Grand Forks, ND Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

Grand Forks City Code § 21-0702 makes it unlawful to operate a food establishment, a defined term that expressly covers mobile food units and pushcarts, without first obtaining a license. The § 21-0703 application must list the applicant's name, address and birth date, prior license revocations in any jurisdiction, and, for mobile food units specifically, a copy of the current fire inspection report, which the Grand Forks Fire Department must approve if the report comes from an outside agency. The license fee is set by city council resolution (§ 21-0705), though the fee can be waived for a mobile unit already licensed in another North Dakota jurisdiction with equivalent standards that has passed a fire inspection.

A license runs no more than one year (§ 21-0704) and cannot be transferred without city council approval (§ 21-0710). All food establishments are subject to inspection by the Grand Forks Public Health Department, Fire Department and Inspections Department (§ 21-0706), and the Public Health Department can suspend a license without warning or a hearing if the operation is a substantial hazard, though the holder may request a city council hearing within 20 days of the suspension (§ 21-0709). Licenses can also be revoked or suspended by the city council for violating this article or health and sanitary regulations, with no refund of fees already paid (§ 21-0707).