Food truck permits in Austin, TX

Inside the City of Austin, a mobile food unit with propane, or with any gas or electric appliance that produces grease-laden vapors, needs an annual fire permit from the Austin Fire Department, issued after the unit passes a fire inspection. Units with no propane and no cooking equipment, such as ice cream or coffee units, don't need one. In unincorporated Travis County the Travis County Fire Marshal inspects instead. Apply with AFD's online mobile food vending permit application (it asks for a seven-digit AB+C ID), allow up to three business days for processing, then pay the invoice under 'My Bills' in the AB+C portal.

Renewal: An annual permit is issued once the unit passes inspection.

From July 1, 2026 every mobile food vendor in Texas needs a mobile food vendor license from DSHS, one for each food vending vehicle. Local health departments no longer license mobile vendors (House Bill 2844, Health and Safety Code Chapter 437B). Type I covers vendors that sell only prepackaged food, including time/temperature-controlled foods that are not vacuum sealed or otherwise reduced-oxygen packaged: roadside vendors selling packaged meals, prepackaged ice cream, snacks and drinks. Apply through DSHS Online Licensing Services; DSHS then sends a letter to schedule the pre-licensing inspection. Truckiqo matches this to a 'Prepackaged' menu; confirm your type with DSHS.

Applies to: prepackaged menus

Renewal: The license expires one year from the date of the successfully completed pre-licensing inspection.

From July 1, 2026 every mobile food vendor in Texas needs a mobile food vendor license from DSHS, one for each food vending vehicle (House Bill 2844, Health and Safety Code Chapter 437B). Type II covers vendors that sell vacuum-sealed or other reduced-oxygen packaged time/temperature-controlled foods, or prepare food for immediate consumption limited to cold holding, thawing or reheating commercially processed products: snow cone trailers, deli trailers, hot dog vendors and pushcarts. The vehicle needs potable water and wastewater tanks, a handwashing sink and a three-compartment sink with hot and cold water under pressure, and must stay readily movable. Apply through DSHS Online Licensing Services; DSHS then schedules the pre-licensing inspection. Truckiqo matches this to a 'Limited prep' menu; confirm your type with DSHS.

Applies to: limited prep menus

Renewal: The license expires one year from the date of the successfully completed pre-licensing inspection.

From July 1, 2026 every mobile food vendor in Texas needs a mobile food vendor license from DSHS, one for each food vending vehicle (House Bill 2844, Health and Safety Code Chapter 437B). Type III covers vendors that prepare, cook, hold and serve food on the vehicle, including hot holding, cooling, thawing and reheating: raw or fresh hamburgers, tacos, gyros, sushi, BBQ. The vehicle needs potable water and wastewater tanks, a handwashing sink and a three-compartment sink with hot and cold water under pressure, and must stay readily movable. Apply through DSHS Online Licensing Services; DSHS then schedules the pre-licensing inspection. Truckiqo matches this to a 'Full prep' menu; confirm your type with DSHS.

Applies to: full prep menus

Renewal: The license expires one year from the date of the successfully completed pre-licensing inspection.

A certified food manager must be employed when time/temperature-controlled foods are prepared, and the certificate has to be shown at the DSHS pre-licensing inspection when such food is handled openly. Take the exam through a training program licensed by DSHS.

Applies to: limited prep or full prep menus

Renewal: The expiry date is printed on the certificate. Enter it so Truckiqo can remind you before it lapses.

Unless DSHS grants an exemption using its Central Preparation Facility / Commissary Exemption Checklist, the vehicle must operate from a central preparation facility or another approved fixed food establishment and report there for supplies, cleaning and servicing. If you don't own the facility, you need a signed letter of authorization, and the facility's most recent inspection must be kept on the vehicle. A private residence can't be used as a central preparation facility.

Applies to: limited prep or full prep menus

Renewal: No fixed term: keep the letter of authorization, the facility's latest inspection report and the facility logs current on the vehicle.

Type II and Type III vehicles need an approved servicing area to fill the potable water tank and to empty grease, cooking waste and sewage from the wastewater tank, with an authorization letter and a log showing the date and time of each fill and disposal. A servicing area can't be at a private home or living quarters, and it may be separate from the central preparation facility. It isn't required where only packaged food is sold and the vehicle has no wastewater tank.

Applies to: limited prep or full prep menus

Renewal: No fixed term: keep the authorization letter and an up-to-date activity log on the vehicle.