Dearborn Heights, MI Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

Before a mobile food truck or cart can operate in the City of Dearborn Heights, Sec. 22-27 requires the vehicle's food dispensing and food preparation equipment to be inspected and approved by the county department of health, and Sec. 22-28 sets minimum equipment standards: refrigeration capable of holding perishable food at 45 degrees Fahrenheit and frozen food between zero and 12 degrees Fahrenheit. Only after clearing that inspection can an operator apply for the Sec. 22-51 street vendor license, which the city clerk issues separately for the person and for each piece of vehicular equipment or container used in the business; operating any vehicle without its own license, or continuing to vend after a license has been revoked, suspended or expired, is itself a violation.

Sec. 22-52 requires the clerk's application to list the applicant's name, address, phone number, a description of the goods to be sold, the type and number of vehicles used, and any prior investigation or conviction history, and Sec. 22-54 routes every application to the police, fire, building and engineering, and water departments, plus the treasurer's office, before approval; applicants are fingerprinted by the police department. Sec. 22-53 makes a license run one year from issuance, charges a council-set annual fee, and adds a ten percent penalty for renewals filed more than seven days late.

Sec. 22-55 further requires any vendor selling food to hold and maintain a county health department license for as long as the city license is in effect. Chapter 22 is classified Class A under Sec. 1-11(e), so operating without the required license is a municipal civil infraction: $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second within one year, and $400 for a third or subsequent offense, enforced by the Dearborn Heights Police Department and Building and Engineering Department.