Food Truck Permits in South Carolina
Last verified against official sources on by Amrit. How we verify
Yes. A food truck in South Carolina needs a retail food establishment permit from the South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA), which took over food safety from DHEC in July 2024. Your truck must work with a commissary (a permitted kitchen that supports and services it), and the commissary needs its own permit. Expect to pay at least $200 in the first year to SCDA, plus a $50 retail license for sales tax and any city business license or food truck permit where you park.[1][8][2][4][5][9]
At a glance
| Permit needed | Yes. A retail food establishment permit from SCDA for the truck, and a separate one for its commissary.[2] |
|---|---|
| Who issues it | The South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA), Retail Food Safety. Not your county, and no longer DHEC.[1] |
| First-year fee | $100 initial permit fee plus an annual inspection fee based on food sales: $100 if you sell up to $250,000 a year, rising to $450 above $1,750,000. So $200 to $550.[4][5] |
| Commissary | Required. Your truck must be serviced at, and normally stored at, a permitted commissary.[4][2] |
| Training | The person in charge on the truck needs at least an accredited food handler certificate. SCDA also requires at least one certified food protection manager unless it considers the operation minimal risk.[12][4] |
| The truck itself | Fully enclosed, with a handwashing sink, an approved drinking water source and exhaust over cooking equipment. A grill under a tent or an open pull-behind cooker can't be permitted.[2][6] |
| Sales tax | A South Carolina retail license from the Department of Revenue, $50.[9] |
| Fire inspection | Expect one from the city fire marshal: Charleston, Columbia and Greenville all inspect food trucks, Charleston and Greenville every year. Charleston's fire marshal says the South Carolina Fire Code's rules for mobile food vehicles apply statewide: a hood with automatic fire suppression for greasy cooking, an LP-gas alarm and a yearly gas system inspection.[14][16][15] |
| Local permits | Cities and towns add a business license and often their own food truck permit. Charleston and Greenville issue a yearly food truck permit (Greenville's is $500), and Columbia wants zoning approval and the property owner's written permission.[14][16][15] |
Step by step
Do these in order. Each step links to the official form or page.
Check whether your food needs a permit at all
A short list of low-risk foods is exempt from the retail food permit, including popcorn, cotton candy, snow cones, lemonade and tea, coffee drinks, salt-boiled peanuts and boiled or grilled corn. Anything else that needs time or temperature control, such as barbecue, wings or fried fish, needs a fully enclosed mobile food unit and a permit.[6]
Build or buy a truck that meets the state rules
The rules for mobile food are in Chapter 9-1 of Regulation 61-25. A food truck must be a fully enclosed kitchen with a handwashing sink, an approved drinking water source and mechanical exhaust over the cooking equipment. The service window can be no bigger than 576 square inches, must be covered with solid material or screen, and must be self-closing (or free-falling) or protected by an approved air curtain when open. Cooking equipment has to be installed on the unit; pull-behind cookers and smokers are prohibited. Your business name and address must be printed on the truck in a contrasting colour. Bulk prep, such as washing, slicing and cutting, has to happen at the commissary, not on the truck.[12][2]
Line up a permitted commissary
A commissary is a permitted retail food establishment that supports your truck: storage, prep, water, wastewater disposal and a place to clean the truck. Wastewater may only be drained there. You and the commissary owner fill in SCDA's Mobile Food Establishment Supplemental form, listing the services you'll use and the days and times you'll have access. You must go back to the commissary for servicing. A unit that is not self-contained (and any pushcart) has to return within 24 hours of operation; a full-service, self-contained unit returns as often as it needs to stay sanitary, but can't operate for more than 72 hours without going back. If the truck will be stored somewhere else, SCDA has to approve the location: you submit a Request for an Operational Variance (Form #2113). Tell SCDA straight away if the arrangement changes or ends.[12][2][3]
Get your food safety training
Whoever runs the truck as person in charge needs at least an accredited food handler training certificate, at all times while you're open. Regulation 61-25 also requires at least one employee with management responsibility to be a certified food protection manager (CFPM), someone who passed an accredited manager exam, unless SCDA decides your type of operation is minimal risk.[12][4]
Apply to SCDA and pay the fees
