Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors in Memphis, TN (2026)
3 verified food trucks & mobile vendors rules for Memphis, Tennessee, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Food Truck Permits
No mobile food preparation vehicle may operate in Memphis without a permit issued under City Code § 9-52-86, which builds on the general food-establishment permit process of § 9-52-3. Operators also need a commissary license or written commissary agreement, and every truck must post its business name and state/local permit numbers in letters at least three inches tall.
Memphis Mobile Food Truck Permit Requirements
Significant RestrictionsMemphis Code § 9-52-86
A.No person shall engage in the business of a mobile food preparation vehicle within the municipal limits without first having obtained a permit required by section 9-52-3 of the city Code and the State of Tennessee.B.A mobile food preparation vehicle license, as authorized by the state and local ordinances, will not be issued to a person unless the following conditions are met:1.The vehicle mu...
Vending Zones
Memphis confines mobile food preparation vehicles to specific zoning districts under City Code § 9-52-93, Office General, Commercial Mixed Use 1-3, Central Business, Campus Master Plan, Employment, Warehouse and Distribution, Heavy Industrial, and several special-purpose overlay districts, plus school sites with written authorization, and bars them from residential zones without a special use permit.
Memphis Food Truck Zoning & Distance Rules
Significant RestrictionsMemphis Code § 9-52-93
A.Mobile food preparation vehicles are allowed to operate on sites and city streets, alleys and other public thoroughfares within the Office General (OG); Commercial Mixed Use 1, 2 and 3 (CMU-1, CMU-2 and CMU-3); Central Business (CBD); Campus Master Plan -1 and -2 (CMP-1 and CMP-2); Employment (EMP); Warehouse and Distribution (WD) and Heavy Industrial (IH) zoning districts... B.Mobile food pr...
Sidewalk & Mobile Vending
Memphis requires anyone selling food as a pedestrian vendor or push cart operator, from a non-motorized cart in a mall, shopping center, historic district, or city park, to get a county health department permit before opening. Vendors need the property manager's written consent, a licensed commissary for storage between shifts, and must post their business name and permit number in three-inch letters on the cart.
Memphis Sidewalk Food Vendor and Push Cart Permit
Some RestrictionsMemphis Code of Ordinances § 9-52-83
Pedestrian vendors and push cart vendors shall meet all the applicable requirements of this article and shall also meet the following special requirements. The health officer shall adopt written rules and regulations for pedestrian vendors and push cart vendors for the purpose of interpretation of this article. A.No person shall engage in the business as a pedestrian vendor or push cart vendor ...
Looking for Shelby County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Memphis city rules.
Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors in Shelby County →