Chelan County, WA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit basis
- IFC § 105.6 operational permit
- Office inspection fee
- $118.00 at fire marshal's office
- On-site inspection fee
- $180.00 (truck's own location)
- Reinstatement fee
- $250.00 within 180 days of expiry
- Enforcing agency
- Fire Prevention and Investigation Department
Summary
Any mobile food preparation vehicle, food truck, trailer or cart operating in unincorporated Chelan County needs a fire marshal operational permit under International Fire Code Section 105.6. Getting inspected at the fire marshal's office costs $118.00; asking the fire marshal to inspect the truck at its own site instead costs $180.00, per the Fire Prevention and Investigation Department's fee schedule.
OPERATIONAL PERMIT FEES (IFC 105.6) permits for use and valid for limited time ... Mobile food preparation vehicles, food trucks, trailers, carts inspected on-site at the fire marshal’s office $118.00 Mobile food preparation vehicles, food trucks, trailers, carts inspected off-site $180.00
Full Breakdown
Chelan County Code § 3.25.010 places mobile food preparation vehicles, food trucks, trailers and carts under the operational permit fees section governed by International Fire Code Section 105.6, the category the code describes as permits 'for use and valid for limited time.' An operator who brings the vehicle to the fire marshal's office for its plan review and inspection pays $118.00. An operator who instead wants the Fire Prevention and Investigation Department to inspect the vehicle on-site, wherever it is parked to serve the public, pays $180.00, the higher of the two options because it requires the inspector to travel.
The same fee schedule covers the broader safety equipment a food truck is likely to carry: each pull, smoke, heat or signaling device on a fire alarm system runs $3.50 once the base $295.00 fire alarm plan review is paid, and fuel-tank work, common on trucks running propane or gasoline generators, costs $177.00 for removing the first tank and $118.00 for each additional one. If the vehicle needs a hood-and-duct fire-extinguishing system over its cooking equipment, that plan review and inspection is $177.00, plus $5.90 per nozzle. Reinstatement of a lapsed operational permit, requested within one hundred eighty days of expiration, costs $250.00, and a one-time extension before expiration, capped at one hundred eighty days, costs $125.00.
These are Fire Prevention and Investigation Department fees layered on top of, not instead of, any Community Development business license or health district food-service permit the truck also needs to operate in the unincorporated county.
Violations & Fines
Chelan County Code § 3.25.010 ties the food truck's fire operational permit to International Fire Code Section 105.6, which limits the permit's validity to a set period; operating past that window, or without ever obtaining the permit, exposes the operator to the Fire Prevention and Investigation Department's inspection and enforcement authority under the adopted fire code. A lapsed permit can be reinstated for $250.00 within one hundred eighty days of expiration; after that window, or without any permit at all, the operator has to start the $118.00 or $180.00 review process over.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a food truck need a fire permit to operate in unincorporated Chelan County?
How much does the food truck fire inspection cost?
What if my food truck's fire permit expires?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chelan County
Compare Chelan County to another location·View the Washington food trucks & mobile vendors overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.