Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors in Norfolk, VA (2026)
3 verified food trucks & mobile vendors rules for Norfolk, Virginia, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Food Truck Permits
No one may run a food truck in Norfolk's public right-of-way without a vendor license issued under Section 42-39(b), on top of the business license every vendor needs from the commissioner of the revenue. Section 42-40(a) separately requires a valid health permit from the department of health before operating, and Section 42-40(b) adds an annual fire inspection and fire safety permit whenever the truck cooks or heats food in a way that creates a fire hazard.
Norfolk Food Truck Vendor License and Permits
Significant RestrictionsNorfolk Code of Ordinances §§ 42-39(b), 42-40
No vendor shall be permitted to operate in any public right-of-way, including any designated parking location or designated sidewalk location, without a vendor license. ... In addition to any other applicable fees required pursuant to this Code or other applicable law, ordinance, rule or regulation, a vendor license fee established by the city manager must be paid at the time each vendor licens...
Vending Zones
Norfolk confines every food truck, food vendor, ice cream truck and merchandise vendor to three kinds of ground under Section 42-38: private property whose zoning allows vending, an area designated for a specific special event, or the public right-of-way itself, which then splits again by vendor type. Food trucks get parking spaces, food and merchandise vendors get sidewalk spots, and ice cream trucks get either, under strict limits.
Norfolk Rules on Where Vendors May Operate
Significant RestrictionsNorfolk Code of Ordinances § 42-38
No vendor shall operate in any area of the city other than the following: On property where the applicable zoning regulations allow vending activity; Within the boundaries of any area designated for a special event pursuant to section 42-48, below; and Within the public right-of-way, subject to the following restrictions: All food vendors and merchandise vendors shall only operate in a designat...
Sidewalk & Mobile Vending
Norfolk lets food and merchandise vendors sell from a pushcart or stand only inside a sidewalk spot the city manager has specifically designated. Section 42-37(b) keeps those spots at least ten feet from intersections, crosswalks, driveways, bus stops and taxi stands, and bars any sidewalk narrower than nine feet. Section 42-45 then caps the cart itself at four feet wide and seven feet long, with any umbrella capped at eight feet tall and nine feet across.
Norfolk Sidewalk Food and Merchandise Vending
Significant RestrictionsNorfolk Code of Ordinances §§ 42-37(b), 42-45(a)
Sidewalk locations. The city manager may establish one or more designated sidewalk locations as areas within the public right-of-way where a food vendor or merchandise vendor may operate. Such designated locations shall: Not be within ten (10) feet of an intersection, crosswalk, driveway, bus stop or taxi stand; and Not be located on any sidewalk less than nine (9) feet in width. ... The pushca...