Free guides for people opening a food truck
Food truck permits, costs and startup guides by state and county, kept current.
Every fee dated and linked to the agency that charges it, in the order you have to get them. Free to read, no account needed.
Permit guides by state
Pick your state. The license, the fee, the agency, the order.
One guide per state covering the health or licensing department, what it charges, what the counties and cities add on top, and which comes first.
- ALalabama
- AKalaska
- AZarizona
- ARarkansas
- CAcalifornia
- COcolorado
- CTconnecticut
- DEdelaware
- FLflorida
- GAgeorgia
- HIhawaii
- IDidaho
- ILillinois
- INindiana
- IAiowa
- KSkansas
- KYkentucky
- LAlouisiana
- MEmaine
- MDmaryland
- MAmassachusetts
- MImichigan
- MNminnesota
- MSmississippi
- MOmissouri
- MTmontana
- NEnebraska
- NVnevada
- NHnew hampshire
- NJnew jersey
- NMnew mexico
- NYnew york
- NCnorth carolina
- NDnorth dakota
- OHohio
- OKoklahoma
- ORoregon
- PApennsylvania
- RIrhode island
- SCsouth carolina
- SDsouth dakota
- TNtennessee
- TXtexas
- UTutah
- VTvermont
- VAvirginia
- WAwashington
- WVwest virginia
- WIwisconsin
- WYwyoming
City guides
What it costs
The numbers before you sign anything.
Startup budgets, build-out quotes, festival math and the industry data behind them, each with its sources.
Startup costs: the real numbers
Truck, build-out, permits, insurance, commissary and the first month of stock, itemized.
Read the guideConversion cost
Van, trailer and full build-out pricing, and where the quotes usually hide extras.
Read the guideFire suppression system cost
The hood system every fire marshal asks about: typical install range and inspection cadence.
Read the guideFestival revenue
What a festival weekend actually grosses, what the booth fee takes, and what is left.
Read the guideSuccess and failure rates
What the data says about which trucks last past year one, and why.
Read the guideIndustry statistics
Market size, average revenue and growth, with the sources for each figure.
Read the guideFree tools
Total it up, then walk into the inspection ready.
How we keep it current
Dated, sourced, and honest about what pays for it.
Every fee carries a checked date
A fee is only as good as the day someone last confirmed it. Guides show when each figure was checked, and a figure we could not confirm says so instead of guessing.
Linked to the agency that charges it
Each fee points at the issuing agency's own page: the state health or licensing department, the county, the city fire marshal. Verify it in one click before you pay.
Free to read, paid for by disclosed referrals
We never charge readers. Some guides recommend vendors you will need anyway (insurance, business formation, financing, POS); if you buy through one of those links we may earn a referral fee, disclosed on the page.
Read the full affiliate disclosure, and how we choose which vendors to name on the about page.
- Guides
- 100+
- Coverage
- All 50 states, 20+ cities
- Cited by
- ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity