Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors in Boston, MA (2026)
3 verified food trucks & mobile vendors rules for Boston, Massachusetts, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Food Truck Permits
Boston requires every mobile food truck to hold a permit issued by the Mobile Food Trucks Committee under Code of Ordinances § 17-10.4, with a $500 application fee, a five-department review, and a cap limiting any one operator to no more than 10% of citywide permits.
Boston Mobile Food Truck Permit Rules
Significant RestrictionsBoston Code of Ordinances § 17-10.4
(A) No person or business entity, including a religious or charitable organization, shall operate a mobile food truck in any public, private or restricted space without a permit issued by the Committee. (B) A mobile food truck permit is required for each and every mobile food truck.
Vending Zones
Boston confines each mobile food truck to the specific service route and hours approved in its Code of Ordinances § 17-10.5 permit application, bars overnight or unattended parking under § 17-10.11, and treats operation outside the approved route or location as operating without a permit.
Boston Food Truck Route & Location Rules
Significant RestrictionsBoston Code of Ordinances § 17-10.11(B)-(C)
(B) Unattended vehicles prohibited. No mobile food truck shall be parked on the street overnight, or left unattended and unsecured at any time food is kept in the mobile food truck. Any mobile food truck which is found to be unattended shall be considered a public safety hazard and may be ticketed and impounded. (C) A mobile food truck operating outside of an approved route, at an unauthori...
Sidewalk & Mobile Vending
Boston requires anyone hawking or peddling food from a cart or on foot to register with the Division of Health Inspections and carry a numbered, dated license under Code of Ordinances § 16-2.1, and requires fresh sanitary gloves per transaction when handling 'ready to eat' food from a pushcart under § 16-2.6.
Boston Sidewalk Food Cart & Hawker Rules
Some RestrictionsBoston Code of Ordinances § 16-2.1(A)
No person shall hawk or peddle any fruits or vegetables or any of the articles enumerated in M.G.L. Chapter 101, Section 17 and acts in amendment thereof or in addition thereto, until he or she has been assigned a number by the Division of Health Inspections, Inspectional Services Department and until he or she has recorded with said Division, his or her name and residence, and until a recent p...