States with published guides
16 statesEach guide walks the official permit, fee, processing time, step-by-step application, common pitfalls, and city rules. Plain English, built for operators.
OH · Ohio
Mobile Food Service License
$25 to $500 per year · 2 to 4 weeks
Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati.
One license travels, so do not buy three
GA · Georgia
Mobile Food Service Permit
$100 to $1,000 per year, by county and menu risk · 2 to 4 weeks
Atlanta (Fulton + DeKalb), Savannah (Chatham County), and Augusta (Richmond County).
County-by-county process eats time
NC · North Carolina
Mobile Food Establishment Permit
$50 to $325 per year, by county · 2 to 4 weeks
Charlotte (Mecklenburg County), Raleigh (Wake County), and Asheville (Buncombe County).
Commissary agreement required before applying
MI · Michigan
Mobile Food Establishment License
set by your county, commonly $135 to $400; there is no state fee for a cart · 2 to 4 weeks
Detroit (Wayne County), Grand Rapids (Kent County), and Ann Arbor (Washtenaw County).
STFU vs Mobile Food Establishment is the classic mistake
MN · Minnesota
Mobile Food Unit License
about $150 a year for a prepared-beverage cart, plus a $50 statewide hospitality fee · 2 to 4 weeks
Minneapolis (Hennepin County), St. Paul (Ramsey County), and Rochester (Olmsted County).
Prepackaged license is not the same as a prepared-food license
PA · Pennsylvania
Mobile Food Unit License
$103 to $241 to open, then $82 a year · 3 to 6 weeks
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh (Allegheny County), and Harrisburg (Dauphin County).
Philadelphia requires three layers, not one
IL · Illinois
Mobile Food Preparer License for on-board prep; Mobile Prepared Food Vendor only for a prepackaged cart
$100 per 2 years for a prepackaged cart, $1,000 for a truck that prepares on board · 3 to 5 weeks
Chicago, Springfield (Sangamon County), and Naperville (DuPage County).
Chicago license does not cover the suburbs
WA · Washington
Mobile Food Business Permit
$300 to $450 per year in King County · 4 to 8 weeks
Seattle (King County), Spokane (Spokane County), and Tacoma (Pierce County).
King County requires plan review before inspection
OR · Oregon
Mobile Food Unit License
$760 to $920 a year in Portland, less elsewhere in Oregon · 3 to 5 weeks
Portland (Multnomah County), Eugene (Lane County), and Bend (Deschutes County).
Multnomah County classifies espresso as Class IV
CO · Colorado
Retail Food Establishment License (Mobile)
$481 a year in 2026 for a full-service mobile unit · 3 to 5 weeks
Denver, Boulder (Boulder County), and Colorado Springs (El Paso County).
Denver requires a separate sales tax license
MA · Massachusetts
Mobile Food Vendor Permit
$75 per event to $500 a year, set per municipality · 2 to 3 weeks
Boston, Worcester, and Cambridge.
Municipal licensing makes Massachusetts uniquely fragmented
TX · Texas
Mobile Food Vendor (MFV) License
$309 to $1,376 in year one, by license type · 3 to 8 weeks, set by inspection scheduling
Austin, Houston, and Dallas.
Almost every guide online is out of date
CA · California
Mobile Food Facility (MFF) Permit
$400 to $1,300 per year · 4 to 10 weeks
Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego.
Applying in the truck category when you are a cart
FL · Florida
Mobile Food Dispensing Vehicle (MFDV) License
$350 to $600 for the first year · 2 to 4 weeks
Miami, Orlando, and Tampa.
Assuming statewide means no local rules at all
NY · New York
Mobile Food Vending Permit (New York City) or county mobile food service permit
$200 to $600 upstate, NYC permits are capped · 2 to 4 weeks upstate, years for an NYC street permit
New York City, Buffalo, and Rochester.
Building a business plan around an NYC street vending permit
AZ · Arizona
Mobile Food Unit Permit
$200 to $800 per year · 3 to 6 weeks
Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tucson.
Summer changes the equipment math, not just the calendar
Other states
If your state is not listed, the underlying framework is similar: a state or county Mobile Food permit, a commissary agreement, a plan review, and a food-safety certification. Use one of the published guides as a reference for how the pieces fit together.
Why a permit-by-state guide exists
Coffee cart operators usually start by searching for the permit. The official agency pages are written for inspectors, not new operators. The fee tables, classifications, and commissary requirements get buried under generic mobile-food language that covers everything from hot dogs to lobster rolls.
VenVen publishes these guides because we work with coffee cart operators every day. The pitfalls we surface are the ones operators actually hit on inspection day or the week they try to book their first wedding in a neighboring county. We are not a permit broker and not a law firm. The guides are editorial reference, and every page links straight to the issuing agency.
Permit in hand? Run the rest in VenVen.
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