Submit the Retail Food Establishment Application at least 30 days before you plan to open, with your menu, the expected volume of food, your equipment and layout, and the commissary supplemental form. Pay the $100 initial permit fee plus the annual inspection fee for your expected food sales. For most new trucks (up to $250,000 in food sales) that is $200 in total. Payment is online by Visa, Mastercard or Discover (2.75% processing fee) or by mail; cash isn't accepted.[12][4][5][1]
Pass the pre-operational inspection
Ask SCDA for a pre-operational inspection at least 14 days ahead. The inspector checks the truck against Regulation 61-25 before the permit is issued. Once you pass, you get a food grade sticker rather than a paper permit, and it must be displayed.[4][5][6]
Get a retail license for sales tax
Apply to the South Carolina Department of Revenue through MyDORWAY. The license costs $50, paid when you apply. A business with a permanent location gets one for each location. A business with no permanent retail location in South Carolina gets a transient license, which can be used for only one location at a time. Ask SCDOR which one fits your truck.[9][10]
Pass a fire inspection
Expect a fire inspection from the city or town where you sell. Charleston's Fire Marshal's Office says section 319 of the South Carolina Fire Code (mobile food preparation vehicles) was mandated for statewide adoption on January 1, 2023, and lists its main rules: if you cook anything that gives off grease-laden vapours, you need an exhaust hood with an automatic fire extinguishing system; trucks with propane components need a listed LP-gas alarm; and the fuel gas system must be inspected and tagged every year by an approved inspection agency. Charleston, Columbia and Greenville each run their own inspection as part of the city permit or license (yearly in Charleston and Greenville). Ask the fire marshal wherever you plan to sell.[14][16][15]
Get permits from each city or town where you sell
Cities and towns set their own business licenses, zoning rules and food truck permits. Charleston requires a business license and a Mobile Food Vendor operational permit from the Fire Marshal's Office; Greenville charges $500 a year for a food truck or trailer decal on top of its business license; Columbia needs a business license, a $10 zoning fee and the property owner's written permission. Ask each place before you park.[13][16][15]
Pay the annual inspection fee every year
Each year SCDA invoices an annual inspection fee based on your food sales for the previous calendar year ($100 for up to $250,000). Paying 30 to 59 days late adds $50; 60 days or more adds $100. If the fee and penalties are still unpaid 90 days after the original bill, your permit is suspended once SCDA serves notice.[12][5]
Local rules
These places add their own requirements on top of the state rules.
- Charleston: You need a city business license and a Mobile Food Vendor operational permit from the Fire Marshal's Office, applied for through the city's online portal. You pass a fire inspection and get a sticker valid for 12 months. Food trucks and trailers can't vend on public streets; they can sell on private property with the owner's approval letter, or at special events.[13][14]
- Columbia: Get a city business license plus zoning approval ($10 zoning fee) with a letter from the owner of the private commercial property where you'll park. The Columbia Fire Department inspects the truck by appointment at your commissary in the city and issues a sticker for the service window.[15]
- Greenville: Apply to city Business Licensing with a business license application, a Vendor from Vehicle permit application, a background check and a 10-year driving record for the owners, and photos of the truck. The vehicle decal costs $500 a year per truck or trailer ($100 per cart), valid May 1 to April 30, plus the business license based on your sales. The city fire marshal inspects every year. You must collect the city's 2% hospitality tax, and selling on public streets or city property needs $1,000,000 liability insurance naming the city.[16]
- Six Mile: You need a town Food Truck Operation Permit, signed off by the zoning administrator and inspected by the fire marshal, plus the property owner's written permission and a town business license (not needed if you only sell at town events).[11]
What it costs
| Step | Fee |
|---|---|
| Apply to SCDA and pay the fees | $200 to $550 ($100 initial fee plus a $100 to $450 annual inspection fee set by your expected food sales; $200 for sales up to $250,000) |
| Get a retail license for sales tax | $50 (paid when you apply) |
| Get permits from each city or town where you sell | Set by each city or town; Greenville's truck decal alone is $500 a year |
| Total if every fee applies to you | $250 to $600 |
Not included in the total because the fee is set locally: Get permits from each city or town where you sell.
