Food Truck Permits in West Virginia
Last verified against official sources on by Amrit. How we verify
Yes. You need a mobile food establishment statewide permit from the health department in the county where you live. Since June 2024 that one permit is good in every West Virginia county: other counties can't charge you again, but you must tell their health department at least 72 hours before you sell there. County health departments set the rest: Monongalia County, for example, reviews your truck's plans and inspects it before issuing the permit. You also need a state business registration certificate and any permits the city where you park requires.[1][2][6][5]
At a glance
| Permit needed | Yes. A mobile food establishment statewide permit from the health department in your home county.[1] |
|---|---|
| Works statewide | Yes, for West Virginia-based vendors. Other counties can't charge an extra fee, but they can add conditions to make sure you follow their rules.[1] |
| Notice before selling in another county | At least 72 hours, to that county's health department.[1] |
| Health permit fee | Paid to your county health department. Monongalia County, for example, charges $150 for plan review and $150 for the permit.[7] |
| Commissary | Depends on your county. Monongalia County requires one if you handle or sell open food.[7] |
| Training | Set by your county. Kanawha County requires food handler training within 30 days of starting work and a certified food protection manager on every shift. Monongalia County requires a certified food protection manager on every truck and a food handler card for every worker. Huntington's city guide says every food handler needs a food handler's permit from the Cabell-Huntington Health Department.[12][6][8] |
| Business registration | A West Virginia business registration certificate from the State Tax Department.[5] |
| Food safety rules | The 2013 FDA Food Code, as adopted by West Virginia.[7] |
Step by step
Do these in order. Each step links to the official form or page.
Register your business with the State Tax Department
Get a West Virginia business registration certificate before you start selling. The certificate is permanent unless your business name, location or owner changes. If your business is based in another state and you bring goods into West Virginia to sell, you need a special license instead.[5]
Send your truck plans to your home county health department
Your county health department may review your truck's plans before it issues a permit. Monongalia County, for example, requires plan review for every new, renovated or newly bought food truck or cart: you send a menu, a labelled drawing of the truck, a list of commercial equipment, a copy of your food manager certificate and a letter from the commissary you'll use, at least 7 days before you start building. All equipment must be commercial grade. Kanawha County also requires its Plan Review Packet before it issues a food permit. Ask your own county health department what it needs.[6][7][11]
Line up a commissary
If your truck handles or sells open food, Monongalia County requires a permitted commissary: a licensed kitchen where you get drinking water, dump grey water, clean the truck and store supplies. It can be permitted anywhere in West Virginia or a neighbouring state, but it must be reasonably close to where you sell. Your home kitchen can't be your commissary, and you can't prepare food at home to sell from the truck. Other counties may set their own rules, so ask yours.[7]
Get food safety training
Training rules are set by county health departments. In Kanawha County, every food worker must take food handler training within 30 days of starting work, and each shift needs a certified food protection manager. Monongalia County requires at least one certified food protection manager for every food truck. When that person is off duty, the person in charge must have taken a person-in-charge class. Every worker needs a current food handler card. Huntington's city guide says all food handlers need a food handler's permit from the Cabell-Huntington Health Department.[12][6][8]
Pass the inspection and get your statewide permit
Monongalia County, for example, has a sanitarian (a health inspector) inspect the truck once your plans are approved. When you meet your county's requirements and pay its fee, you get a mobile food establishment statewide permit. It lasts for the fiscal year it is issued in, however many days you plan to sell. Keep the permit on display whenever the truck is open.[6][7][1]
Check fire safety
The State Fire Marshal's office posts a food truck safety fact sheet (from the NFPA, a fire safety standards body) covering propane, fire extinguishers and keeping 10 feet from buildings unless the local fire official says otherwise. It says to leak-test propane connections each time you change a cylinder and keep a record in the truck. Some cities check trucks themselves: Charleston's street vendor permit needs Fire Department approval, and Huntington's fire marshal inspects food trucks but accepts a State Fire Marshal permit sticker instead.[9][8][13]
Give 72 hours' notice before selling in another county
Your permit works in every county, and no other county health department can charge you again. But before you sell in another county, tell its health department at least 72 hours ahead. That county can attach conditions to make sure you follow its rules.[1]
Get permits from each city where you sell
Cities set their own vending rules and fees on top of the health permit. Huntington, for example, wants a $50 mobile food vendor permit, a $20 city business license and a fire inspection. Charleston charges $20 a year for a street vendor permit and wants $1,000,000 of liability insurance and fire department approval. Ask the city clerk or planning office before you park.[8][13]
Local rules
These places add their own requirements on top of the state rules.
