East Baton Rouge Parish, LA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

Title 6, Chapter 7 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge governs food vending parish-wide (the chapter is codified from both the 1951 City Code and the 1962 Parish Code). Section 6:600 defines "eating and drinking establishment" to expressly include a "lunch wagon" alongside restaurants, cafes, caterers and coin-operated vending machines dispensing food or drink, and separately defines an "itinerant eating and drinking establishment" as one operating for a temporary period only. Section 6:601 makes it unlawful to operate any eating and drinking establishment without first securing a permit from the director of the health unit (or the delegated chief sanitarian); § 6:602 requires a signed application and an inspection showing compliance with the chapter and the state sanitary code before the permit issues.

Section 6:611 sets the mobile/temporary-vendor rules directly: itinerant units must secure a permit only after an on-site inspection, and that permit runs no more than 15 days of continuous operation, though the director may grant a single additional 15-day extension after a follow-up sanitary check. An itinerant operation that is permanent in nature but runs only for special events, such as athletic events, can instead get a one-year permit with the option to renew. The same section requires food-prep areas enclosed on top and three sides, single-service utensils unless the stand has a three-compartment sink and hand lavatory, handwashing facilities with soap and individual towels, and a daily cleanup of the premises. Permits are nontransferable under § 6:606 and must be displayed under § 6:605.