Food Truck Permits in Arizona
Last verified against official sources on by Amrit. How we verify
Yes. Each food truck needs its own mobile food unit license, issued by the county health department where your commissary (your base kitchen) is, and renewed every year. That license is good in every Arizona county. You also need a food handler card for every worker, a transaction privilege tax (TPT) license for sales tax, a fire inspection where your city requires one, and any license your city requires.[1][4]
At a glance
| Permit needed | Yes. A mobile food unit license for each truck, from the county health department where your commissary is[1] |
|---|---|
| Works statewide | Yes. A license from one county is good in every county. Another county can ask you to get a permit and pay a fee, but it can't make you pass another inspection[1][2] |
| License types | Three. Type I sells packaged food, Type II does limited prep, Type III cooks on board (the names below are Maricopa County's)[1][8] |
| License lasts | One year, then you renew[1] |
| Health license fee | Set by each county[2][7] |
| Training | Every worker needs a food handler card. Maricopa County also wants a certified food protection manager certificate for Type II and Type III trucks[1][6][7] |
| Fire safety | Each city decides whether you need one and runs it. A pass from any Arizona city or town fire department in the last 12 months must be accepted by other cities[3] |
| Sales tax license | Yes. A transaction privilege tax (TPT) license from the Arizona Department of Revenue: $12, plus up to $50 for each city with its own privilege tax[4] |
| Agency | The county health department where your commissary is. In Maricopa County: Environmental Services, 602-506-6824, ENVPlanreview@maricopa.gov[5] |
Step by step
Do these in order. Each step links to the official form or page.
Work out your truck type
Arizona sorts mobile food units into three types by how much you handle the food. In Maricopa County, Type I sells commercially packaged food and drinks that don't need temperature control, Type II does limited handling and prep, and Type III is an enclosed truck that cooks, holds and serves food. Your type sets what your truck needs and what you pay. Other counties may word their types differently, so ask yours.[1][8]
Get a TPT license from the Department of Revenue
Arizona's sales tax is called transaction privilege tax (TPT). You must have a TPT license before you start selling. The state license costs $12. Each city that has its own privilege tax adds a city license of up to $50. The licenses run for the calendar year. Renewing the state license is free; city renewals can cost up to $50 each.[4]
Get food handler cards and, for cooking trucks, a manager certificate
Every employee must hold a valid food handler card or a certificate from an accredited food handler class. In Maricopa County, Type II and Type III trucks must also show a Certified Food Protection Manager certificate before the permit is issued. You get one by passing an approved exam. Ask your county whether it asks for one too.[1][6][7]
Line up a commissary
A commissary is a licensed food business that acts as your base: where you get supplies, store food, clean the truck and equipment, fill water and dump waste. Your license comes from the county where it is. Get a signed commissary agreement. In Maricopa County you must report to the commissary at least daily and keep a log of visits if you serve food that needs temperature control. In Pima County, the commissary agreement must be notarized and renewed every year.[1][7][8][9]
Build or buy a truck that meets your county's rules, and send plans if needed
Each county sets out what the truck needs. In Maricopa County, for example, the truck must stay readily movable, with commercial NSF/ANSI-approved equipment and your business name on both sides and the back, and a custom-built truck, or one that hasn't had a permit there in the last 3 years, goes through plan review. A Type III truck's plans show, among other things, a fresh water tank (30 gallons), a wastewater tank 15% bigger than the fresh water tank, a handwashing sink and a 3-compartment sink. Check your county's guidelines before you buy.[7]
Apply to your county health department and pass the first inspection
Apply in the county where your commissary is. In Maricopa County you apply online through the Permit Center with your menu. If your truck came from an approved builder, an emailed attestation form serves as your first inspection; a custom-built truck gets an in-person pre-operational inspection. You also hand in your commissary agreement, a route sheet showing where you'll operate, and photos of the truck. Then you get an invoice for the annual permit fee, and once it's paid, your permit card and placard.[1][7]
Get a fire inspection if your city requires one
Fire inspections are done by city and town fire departments, and each city decides whether it requires one. Once your truck passes one, other Arizona cities and towns can't make you get another before you operate, as long as the pass is from the last 12 months and you can show proof of it. Some cities, like Mesa, ask only trucks with cooking equipment that makes smoke or grease vapors to be inspected.[3][13]
Get any city license and check where you can park
A city or town may make you get its own license if that license includes a background check or fingerprinting of the owner. Phoenix and Mesa do, for example. A county can't make you be fingerprinted. Cities can keep you out of airports, transit facilities, residential areas and the 250 feet around residential areas. They can't make you stay a set distance from restaurants, or bar you from legal parking spaces, though they can limit how many spaces, how big a vehicle and how long you park.[1][3][2]
Display your license and renew every year
Post your health license where customers can see it. Renew it every year.[1]
Local rules
These places add their own requirements on top of the state rules.
