Skip to main content
CityRuleLookup

Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors in Hawthorne, CA (2026)

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

Verified from official government sources

Food Truck Permits

Hawthorne requires anyone selling food from a vehicle on public streets to carry a business license and a vendor's permit, restrict vending stops to 10 minutes with a 100-foot move between stops, and stay 60 feet from intersections and 500 feet from schools.

Hawthorne Requires a Vendor Permit for Food Trucks

Significant Restrictions

Hawthorne Code § 5.57.040

It is unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale, or operate any vehicle or conduct any business for the purpose of causing the sale of or offering for sale, any goods or merchandise from any vehicle parked, stopped or standing upon any public street, alley, parkway, sidewalk or other public property in the city except in accordance with all applicable provisions of this code...G. No ven...

Vending Zones

Hawthorne lets permitted sidewalk food vendors operate on public sidewalks, but bans vending within set distances of intersections, hydrants, driveways and roadways, and near active farmers' markets, community events or film shoots. Vending hours run 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., tighter in residential areas.

Where Sidewalk Food Vending Is Allowed in Hawthorne

Some Restrictions

Hawthorne Code § 5.57A.090

No sidewalk vendor shall vend in the following locations: 1. Within twenty feet of any street intersection; 2. Within ten feet of any fire hydrant, fire call box, or other emergency facility; 3. Within ten feet of any driveway or driveway apron; 4. Upon or within any roadway, median strip, or dividing section; 5. Within two hundred feet of: (a) a permitted certified farmers' market; (b) an area...

Sidewalk & Mobile Vending

Hawthorne requires a sidewalk vending permit from the finance director under HMC § 5.57A.020, restricts vending to 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. citywide (6:00 p.m. in residential areas), and enforces violations only through administrative citations up to $1,000.

Hawthorne Sidewalk Vending Permit and Hours

Some Restrictions

Hawthorne Code § 5.57A.020

No person, either for themselves or any other person or business entity, shall conduct or engage in sidewalk vending within the city without first obtaining a sidewalk vending permit pursuant to this chapter. This requirement is in addition to any requirement that such person obtain a business license pursuant to Chapter 5.02 of this code.

Looking for Los Angeles County county-wide rules?

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

Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors in Los Angeles County