- Huntington: You need a $50 mobile food vendor permit from the Planning Department, a $20 city business license and a fire inspection by the Huntington Fire Marshal (in-state vendors with a State Fire Marshal permit can show their sticker instead). Vendors with a health permit from their home county don't need a Cabell-Huntington health permit but must give 72 hours' notice. Metered parking needs approval from the Municipal Parking Board.[8]
- Monongalia County: The county health department charges $150 for plan review and $150 for a mobile food unit permit. It requires a commissary if you handle open food, a certified food protection manager, and a food handler card for every worker.[7][6]
- Kanawha County: The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department requires food trucks to hold its Permit to Operate, and every food business must complete its Plan Review Packet before it gets a food permit. Food workers must take food handler training within 30 days of starting work, and there must be one certified food protection manager per shift. If you live in another West Virginia county, your home county's statewide permit is honoured here, but you must give the health department 72 hours' notice.[10][11][12][1]
- Charleston: You need a $20-a-year street vendor permit from the City Collector's Office. To get it you must show $1,000,000 of liability insurance naming the city as an additional insured, sign a hold harmless agreement (you agree to cover the city's costs if your vending causes a claim), attach your current Kanawha County health permit if you sell prepared food (that is what the form asks for), and get Charleston Fire Department approval.[13]
- Morgantown: The city's licensing page lists a hawker-peddler business license. The application asks for your state business registration, pictures, size and weight of your truck or cart, and your Monongalia County health permit if you sell unpackaged food. The application form, last revised in September 2013, shows a $20 fee, and the license runs to June 30. The city also levies a business and occupation tax on gross income from business activity. Because the form is old, ask the city which license or permit food trucks need now before you apply.[14][15]
What it costs
| Step | Fee |
|---|---|
| Send your truck plans to your home county health department | Charged by your county health department. Monongalia County charges $150, plus $90 an hour for extra review time. |
| Pass the inspection and get your statewide permit | Charged by your county health department. Monongalia County charges $150. |
| Get permits from each city where you sell | Set by each city |
| Total if every fee applies to you | $0 |
Not included in the total because the fee is set locally: Send your truck plans to your home county health department; Pass the inspection and get your statewide permit; Get permits from each city where you sell.
Recent changes
- : House Bill 5017 created the mobile food establishment statewide permit. It is issued by your home county, lasts for the fiscal year, and is honoured in every county. The notice you must give another county was cut from 14 days to 72 hours.[2][1][3]
- : House Bill 3092 made county health departments issue a reciprocity permit, with no extra fee, to trucks already permitted in their home county. Vendors had to give 14 days' notice before selling in another county.[4][3]
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a separate health permit for every county in West Virginia?
No, if your business is based in West Virginia. Your home county's statewide permit is honoured everywhere and other counties can't charge you again. You must tell each county's health department at least 72 hours before you sell there.[1]
I'm based in another state. Does the statewide permit cover me?
The statewide permit law is written for in-state vendors, issued by the county where the vendor lives. If you're based outside West Virginia, ask the health department of each county where you plan to sell what it needs. For tax, out-of-state vendors who bring goods in to sell need a special license from the State Tax Department.[1][5]
How much does a food truck permit cost in West Virginia?
You pay the fee to your county health department. Monongalia County, for example, charges $150 for plan review and $150 for the permit. Cities add their own fees, such as Huntington's $50 vendor permit and $20 business license, or Charleston's $20-a-year street vendor permit.[7][8][13]
Can I cook at home and sell the food from my truck?
Not in Monongalia County, whose rules say food must be made on the truck or at your permitted commissary, and a home kitchen can't be your commissary. Other counties set their own rules, so ask your county health department.[7]
Does everyone on my truck need a food handler card?
In many places, yes. Kanawha County requires food handler training within 30 days of starting work, Monongalia County requires a current food handler card for every worker, and Huntington's city guide says all food handlers need a food handler's permit from the Cabell-Huntington Health Department. Ask your county health department.[12][6][8]
Do I have to display my permit?
Yes. The permit must be posted where people can see it whenever the truck is open.[1]
Sources
- Enrolled Committee Substitute for House Bill 5017 (2024): amending W. Va. Code §16-2-18, In-state food service statewide permit, West Virginia Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026. Enrolled bill text, not the codified section. code.wvlegislature.gov redirected the fetcher away, so the current codified §16-2-18 could not be read; check it in a browser.
- House Bill 5017, 2024 Regular Session: bill history, West Virginia Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Enrolled Committee Substitute for House Bill 3092 (2023): new W. Va. Code §16-2-18, In-state food service permit reciprocity, West Virginia Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026. Superseded by HB 5017 (2024); cited only for the change log.
- House Bill 3092, 2023 Regular Session: bill history, West Virginia Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Business Registration, West Virginia Tax Division. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Mobile Food Units, Monongalia County Health Department. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Mobile Food Unit/Cart Plan Review Process and Application (updated October 2025), Monongalia County Health Department. Checked October 25, 2026. Hosted on the health department website's content CDN (cdn.sanity.io), linked from monchd.org/services/mobile-food-units as "Mobile Food Unit Plan Review Application".
- Mobile Food Vendor Permit, City of Huntington. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Fact Sheet: Food Truck Safety (October 2024), West Virginia State Fire Marshal's Office (NFPA fact sheet). Checked October 25, 2026. An NFPA fact sheet posted by the State Fire Marshal on its Fire & Life Safety Inspections page. It is guidance, not a West Virginia rule.
- Permit to Operate, Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Food, Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Food Handler/Manager Requirements, Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Street Vendor Permit Application, Calendar Year 2026, City of Charleston, City Collector's Office. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Licensing, City of Morgantown. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Application for Municipal License: Hawker Peddler, City of Morgantown. Checked October 25, 2026. Form revision LIC 4 (9/13). The city code also has a mobile food vendor permit article (ecode360, blocked to the fetcher); check whether that permit applies to food trucks instead of or on top of this licence.
Related
- Cottage Food Laws in West Virginia
- Food Truck Permits in Kentucky
- Food Truck Permits in Maryland
- Food Truck Permits in Ohio
- Food Truck Permits in Pennsylvania
- Food Truck Permits in Virginia
- 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 local or county health department (in your county of residence) or your local health department. Spotted something wrong or out of date?Report it and we will check it.