Albany, OR Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

Chapter 5.06 of the Albany Municipal Code, adopted by Ord. 5958 in 2021, governs mobile food units in the City of Albany, Oregon, in Linn County. Section 5.06.010 defines a mobile food unit as any vehicle that is self-propelled or that can be pulled or pushed down a sidewalk, street, highway, or waterway on which food is prepared, processed, or converted, or which is used in selling and dispensing food to the ultimate consumer. Section 5.06.030 then makes the permit mandatory: use of an MFU within the city limits is prohibited unless a permit is first obtained from the city manager or their designee.

Two approvals are involved. The MFU owner holds the MFU permit, and the property itself needs an approved property MFU authorization or site plan approval for a mobile food unit pod (§ 5.06.040). A permit application must minimally contain a completed MFU application form, a copy of the MFU's restroom agreement as required by the County if no restroom is provided on site, a copy of current proof of liability insurance, and the method of waste disposal, liquid and solid (§ 5.06.090). The applicant also supplies copies of all necessary permits and agreements held for the county in which the permittee plans to operate. Fees are due when the application is submitted and are nonrefundable. The dollar amounts are not printed in the code, because § 5.06.070 sets them by council resolution.

The permit carries built-in conditions under § 5.06.140(2). It expires on February 1 of each year and is renewed by application and payment of the required fee, and the fee is halved if the application comes in after July 31. The permit is personal to the permittee and is not transferable in any manner. A permittee who wants to modify an existing permit files a new application under § 5.06.030 with the required fee. The permit must be displayed in plain view of the public during operating hours. Under § 5.06.150 a permit can be renewed an unlimited number of times.

Section 5.06.060 lists the exemptions from the permit: operating for no more than 2 days within any 30-day period; not establishing business on any specific property for more than 10 minutes; being closed to the public; operating inside a farmer's market that holds a valid facility use agreement with the City; any event hosted by the City of Albany; and any event hosted at the Linn County fair-grounds. Exempt operators still have to hold every valid state and county license and comply with the rest of the chapter.