Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors in El Cajon, CA (2026)
3 verified food trucks & mobile vendors rules for El Cajon, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Food Truck Permits
Food trucks operating in El Cajon require a San Diego County Mobile Food Facility Permit and compliance with ECMC zoning provisions under Section 17.225.240. Food trucks may operate at permitted locations with appropriate health and business licenses.
El Cajon Food Truck Permit Requirements
Some RestrictionsCalifornia SB 972 (California Retail Food Code amendments — Sidewalk Vendors / Microenterprise Home Kitchens)
SB 972, Gonzalez. California Retail Food Code. (1) Existing law, the California Retail Food Code (the code), establishes uniform health and sanitation standards for, and provides for regulation by the State Department of Public Health of, retail food facilities and requires local health agencies to enforce these provisions. Existing law, for purposes of the code, defines a “cottage food operati...
Vending Zones
El Cajon regulates sidewalk vending under ECMC Chapter 10.40 consistent with SB 946 (California's Safe Sidewalk Vending Act). Stationary vendors require sidewalks at least 10 feet wide. Roaming vendors need at least 4 feet of clear passage. Vendors may operate on public sidewalks and pedestrian paths in parks.
El Cajon Sidewalk & Street Vending Zones
Some RestrictionsCalifornia SB 946 (Safe Sidewalk Vending Act)
SB 946, Lara. Sidewalk vendors. Existing law authorizes a local authority, by ordinance or resolution, to adopt requirements for the public safety regulating any type of vending and the time, place, and manner of vending from a vehicle upon a street. This bill would prohibit a local authority, as defined, from regulating sidewalk vendors, except in accordance with the provisions of the bill. Th...
Sidewalk & Mobile Vending
El Cajon requires every sidewalk food vendor, whether a fixed cart or a roaming vendor, to hold a business license, a public works sidewalk vendor's license and a county health permit. Stationary vendors need a 10-foot-wide sidewalk and can only operate 8 a.m. to midnight; roaming vendors are barred from residential zones except 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. under Chapter 12.06.
El Cajon Sidewalk Food Vending Rules
Significant RestrictionsEl Cajon Municipal Code § 12.06.040
Stationary sidewalk vendors shall only be located on public sidewalks and pedestrian paths of not less than ten feet (10′) in width measured from the street-side edge of the sidewalk or from edge to edge of the path. ... Operations of stationary sidewalk vendors on a public sidewalk shall only occur during the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. of the following day. E. Operations of stationary s...
Looking for San Diego County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement El Cajon city rules.
Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors in San Diego County →