Battle Creek, MI Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

Chapter 864 of the Battle Creek Codified Ordinances defines a vendor to include a person who travels by foot, motor vehicle or any other conveyance carrying food, whether prepared for immediate consumption or not, and a person who sells food from a vehicle without traveling. Section 864.02 bars any vendor from doing business in the City without a vendor's license from the City and any other license required by state or local law.

The application goes to the City Clerk on a sworn form. It asks for the applicant's name and birth date, permanent and local addresses, the proposed business location, the nature of the business and the food to be sold, and whether it is produced or grown by the applicant. A vehicle must be described with its license number and vehicle identification number. The applicant must also state whether any crime conviction exists. A business applicant lists every person who will vend on its behalf, with name, address, and date of birth.

The Clerk refers the application to the Chief of Police, who investigates business and moral character under the Standards for Business and Moral Character Administrative Policy. On approval, the Clerk issues the license once the prescribed fee is paid and proof of insurance is filed. Under Section 864.07 the fee, the general liability insurance limits, and the bond amount all come from the schedule in Section 802.24. A disapproved applicant gets the fee back except a non-refundable processing fee equal to a one month fee. A license is never valid for more than one year, and a shorter license is priced by the month, with any period of one to thirty calendar days counting as one month.

Section 864.08 requires the license to be displayed at all times so customers can see it. Location rules for where the truck can actually park are in Section 864.03.