Tips, how-to guides, and resources for food truck vendors and craft fair vendors.
A field-by-field walkthrough of the three DuPage County Health Department forms a food truck files: the Mobile Vending Plan Review Application, the Mobile Vendor Annual Application with its menu and route tables, and the Letter of Agreement to Use Commissary, with the fees on the county's current schedule.
In Austin the event organiser, not the vendor, files the temporary food permit for every booth: $62 per booth inside the city, $52 in unincorporated Travis County, at least 10 days ahead. What a booth vendor has to hand over, what the booth must have, and what a food truck needs instead since HB 2844.
The City of Houston's temporary food dealer's permit costs $52 per event and must be filed at least 14 days ahead. The current application section by section, the attachments that get it returned, what Harris County charges outside city limits, and what a food truck needs instead since HB 2844.
There is no single food vendor permit. What you need depends on how you sell: a truck, a cart, a tent at events, or packaged food made at home. The health permit for each format, the licences behind it, what they cost in real jurisdictions, and where the cottage food exemption stops.
A field-by-field walkthrough of the two applications a San Francisco food truck files: the Department of Public Health's mobile food facility packet (health permit, plan check, fire referral, commissary, restroom, operating procedures and labour declaration) and Public Works' revocable street permit, with the 2026-27 fees for both.
A food truck cannot park and sell anywhere. What cities call a food truck parking permit, what it costs in five cities ($50 to $500 a year), the distance rules that rule out a spot (50 to 200 feet from a restaurant), what a private property permission letter needs, and how brewery and business-lot spots are permitted. Every figure is sourced and linked.
A field-by-field walkthrough of the three Sacramento County EMD forms a cooking food truck files: the Category D plan review application and its 16-item plan submittal checklist, the Commissary or MSU Verification with its menu questionnaire, and the Application for Permit to Operate, with the 2026-27 fees printed on each.
What food truck catering costs and how an operator should quote it: published per-person prices and minimums, how a minimum guarantee works, deposits and cancellation terms from real trucks, travel and overtime fees, service charges and sales tax, and the W-9 and certificate of insurance a client asks for.
A page-by-page walkthrough of Alameda County's eight-page Mobile Food Facility application for Oakland food trucks: which of the permit categories A to H to tick, the documents each instruction box asks for, the menu table, the 20 standard-operating-procedure questions, the commissary agreement, the route sheet, and the fees printed on the form.
What it costs to start a food truck, built from prices you can check: builder and marketplace prices for the truck, permit fees and commissary rent by city from our own records, carrier insurance medians, and the IRS and SBA rules that decide how you plan and deduct it.
A field-by-field walkthrough of the Arizona mobile food unit application in Phoenix and Tucson: Maricopa County's Permit Center application, route sheet and commissary agreement, Pima County's plan review checklist and Appendix A-B, the Type I, II and III split, the reciprocity rule, and the fees.
Where food trucks actually find vendor opportunities (listing platforms, fairs, city festivals, booking marketplaces, Facebook groups), what each costs, and how to read an event's vendor packet: commission, insurance, permit deadlines and payout terms, with real 2026 numbers from Taste of Chicago and five state fairs and fairgrounds.
A field-by-field walkthrough of the mobile food unit plan review application in Seattle and Tacoma: King County's Appendix B packet, Tacoma-Pierce's 62 Mobile Unit Questions, the commissary and restroom agreements, the reciprocity shortcut, and the 2026 fees.
The three food cost formulas a food truck needs (plate cost, food cost percentage and period cost of goods sold), a taco plate costed from BLS prices and USDA cooking yields, IRS benchmarks for what restaurants actually spend on food, and how to price a menu and an event from the result.
What food trucks actually gross and keep, from the US Census Bureau's 2022 Economic Census and the IRS's 2023 sole proprietorship statistics, not the recycled $250,000–$500,000 claim. Revenue bands, profit margin, owner pay, and the fixed costs you can price before you open.
A temporary food permit lets you serve food at a single event, usually for up to 14 days. Who issues it, what it costs in nine real jurisdictions, how far ahead to apply, and the question most guides skip: whether your annual food truck permit already covers the event.
What food truck insurance covers, what operators pay per policy according to the carriers' own customer data, and the insurance minimums and additional-insured rules written into city permits across 47 US cities.
A field-by-field walkthrough of the Mobile Food Unit plan review application in Charlotte and Raleigh — Mecklenburg's ten-page packet and Wake's online portal, the tank maths both counties check, the two-refrigerator rule, and the real fees.
A field-by-field walkthrough of New York City's two mobile food vending documents — the personal licence and the unit permit — covering form 314C section by section, the five permit classes that set your fee and your equipment, the OATH clearance letter that takes four weeks, and the pre-permit inspection you must pass within six months.
A field-by-field walkthrough of Florida's DBPR Mobile Food Dispensing Vehicle licence application — which of the three forms you actually need, what goes in each of the eleven sections, the self-sufficiency test that decides whether you need a commissary, and the attachments that hold up plan review.
