Gordon County, GA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

Section 5.03.03 of the Gordon County Unified Land Development Code governs food trucks, food trailers and carts that sell prepared food in unincorporated Gordon County, Georgia. It stacks four requirements, and the code lists each one as its own condition. First, a temporary use permit is required according to the procedures set forth in Chapter 10, the Unified Land Development Code's administrative procedures chapter, which Gordon County Planning and Development administers. Second, the applicant must have written permission of the property owner to conduct food services on the lot. Third, the applicant must possess a valid occupational license. Fourth, the applicant must possess a valid food service permit from the Board of Health.

Because the four items are separate, one does not stand in for another. A Board of Health permit shows the unit is inspected, but it does not authorize a stop on a vacant lot, and an occupational license does not authorize food service without the health permit. The owner's permission has to be in writing, so a verbal okay from a property manager does not satisfy subsection C. Both the license and the health permit must be valid, which means an expired document leaves the operator outside the section.

The permit applies to vacant lots and to lots containing a business in the Commercial and Industrial zoning districts (subsection A). The section prints no permit fee and no permit duration, so the application form and the current fee come from Planning and Development. Where the unit can stand on an eligible lot, and the extra parking it must provide, are set in subsections E and F of the same section.

Signs are a separate issue. Section 5.04.02(L) of the Unified Land Development Code prohibits signs or advertising devices attached to a vehicle or trailer parked so as to be visible from a public right-of-way for the purpose of advertising products, services or events, with an exception for a common carrier or other vehicle used for daily transportation with a valid license plate. It adds that no signs on trailers or other non-motorized vehicles will be allowed under that provision. Read 5.04.02(L) before mounting advertising on a food trailer.