Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors in Los Angeles, CA (2026)
3 verified food trucks & mobile vendors rules for Los Angeles, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Food Truck Permits
LAMC § 80.73 regulates "catering trucks" (mobile food units): no dispensing within 100 feet of an intersection, 200 feet of listed parks, or 500 feet of a school, plus a 30-minute cap in residential areas and a one-hour cap per half-mile radius in commercial areas.
Los Angeles Catering Truck Operating Rules
Significant RestrictionsLos Angeles Municipal Code § 80.73(a)2.F
No catering truck shall park at any Residential Location for a period that exceeds 30 minutes. No catering truck shall park at any Residential Location within two blocks of where the catering truck had been parked at a Residential Location within the previous four hours... No catering truck shall remain parked at any commercial location for the purpose of dispensing victuals, or at any commerci...
Vending Zones
LAMC § 80.73(a).2.A bars catering trucks from dispensing food within 100 feet of any intersection, within 200 feet of a short list of named city parks and any freeway on- or off-ramp, and within 500 feet of any school property line: a citywide distance map that determines exactly where mobile food vending is off-limits.
Los Angeles Food Truck Vending Distance Buffers
Some RestrictionsLos Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) § 80.73(a).2.A
The dispensing of victuals shall be permitted on any street except at or from:... (3) Any location within 100 feet of the nearest part of: (i) any intersection... (4) Any location within 200 feet of: (i) Balboa Park, Banning Park, Robert Burns Park, MacArthur Park, the following portions of Griffith Park: Riverside Drive between the Glendale Boulevard off-ramp and Los Feliz Boulevard, between t...
Sidewalk & Mobile Vending
LAMC § 80.73 lets catering (food) trucks dispense food from most city streets, but imposes strict on-street conduct rules: no blocking the lane between the truck and the street's center, a marked litter receptacle at every stop, full cleanup before leaving, and dwell-time caps, 30 minutes per residential location and one cumulative hour within a half-mile of any commercial spot.
Los Angeles Catering Truck Street Vending Conduct
Some RestrictionsLos Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) § 80.73(a).2.C-F, (f)
C. No person shall dispense victuals from any portion of a catering truck on any street in any manner which causes any person to stand in that portion of the street which is between the catering truck and the center of the street. D. Persons who dispense victuals... may not do so unless at that time they provide or have available in a conspicuous place in the immediate vicinity of the catering ...
Looking for Los Angeles County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Los Angeles city rules.
Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors in Los Angeles County →