Recent changes
- : DHEC is abolished and its food safety program moves to the South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Food truck permits now come from SCDA, still under Regulation 61-25.[8]
Frequently asked questions
Do I still get my food truck permit from DHEC?
No. DHEC was abolished on July 1, 2024 and its food safety program moved to the South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Some city pages still say DHEC; they mean SCDA now.[8][11]
Can I just set up a grill under a tent by the road?
Not for meat or other foods that need temperature control. SCDA can't permit an open pull-behind cooker or a grill under a tent. You can sell a few exempt foods, such as boiled peanuts, popcorn or grilled corn, without a permit.[6]
How much does a South Carolina food truck permit cost?
In the first year, $100 plus an annual inspection fee based on your expected food sales. For sales up to $250,000 that is $100, so $200 in total. After that you pay only the annual fee. Your commissary, if you run it yourself, needs its own permit and fees.[4][5][2]
Do I need a commissary in South Carolina?
Yes. Every food truck, trailer and pushcart must be associated with a permitted commissary, where you do bulk prep, drain wastewater and normally store the truck.[4][2]
Do I need a separate permit for each county?
Not for food safety. SCDA permits and inspects retail food establishments statewide. Cities and towns can still require their own business license and food truck permit.[1]
Do I need a fire inspection for my food truck?
Very likely. Charleston's Fire Marshal's Office says the South Carolina Fire Code has had rules for mobile food preparation vehicles since a statewide adoption on January 1, 2023, and city fire marshals (Charleston, Columbia and Greenville, for example) inspect trucks before the local permit or license is issued. Each city does its own inspection. A 2026 bill, H.5523, would make an annual inspection by any South Carolina fire department valid statewide, but it is still in committee and has not passed.[14][15][17]
I want to sell at a festival. What does the organiser need?
The event coordinator applies to SCDA for event authorization before the event, ideally 14 days ahead, and lists every food vendor with its retail permit. For sales tax, a vendor who sells in South Carolina more than once in 24 months needs a retail license.[7][10]
I sell shrimp. Is there anything new?
Yes. From October 28, 2026, a new state law requires any retail food establishment that sells cooked shrimp, including food trucks, to give customers a disclaimer about where the shrimp comes from.[1]
Sources
- Retail Food Safety, South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Retail Food Establishments: Mobile Food Establishment (CPD Form #2144, 4/16/24), South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Mobile Food Establishment Supplemental (CPD Form #2206, 1/30/26), South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Quick Guide for Planning a Retail Food Establishment (CPD Form #2151, 10/13/25), South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Annual Inspection Fees (CPD Form #2122, 2/25/25), South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Are You Interested in Selling Food by the Side of the Road?, South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Application for Event Authorization (CPD Form #2106, 10/13/25), South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Checked October 25, 2026.
- S.C. Code of Laws, Title 44, Chapter 1 (with editor's note on 2023 Act No. 60), South Carolina Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
- S.C. Code of Laws, Title 12, Chapter 36 (Section 12-36-510, retail licence), South Carolina Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Event Guide, South Carolina Department of Revenue. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Food Truck Permit, Town of Six Mile. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Regulation 61-25, Retail Food Establishments (unofficial SCDA copy, 2024), South Carolina Department of Agriculture. Checked October 25, 2026. SCDA's unofficial copy; the official text is the latest State Register publication. Check sections 2-102.12, 8-302.13, 8-304.11 and 9-1 against it.
- Mobile Food Vendors, City of Charleston. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Mobile Food Vendors information bulletin (IB-2019-04-12, revised 12/12/2024), City of Charleston Fire Marshal's Office. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Other Licenses & Permits (Food Trucks), City of Columbia Business License Division. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Mobile Food Vendor Vehicle Application, City of Greenville. Checked October 25, 2026.
- H. 5523 (2025-2026): Mobile food vendors, South Carolina Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
Related
- Cottage Food Laws in South Carolina
- Food Truck Permits in Georgia
- Food Truck Permits in North Carolina
- 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 South Carolina Department of Agriculture, Retail Food Safety or your local health department. Spotted something wrong or out of date?Report it and we will check it.