How to Fill Out the Texas DSHS Mobile Food Vendor Application (Field by Field, 2026)

This walks the actual application, field by field. For what Texas requires overall, and the local layer in your city, start with the Austin, Houston, San Antonio or Dallas permit guide.

Since July 1, 2026, every food truck in Texas licenses through DSHS, not the city. One application, one form, statewide — which is why this guide covers all four metros at once. What still differs by city is fire and zoning, covered at the end.

Step 1 — Establish your applicant category

This is the first thing to settle and the one with legal consequences. DSHS splits applicants in two.

Category One — you already hold a Texas local licence. You may keep operating while you wait, but only if you do all three of these:

1. Provide proof of that licence when you apply through DSHS
2. Submit the application and pay the fees
3. Print and keep the application summary and payment receipt on your food vending vehicle at all times

That third one is not optional, and it is the one people miss. The paperwork on the truck is your authority to operate during the transition.

Category Two — you hold no current Texas licence. You cannot operate until the pre-licensing inspection is completed. DSHS prioritises these applications, but there is no interim permission. If you are a new truck, budget the wait before you book events.

Step 2 — Pick your MFV type

Type drives your fee, your equipment requirements, and your inspection. A separate licence is required for each food vending vehicle.

• Type I — sells prepackaged food items, including TCS foods. Those TCS foods must not be reduced-oxygen packaged (e.g. vacuum sealed).
• Type II — prepackaged TCS food needing limited handling, or food prepared to order for immediate service. Cook-serve.
• Type III — complex preparation: cooking, holding, cooling, reheating and service. This is most food trucks.

If anything on your menu goes from raw to cooked on the vehicle, you are not Type I. If you cook and then hold, cool or reheat, you are Type III rather than Type II. Match the type to the menu before you submit — the mismatch surfaces at inspection, after you have paid and queued.

Step 3 — What you pay, at submission

Both the application fee and the pre-licensing inspection fee are due when you apply. The pre-licensing inspection fee is a one-time payment at initial application.

Application fees include a Texas Online fee. Budget separately for what comes later: routine inspection fees of $400 (Type II) and $500 (Type III), and complaint/compliance inspection fees of $300 (Type I), $400 (Type II) or $500 (Type III).

Step 4 — The commissary question

Do not skip this. HB 2844 is widely reported as having removed the commissary requirement. It did not.

Under 25 TAC §226.6(c) you must still operate from a Central Preparation Facility unless you can demonstrate you qualify for an exemption — and the rule places the burden of proof on you, not on DSHS.

If you are claiming the exemption, your vehicle has to satisfy the DSHS Central Preparation Facility / Commissary Exemption Checklist in full. The criteria are about the vehicle being self-sufficient:

• Cooling and heating equipment sufficient in number and capacity to hold Food Code temperatures
• Hot and cold holding equipment sufficient in number and capacity, with food safely stored beyond operating hours
• Food storage that prevents cross-contamination, including outside operating hours
• Equipment, utensils and single-service articles stored on the vehicle so they cannot be contaminated

Read that "beyond operating hours" language carefully — it is what disqualifies most trucks that park overnight without adequate on-board storage. If you cannot meet every line, get a signed CPF agreement instead. It is cheaper than a failed inspection.

Step 5 — The 28-point inspection is the real gate

The application is data entry. The pre-licensing inspection is what actually decides. DSHS publishes the checklist in advance, which means there is no excuse for failing on a known item. The ones that catch people:

Water and waste

• Liquid waste retention tank at least 15% larger than the potable water tank, permanently installed, sloped to drain, labelled "wastewater"
• Potable water tank labelled "potable water", installed sloped to drain
• Potable water inlet with a ¾-inch or smaller connection, of a type that prevents use for any other purpose, labelled
• Liquid waste servicing connection a different size from the water connection, and labelled
• Hot and cold running water under pressure to all sinks
• Water from an approved source — a private supply requires testing under 30 TAC Ch. 290

Sinks and hygiene

• Handwash sink, conveniently located and accessible
• Three-compartment sink large enough to clean your largest piece of equipment
• Soap, paper towels, detergent and sanitiser provided
• Toilet rooms accessible to employees during all hours of operation

The vehicle itself

• Readily moveable — wheels attached and in good repair, no permanent utility connections, no skirting, not on blocks or raised off the ground
• Corrosion-resistant, durable construction; easily cleanable non-absorbent floors, walls and ceilings
• Insect and rodent control, including screening of at least 16 mesh to the inch

Paperwork at the inspection

• Menu
• Records of loaded vehicle weight as issued by TDOT
• A certified food manager employed where TCS foods are prepared
• Servicing area for cleaning, supplying, loading water and discharging sewage
• If using a CPF: it must be licensed, and its most recent inspection available for review

The inspector also verifies your driver's licence and licence plate, and attaches photos.

Step 6 — Publish where you will operate

New under 25 TAC §226.8(e): a mobile food vendor must give notification of its planned operating location — on social media, on your own website, or directly to DSHS. It supports the state's randomised inspection programme. There was no equivalent under the old city permits, so it is easy to miss entirely.

Step 7 — Your city still regulates fire and zoning

Under §226.1(c)(2) you must comply with all local ordinances that do not conflict with Chapter 437B. In practice that means fire and zoning stayed local:

• Austin — Austin Fire Department mobile food vendor permit, $222, annual. Outside the city but in Travis County, the county fire marshal permits instead.
• Houston — Houston Fire Code LP-Gas certificate, $225.14, annual. The Fire Marshal's Office has up to 90 calendar days to approve, and every LP-gas appliance needs a current 12-month inspection sticker. Start this early; it is the long pole.
• San Antonio — San Antonio Fire Department permits gas units; zoning remains local.
• Dallas — Dallas Fire-Rescue inspects cooking units; zoning remains local.

Step 8 — Note your real renewal date

Your licence expires one year from the date of your successfully completed pre-licensing inspection. Not the calendar year. Not one year from when you applied or paid. Operators who assume January get a surprise.

The five that actually get applications rejected

1. Applying to the city. Austin Public Health, Houston Health Department and the others no longer issue these. It is DSHS.
2. Wrong type. Cooking on board is not Type I, and cook-then-hold is not Type II.
3. Assuming the commissary rule is gone. §226.6(c) still applies, and the exemption is yours to prove.
4. Paying the application fee only. The inspection fee is due the same day.
5. Losing mobility. Skirting and permanent connections fail you on item 24.

Sources: Texas DSHS Mobile Food Vendor Guide (official, updated May 2026) · DSHS Mobile Food Vendors · DSHS Online Licensing Services · 25 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 226. Fees and checklist items quoted from the DSHS guide. Verified 18 August 2026.