Food Truck Permits in Colorado
Last verified against official sources on by Amrit. How we verify
Yes. A food truck in Colorado is a retail food establishment, so it needs a retail food license from the public health agency for the county where it is based, after a plan review of the truck. Most trucks must work from a commissary. That license is a Colorado mobile unit license, and other counties' health agencies accept it, so you don't need a health license for each county; Denver was the exception. Since January 1, 2026, a state law (HB 25-1295) makes a fire safety permit from one Colorado city or county count in the others if you send a copy at least 14 days before you sell there, and makes Denver and state health licenses work in each other's areas. Denver still asks for its own license but accepts your state license in place of its plan review. Cities can still apply their own zoning, parking, vendor license and fire rules.[1][3][10][12][2][8]
At a glance
| Permit needed | Yes. A retail food establishment license for a mobile unit.[3][4] |
|---|---|
| Who issues it | The local public health agency for your area, such as El Paso County Public Health or Pueblo's health department. In Denver, the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection.[3][9] |
| License fee | $338 a year for a mobile unit selling only prepackaged or limited food, $481 for full food service (from September 1, 2025, as listed by Pueblo and Alamosa counties). Denver charges its own fees.[4][5] |
| Plan review | Required for a new truck. Alamosa County, for example, asks for a menu, drawings or photos, and equipment spec sheets. Plan review fees are set locally.[3][5] |
| Commissary | Required unless your health agency approves the truck as self-contained.[5] |
| Works statewide | Yes. Other counties' health agencies accept a mobile unit license from your home county (Denver was the exception). Since January 1, 2026, a Denver license counts as a state health license everywhere in Colorado, and Denver must let trucks with a state health license operate, though it still issues its own Denver license. Send a copy of your fire safety permit (and your license, if it is a Denver license) at least 14 days before you sell in a new place.[10][12][1][8] |
| Fire safety | Set by your local fire department. A fire safety permit issued after an inspection by a certified fire inspector counts in other Colorado cities and counties if the issuing place uses the current International Fire Code or the state's food truck fire standards.[1] |
| Sales tax | You need a Colorado sales tax license. Health agencies ask for the number on the license application.[3][4] |
Step by step
Do these in order. Each step links to the official form or page.
Work out which license type you need
Colorado health agencies license food trucks as mobile units. There are two fee levels: a limited or prepackaged mobile unit (for example, one selling only prepackaged food that needs refrigeration) and a full food service mobile unit, which cooks and prepares food on board.[5][4]
Line up a commissary
Find a licensed commercial kitchen to use as your base for food prep, dishwashing, filling clean water, dumping waste water and storage, and get its owner to sign a commissary agreement. You cannot prep or store anything for the truck in your home. You can skip the commissary only if your health agency approves the truck as fully self-contained.[5]
Send a plan review packet to your local health agency
Apply to the health agency for the county where your commissary or main operating location is; that one license is then accepted in other counties. Before you can be licensed, the health agency reviews the truck. Alamosa County's packet, for example, asks for your menu, drawings or photos of the truck, equipment spec sheets, water and waste tank sizes (the waste tank must be at least 15% bigger than the fresh water tank), your commissary agreement and a food protection manager certificate, and says equipment must be commercial grade. Ask your own agency for its list.[11][12][3][5]
Check what fire permits you need
Fire safety permits are issued by local governments, so ask the fire department where you are based what it requires. Denver, for example, wants a yearly propane permit if you use any propane, and a fire suppression system on trucks with equipment that makes grease or smoke-laden vapour. For your permit to count in other cities and counties, it must follow an inspection by a certified fire inspector. In Denver, keep all your fire permits on the truck.[1][9]
Get a Colorado sales tax license
Register for a Colorado sales tax license with the Colorado Department of Revenue. Health agencies link your food license to it and ask for the account number on the application.[3][4]
Pay the license fee and get licensed
Once the plan review is approved, you pay the yearly license fee: $338 for a limited or prepackaged mobile unit or $481 for full food service, as listed by Pueblo and Alamosa counties from September 1, 2025. Pueblo sends an invoice for the fee when the plan review is done. Don't sell until you have the license.[4][6]
Tell other places before you sell there
From January 1, 2026, you don't need a new fire safety permit for each city or county. Send a copy of your fire safety permit to the office that issues fire permits in each new place at least 14 days before you first sell there. Once a calendar year is enough unless the permit expires. If your health license is a Denver license, also send a copy of it to the new place and to the state health department 14 days ahead. If you have a state health license and want to sell in Denver, apply for Denver's license with it at least 14 days ahead (see Denver below). You must still follow that place's local codes, and a failed fire inspection there stops you from selling there until you pass.[1][2][8]
Check city zoning, parking and event rules
The reciprocity law does not stop cities and counties from enforcing their own zoning, parking and other codes. Many need a zoning permit for private property or a vendor approval for events on public land. Ask each city's planning or licensing office before you park.[1][6]
Local rules
These places add their own requirements on top of the state rules.
