ord. No. 2026-022)City of North Charleston (published by Municode) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
- City of North Charleston — Transient Merchants PermitCity of North Charleston · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
- City of North Charleston — Starting a BusinessCity of North Charleston · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-09
Related
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.