Charlottesville, VA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

The Charlottesville Development Code makes clear that no mobile food unit may operate on private property without the owner or a designee first obtaining a temporary use permit from the Zoning Administrator under Sec. D. A single permit authorizes the permittee to work at up to 10 different properties, and an operator may hold more than one permit at a time to cover additional locations. To apply, the operator must submit a City business license, or a statement from the Commissioner of the Revenue that none is required, a valid health permit from the Virginia Department of Health that must stay current for the life of the temporary use permit, written permission from each private property owner where the truck will operate, and a site diagram for every property showing access, parking, ingress and egress routes, the truck's placement, distance from property lines and where garbage receptacles will sit.

Once issued, the permit runs for one year from the date it is granted. Operators are limited in what they can do on-site: sales are restricted to food and non-alcoholic beverages and items incidental to them, no more than one covered 10-by-10 table for condiments is allowed, no audible music, no sign that is not permanently affixed to the unit, and no discharge of liquid waste, with trash and garbage receptacles required and kept properly maintained. 6, Temporary Uses and Structures, alongside the City's other temporary-use standards, meaning a truck operating on private property is treated as a temporary use rather than a permanent commercial use of the lot.