Commerce City, CO Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

Municipal Code § 9-3301 defines an outdoor vendor as anyone who sells goods, wares, merchandise or food from an outdoor location, whether by hawking directly to passersby in a right-of-way or by hiring, leasing or occupying a movable structure or display device, and the definition specifically names a "mobile vendor" as one that makes stops at multiple sites to serve customers. Under § 9-3302, no person may engage in outdoor vending, including mobile food sales, without first obtaining a license, and a separate license is required for each location where the vendor operates.

A single license may authorize up to ten stops within one location, and a vendor may temporarily work at or near a city facility not named on the license with permission of the city manager or a designee. Each structure or display device the vendor uses for storage, display or sale must be described on the face of the license, and the license itself must be firmly attached to the truck, cart or stand and visible to the public at all times of operation. If the vending location or any stop sits on private property, the operator must give the city written consent from the property owner or lessee, and the license never overrides the zoning that applies to that property.

Licensing and enforcement run through the city's general business license framework in Chapter 9, article I, which lets the city deny, suspend or revoke a license for operating on improperly zoned property, misrepresenting an application or violating any license condition, with denials appealable to the administrative hearing officer under chapter 3, article II.