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What a food truck permit costs in New York

The figures below come from New York's agency pages, each with the date it was read. Government fees only: commissary rent, insurance and the truck are private costs, and the profit calculator is where those go.

The main license

NYC: $200 for a two-year unit permit when food is prepared on board ($75 prepackaged) plus a $50 two-year vending license; counties set their own (Erie County lists $147 a year for mobile units and pushcarts)

NYC Mobile Food Vending Unit Permit plus a Mobile Food Vending License per person; outside the city, a county mobile food service establishment permit

NYC unit permits are capped and waitlisted; the city says 2,200 new supervisory licenses a year open from July 1, 2026. Seasonal (April to October) NYC permits are $35 / $15. Erie County's figure is from its last published schedule (2013).

Issued by NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene inside the five boroughs; county health departments elsewhere under 10 NYCRR Subpart 14-4 Read on the agency page Nov 5, 2026

Every step, with the fee where it is published

In filing order. A step without a published fee links the agency to ask.

  1. 1

    Form your entity and get your EINFederal

    the IRS

    Fee not published here; ask the agency
  2. 2

    Register for New York sales taxState

    the New York revenue department

    Private cost or no fee
  3. 3

    Sign your commissary agreementState

    New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC) / New York State Department of Health (statewide)

    Fee not published here; ask the agency
  4. 4

    Apply for the New York mobile food unit permitState

    New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC) / New York State Department of Health (statewide)

    Fee not published here; ask the agency
  5. 5

    Clear the county and city layersCity

    your city and county

    Private cost or no fee
  6. 6

    Get general liability insurance and a certificate of insurance (COI)Private

    your insurer

    Private cost or no fee

Renewal timeline

  • General liability insurance (COI)

    Every year · start paperwork 21 days before · Your insurer

Download the renewal calendar (.ics) Open the printable checklist

What changed in New York

  1. New York City began offering 2,200 new supervisory mobile food vending licenses a year for five years, the first expansion of the capped permit pool in decades, per the Health Department's mobile vending page. Source

Read the full picture

New York food truck permit guideAgencies, fees, inspections, city rules and the pitfalls, with sources.NYC permitsCity layer on top of the state: zoning, fire, local business tax.

Compare every state on the permit hub or take the CSV.

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