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Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors in Cathedral City, CA (2026)

3 verified food trucks & mobile vendors rules for Cathedral City, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.

Verified from official government sources

Food Truck Permits

A mobile food vendor in Cathedral City needs a valid city business license, a valid city vendor license backed by a background check, a filed route, and approval from the Riverside County Department of Health. Violations draw administrative citations under Chapter 13.58.

Cathedral City Food Truck Licenses and Permit Requirements

Significant Restrictions

Cathedral City Municipal Code § 5.82.020(A)(7)-(8)

7. The mobile food vendor has: (a) a valid business license from the city; (b) a valid vendor license from the city; and (c) the mobile food vendor has supplied the city with a true and correct copy of the vendor's route, showing each stop where the mobile food vendor intends to halt for the purpose of selling or otherwise dispensing food, and the streets or other thoroughfares which will be us...

Vending Zones

In Cathedral City, a food truck cannot operate on a public street within five hundred feet of a school from seven a.m. to five p.m. on school days, within twenty-five feet of a controlled intersection, or within seven hundred fifty feet of a private organization's fund raising event without written permission.

Cathedral City Food Truck Vending Distance Rules

Some Restrictions

Cathedral City Municipal Code § 5.82.020(A)(6), (11), (12)

6. The mobile food vendor shall not keep, maintain or operate any mobile food facility upon any public street within five hundred feet of the nearest property line of property on which a school building is located. Said limitation shall be in force between the hours of seven a.m. and five p.m. of any school day. The limitation set forth in this subsection will not apply on a given occasion if t...

Sidewalk & Mobile Vending

Sidewalk vendors in Cathedral City need both a city business license and a sidewalk vending permit. Stationary carts are barred from residentially zoned areas, mobile carts in a residential zone must keep moving, and roaming vendors cannot operate in residential zones from eight p.m. to seven a.m. Vendors cannot sell alcohol, cannabis, tobacco, weapons or fireworks.

Cathedral City Sidewalk Food Vending Prohibitions and Fines

Significant Restrictions

Cathedral City Municipal Code § 5.98.120

A. No stationary cart may be used to vend within a residential zoned area. However, a sidewalk vendor may use a mobile cart within a residential zone, and must move continuously except when necessary to complete a sale. B. Sidewalk vending is prohibited in the center median of any street. C. A sidewalk vendor shall not solicit or conduct business with persons in motor vehicles. D. Sidewalk vend...

Looking for Riverside County county-wide rules?

County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Cathedral City city rules.

Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors in Riverside County →