A field-by-field walkthrough of the statewide Texas DSHS Mobile Food Vendor licence application that replaced city permits on July 1, 2026 — which applicant category you are, which type to pick, what you pay at submission, and the 28-point inspection that actually gates you.
A commissary letter is the document that stalls more food truck applications than anything else — and most jurisdictions won't process your permit without it. What it is, what it must include, how to get one, and what a commissary costs.
Cottage food laws let you sell certain homemade foods without a commercial kitchen — but what's allowed, the revenue caps, and labeling rules vary widely by state. What cottage food covers, what it doesn't, and how to get registered.
Juried craft shows reject more applicants than they accept — and it's usually for fixable reasons. The most common rejection causes (full categories, weak photos, buy-sell products, incomplete forms) and exactly how to fix each one before you apply.
Most juried craft fairs require general liability insurance — usually $1M per occurrence, often with the organizer named as additional insured. What coverage you need, what it costs, where to get event or annual policies, and how the certificate of insurance fits your application.
Farmers market permitting splits across two agencies — the agricultural commissioner and county health — and which you need depends on what you sell. The producer certificate, the temporary food facility booth permit, cottage food, and seller's permits, explained.
Nearly every food truck needs a Certified Food Protection Manager on the team. What the certification is, the ANAB-CFP accredited providers (ServSafe, Prometric, National Registry, 360training, StateFoodSafety), what it costs, and exactly how to get certified.
Event organizers, commissaries, and cities all ask food trucks for a certificate of insurance. The coverage you actually need (general liability, commercial auto, product liability), the providers that issue COIs fast, what it costs, and how additional insured works.
The food truck health inspection is where permits stall and re-inspection fees pile up. The things inspectors check most — temperatures, handwashing, bare-hand contact, the cab/prep divider — and how to pass on the first try.
Selling at a farmers market depends on what you sell — produce, home-baked goods, or prepared food each take a different permit path. The full 2026 guide: vendor types, the permit stack, the application and timeline, costs, and how to get accepted.
A field-by-field walkthrough of Chicago's Mobile Food Vehicle license application through BACP — exactly what to enter in each section, the documents to attach, and the small mistakes that get applications kicked back.
California is the biggest food truck market and one of the most complex. The 2026 guide: the HCD insignia that must come first, the statewide CalCode framework enforced county by county, the strict commissary rule, the seller's permit, costs, and the order that keeps you from rebuilding.
Florida is the easy state for food trucks — one statewide DBPR license works everywhere, and a 2020 law stops cities from adding their own. The 2026 guide: the MFDV license, what state preemption does and doesn't cover, the commissary rule, the business tax receipt, costs, and timeline.
Almost every state with a sales tax requires craft vendors to register and collect it — but how varies. Whether you need a seller's permit, when a temporary or event permit is enough, the five states with no sales tax, and how to register in minutes.
Washington has one requirement no other state does — the L&I insignia, which must clear before the health department will approve your plans (in King County, before it will even review them). The full 2026 guide: the permission stack, the one-application state business license, local health jurisdictions county by county, the food worker card, costs, and the order that saves you months.
AutoFill PDFs and AutoFillPDF.com have nearly identical names but solve different problems. A factual, side-by-side comparison — pricing, features, and which one fits food truck, craft, and market vendors filling permit and application forms.
A vendor-focused comparison of the best PDF form fillers for permit and application forms. We rank tools by the one thing that matters when you file the same info across many cities and markets: saving your details once and auto-filling any form — including scanned ones.
Austin Public Health stops issuing food truck permits June 30, 2026. What the ~540 Austin-area trucks need to know: the new DSHS fees vs the old $239–$309 city permit, the four-step transition if you hold a current APH permit, and the fire-inspection and location rules Austin keeps enforcing. Verified June 2026.
Chicago's two food truck licenses differ by $300 and one question: does any preparation happen on board? The official definitions, a menu-by-menu decision table, the gray zones (coffee, hot dogs, ice cream), and why guessing wrong costs weeks — not just money.
The complete Illinois food truck playbook: the three-layer permit stack (state, county health, city), real costs from $50K starter builds to about $7K–$21K in first-year permits, commissary and insurance, the commissary-letter trap, and how Chicago, Aurora, Naperville, Joliet, Schaumburg, and Rockford each treat trucks differently. Verified June 2026.
On July 1, 2026, Texas replaces city-by-city food truck permits with one statewide DSHS license. The three license types, the real fees ($309–$1,376 up front), the 7-day itinerary rule, and exactly how to transition if you already hold a city permit. Verified against DSHS in June 2026.
Everything you need to know about applying to craft fairs and art shows as a vendor. Covers common form fields, insurance requirements, booth selection, and tips for getting accepted.
Practical tips for completing vendor permit and event applications more efficiently. Covers common mistakes, time-saving strategies, and how automation tools can help.