A Las Cruces food truck needs a New Mexico Environment Department food service permit, obtained through Doña Ana County's delegated environmental health program, plus city registration. As a mobile itinerant merchant, the operator also falls under the city's peddler license and permit rules, and must register for gross receipts tax.
Food trucks stack several approvals. The core credential is the NMED Food Program food service permit; in Doña Ana County, which includes Las Cruces, permitting is delegated to the county environmental health office, so operators apply there rather than to the state. Plan review covers the menu, equipment, and a permitted servicing area or commissary agreement, followed by a vehicle inspection. At the city level, a mobile vendor with no fixed premises is an itinerant merchant under Chapter 21, which requires an itinerant business license ($50 for three months) and a peddler permit involving an application, fingerprinting by the police chief, and, for non-residents, a $1,000 surety bond. Operators also need a CRS number to remit gross receipts tax.
Operating a food truck without a valid NMED/county food permit or city license is unlawful. Health violations can close the unit; peddling without a permit is a petty misdemeanor punishable by up to $500 or 90 days in jail.
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