You must have a Seasonal Mobile Food Vending Unit Permit to prepare and sell food from a pushcart or truck on a seasonal basis.

New permits are available only to those licensed vendors who were placed on the Food Cart Waiting List and notified by the Department of Health to apply for the permit. If you are notified, you must file an application in person at the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Licensing Center. You must then contact the Department of Health to schedule an inspection appointment and have a permit sticker attached to the pushcart or truck.

Expiration Date

The permit expires each year on October 31.

You must have a Year-Round Mobile Food Vending Unit Permit to prepare and sell food from a pushcart or truck year-round.

New permits are available only to those licensed vendors who were placed on the Food Cart Waiting List and notified by the Department of Health to apply for the permit. If you are notified, you must file an application in person at the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Licensing Center. You must then contact the Department of Health to schedule an inspection appointment and have a permit sticker attached to the pushcart or truck.

Fees

The permit fee is $200 for a processing food unit and $75 for a non-processing food unit to sell food on the street. United States veterans are exempt from the fee.

Expiration Date

The license expires 2 years from the previous expiration date on staggered dates.

You can request a license application packet, which includes forms and information about requirements.

Online

Visit the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's permit page.

By Mail

You will have to complete an application and bring it to the Department of Consumer Affairs Licensing Center or the NYC Small Business Support Center.

• DCA Licensing Center
  42 Broadway
  New York, NY 10004
  Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
  Wed: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

• NYC Small Business Support Center
  90-27 Sutphin Boulevard, 4th Floor
  Jamaica, NY 11435
  Mon: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

The centers are closed on major holidays. If you need to take an exam, you should arrive before 3 PM.

Several weeks before your permit expires, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will mail you a renewal package.

You can drop off your completed application and any required documents at the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Licensing Center or the NYC Small Business Support Center.

• DCA Licensing Center
  42 Broadway
  New York, NY 10004
  Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
  Wed: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
   
• NYC Small Business Support Center
  90-27 Sutphin Boulevard, 4th Floor
  Jamaica, NY 11435
  Mon: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

The centers are closed on major holidays. If you need to take an exam, you should arrive before 3 PM.

You can get the status of your application.

If you’re using the NYC Health Department online license and permit system, you can get help with:

• Renewing your permit
• Payment problems
• Obtaining a PIN
• Linking or relinking a PIN
• Resetting user names or passwords
• Problems uploading documents
• Error messages
• Web page not loading
• Button not responding

Online

Submit a help request online.

By Phone

You can get answers to license-specific questions and information about application requirements.

You can schedule a pre-permit inspection by phone.

Under a new Local Law enacted this year, the NYC Health Department will issue an additional 445 mobile food vending permits each year for 10 years beginning in July 2022. People who are already on a mobile food vending waiting list and have held a mobile food vending license since March 1, 2017 will be eligible first.

The public is invited to provide comments on the proposed changes to the waiting list. Comments can be provided online, by mail or at a public meeting on September 27, 2021.

Submit comments.

Learn more about the public hearing and the opportunity to comment.