- Denver: Every truck selling in Denver needs a Denver retail food mobile license, but since 2026 a state health department license can replace Denver's plan review packet. Denver's fee is a $150 application fee plus $25 for each food activity (for example, cooking raw animal products or reheating). If you use propane you need a yearly Denver Fire propane permit; an FMAC fire inspection certificate from another agency can replace Denver's fire inspection. A zoning use permit is needed on private property. Trucks can't sell in the Central Business District, in residential zones, or within 300 feet of a park or parkway, except at permitted events.[8][7][9]
- Mesa County: A truck with a valid retail food license from another Colorado county needs no extra Mesa County health application for events (the 2024 guide says Denver-licensed trucks must apply). To sell at events on public property you also need approval from the City of Grand Junction Parks and Recreation Department.[6]
What it costs
| Step | Fee |
|---|---|
| Send a plan review packet to your local health agency | Set by each health agency. Alamosa County charges a $155 application fee plus $75 for plan review and the pre-opening inspection. |
| Check what fire permits you need | Set by each fire department or district |
| Pay the license fee and get licensed | $338 to $481 (per year: $338 limited/prepackaged, $481 full food service) |
| Check city zoning, parking and event rules | Set by each city or county |
| Total if every fee applies to you | $338 to $481 |
Not included in the total because the fee is set locally: Send a plan review packet to your local health agency; Check what fire permits you need; Check city zoning, parking and event rules.
Recent changes
- : HB 25-1295 took effect. Local governments must accept a food truck's fire safety permit from another Colorado jurisdiction (with 14 days' notice), and Denver and state health department licenses are now reciprocal.[1]
- : New retail food license fees: $338 for a limited or prepackaged mobile unit and $481 for a full food service mobile unit (as listed by county health agencies).[5][4]
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a separate license for every county I sell in?
No. Get your mobile unit license from the health agency where your commissary or main operating location is. It is a Colorado license, and other county health agencies accept it: Jefferson County, for example, accepts all mobile unit licenses except Denver's. This was already the case before 2026; what HB 25-1295 added is that Denver and state licenses now work in each other's areas, and that a fire safety permit carries over if you send a copy to each new city or county at least 14 days before you sell there. Denver still issues its own license, and some cities (such as Boulder) still want their own vendor license. A county's temporary or special event permit for a booth is a different thing: El Paso County, for example, does not honour other counties' special event permits.[11][10][12][1][8][13][3]
I have a Denver license. Can I sell outside Denver?
Yes. Since January 1, 2026, a Denver mobile food license is valid in every other Colorado county. Send a copy to each county at least 14 days before you start selling there.[8]
I'm licensed in another county. Do I still need a Denver license?
Yes. Denver still requires its own license, because it also covers fire safety and other local rules. But you can upload your state health department license instead of Denver's plan review packet. Apply at least 14 days before you start selling in Denver.[8]
How much does a Colorado food truck license cost?
The yearly license is $338 for a mobile unit selling limited or prepackaged food and $481 for full food service, as listed by Pueblo and Alamosa counties. Plan review fees are on top and set locally. Denver sets its own fees.[5]
Can I prep food at home and sell it from the truck?
No. Prep and storage for the truck can't happen in a personal home. Use your commissary or the truck itself.[5]
Does a license from another state work in Colorado?
No. Mesa County, for example, does not accept retail food licenses from outside Colorado, so out-of-state trucks start the licensing process there.[6]
How big do my water tanks need to be?
Alamosa County's plan review packet says your waste water tank must be at least 15% bigger than your fresh water tank; ask your own health agency. Denver also wants at least 3 gallons of clean water per hour of operation, or 10 gallons, whichever is more.[5][9]
Sources
- House Bill 25-1295, signed act: concerning the operation of food trucks (C.R.S. 29-11.6), Colorado General Assembly. Checked October 25, 2026.
- HB 25-1295 Final Fiscal Note (June 25, 2025), Colorado Legislative Council Staff. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Retail Food Establishments, El Paso County Public Health. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Retail Food Establishment License Application (August 2025), Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Mobile Unit Plan Review Packet (revised 8/1/25), Alamosa County Public Health Department, Regional Environmental Health Program. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Guide for Food Vendors for Mesa County Events (updated August 2024), Mesa County Public Health. Checked October 25, 2026.
- New retail food mobile application - food truck or food cart, City and County of Denver, Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Reciprocal licensing for food trucks, City and County of Denver, Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Mobile retail food truck, trailer and cart guide, City and County of Denver. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Certificate of Approval to Operate a Temporary/Special Food Service Event, Form 3600 (revised 2/28/2025), Jefferson County Public Health. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Food Service Establishment Inspections, Jefferson County Public Health. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Required Licenses for Food Vendors at Temporary Events, Boulder County Public Health. Checked October 25, 2026. Undated file in a 2017 upload folder, written before HB 25-1295; it shows the long-standing county practice. The reviewer should check that Boulder County still links it.
- Mobile Food Vehicles License, City of Boulder. Checked October 25, 2026.
Related
- Cottage Food Laws in Colorado
- Food Truck Permits in Arizona
- Food Truck Permits in Kansas
- Food Truck Permits in Nebraska
- Food Truck Permits in New Mexico
- Food Truck Permits in Oklahoma
- 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 or district public health agency, under the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's retail food rules or your local health department. Spotted something wrong or out of date?Report it and we will check it.