Bartholomew County, IN Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

02 of the Bartholomew County Code makes it unlawful for anyone to operate a food service establishment or food market, a category the chapter's definitions expressly extend to a mobile food service establishment (any self-contained food service operation without a fixed location), without a valid license from the county Health Officer. The license must be posted in a conspicuous place at the operation itself. For a standard food truck, the license runs for a full calendar year, from January 1 through December 31, and must be renewed annually; a temporary mobile operation tied to a single fair, carnival or similar event instead gets a license covering only that one continuous operation.

Each mobile unit needs its own separate, non-transferable license under division (B), even if the same owner runs several trucks. Before issuing the license, the Health Officer must inspect the operation and confirm it complies with the chapter's requirements, and division (D) bars the county from denying or revoking a license on arbitrary or capricious grounds. License fees are not fixed in the code itself; they are set and can be changed by the County Board of Health, subject to approval by the Board of Commissioners, under division (E).