- Phoenix: To sell food from a truck parked on private property, you need a City of Phoenix mobile vending license for that specific location (trucks that stop at several properties for no more than 30 minutes each per day are exempt). You apply to License Services with fingerprints for a background check, your county health permit and written permission from the property owner. Mobile vendors may only use properties zoned A-1, A-2 or C-3 (or others the Zoning Administrator approves), and must be at least 1,320 feet from another licensed mobile vendor on the same side of the street. Processing takes about 90 days.[10][11]
- Mesa: Every food truck operating in Mesa, on public or private property, needs a Mesa Mobile Food Vendor license. You need your Maricopa County permit, a fire inspection from the last 12 months, a TPT license, commercial registration and insurance, and a driver's license for each owner with 10% or more. Fees: $10 to apply, $25 per person for the background check, and $100 when approved, then $100 a year to renew. Processing takes 2 to 4 weeks.[13][12]
- Maricopa County: If your truck is already licensed by another Arizona county, you send Maricopa County Environmental Services your application, your other county's permit, your commissary agreement, photos and a route sheet, plus the permit fee. If approved, you get a permit card and placard with no plan review or inspection. A commissary agreement may still be required depending on how you operate.[7]
- Pima County (Tucson area): Trucks must use a commissary licensed by the Pima County Health Department every day for food prep, storage, dishwashing, filling with drinking water and dumping wastewater. The commissary agreement must be notarized by you and the commissary, and filed again whenever you change commissary and every year at renewal.[9]
What it costs
| Step | Fee |
|---|---|
| Get a TPT license from the Department of Revenue | $12 (state license; plus up to $50 for each city with its own privilege tax) |
| Build or buy a truck that meets your county's rules, and send plans if needed | Plan review fee, if any, set by each county |
| Apply to your county health department and pass the first inspection | Annual permit fee set by each county; depends on truck type |
| Get a fire inspection if your city requires one | Set by each city or town fire department |
| Get any city license and check where you can park | Set by each city; some charge nothing because they have no license |
| Total if every fee applies to you | $12 |
Not included in the total because the fee is set locally: Build or buy a truck that meets your county's rules, and send plans if needed; Apply to your county health department and pass the first inspection; Get a fire inspection if your city requires one; Get any city license and check where you can park.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a new health license for every county I sell in?
No. A mobile food unit license from one Arizona county is good in every county, and any county can inspect you under the state standards. A county can still make a truck licensed elsewhere get a local permit and pay a fee, but it can't make you pass another inspection to get it.[1][2]
Do I need a fire inspection in every city?
No. If your truck passed a fire inspection by an Arizona city or town fire department in the last 12 months, other cities and towns can't make you get another one before you operate. Carry proof of the pass.[3]
Can a city stop me parking near a restaurant?
Not just for being near one. Cities and counties can't make you stay a set distance from a restaurant or other business, except for building, fire, street and sidewalk codes or public safety. Cities also can't keep you out of legal parking spaces, including metered ones, though they can limit how many spaces you use, vehicle size and how long you stay.[3][2]
Can I sell in a residential neighbourhood?
Maybe not. Cities may ban or limit food trucks in residential zones and within 250 feet of them, and counties may ban or limit them in areas zoned residential only. Check with the city or county zoning office.[3][2]
How long can I stay at one private property spot?
Under the county law, a county can't limit how long you stay at a private property location, except that no truck may stay more than 96 hours in a row. You need the owner's permission if the county asks for it. Cities can limit how long you park in a public parking space.[2][3]
Can a county make me name it on my insurance or get fingerprinted?
A county can't make you name it as an additional insured unless you are at a county-sponsored event or on public property, and it can't make you get fingerprinted. Cities are different: some, like Phoenix and Mesa, run background checks for their own license.[2][11][12]
Can a city or county limit my hours?
The state health rules can't set food truck hours. A county can set hours only if they match the hours it sets for restaurants, and it can limit noise-making devices at certain times of day.[1][2]
Sources
- A.R.S. 36-1761. Mobile food vendors; mobile food units; rules; health and safety licensing standards, Arizona State Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
- A.R.S. 11-269.24. Mobile food vendors; mobile food units; operation; insurance requirement prohibited; definitions, Arizona State Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
- A.R.S. 9-485.01. Mobile food vendors; mobile food units; operation, Arizona State Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
- A.R.S. 42-5005. Transaction privilege tax and municipal privilege tax licenses; fees; renewal, Arizona State Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Mobile Food Establishments, Maricopa County Environmental Services Department. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Mobile Food Type II Guidelines (Rev 08/19/2026), Maricopa County Environmental Services Department. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Mobile Food Type III Guidelines (Rev 08/19/2026), Maricopa County Environmental Services Department. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Maricopa County Environmental Health Code, Chapter VIII, Section III: Mobile Food Establishments, Maricopa County Environmental Services Department. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Consumer Health & Food Safety Policy: Commissary Operations, Pima County Health Department. Checked October 25, 2026. Policy dated January 2005, served from Pima County's CivicPlus asset host; confirm it is still current on pima.gov.
- Mobile Vending, City of Phoenix City Clerk, License Services. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Mobile Vending Licensing Steps (10.13.26), City of Phoenix City Clerk, License Services. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Mobile Food Vendor License, City of Mesa Licensing. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Mobile Food Vendor License FAQs, City of Mesa Licensing. Checked October 25, 2026.
Related
- Cottage Food Laws in Arizona
- Food Truck Permits in California
- Food Truck Permits in Colorado
- Food Truck Permits in Nevada
- Food Truck Permits in New Mexico
- Food Truck Permits in Utah
- Food Truck Permits by State
This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change. Before you apply or start selling, confirm the details with Your county health department (licensing for the Arizona Department of Health Services) or your local health department. Spotted something wrong or out of date?Report it and we will check it.