Mount Prospect, IL Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

Section 12.102 B of the Mount Prospect Village Code controls mobile food sales. It defines a food service vehicle as any vehicle, whether driven by motor or other means, from which any edible products are dispensed at retail to the public or a portion of the public. Section 12.303 C designates any person selling food or beverages from a vehicle as a food service vehicle and sets an annual fee under Chapter 11, Article XXXIV of the Code.

The license comes first: no person can dispense in the village any item intended for human digestive consumption from a food service vehicle without first obtaining a license from the village.

Refrigeration is the next hurdle. Dispensing from a vehicle not equipped with a mechanical refrigeration unit is prohibited in the village. The exception covers vehicles that dispense only factory sealed snack items such as candy, potato chips, pretzels or soft drinks which do not require refrigeration. Dry ice as a refrigerant is prohibited.

Every food service vehicle used in the village must return to a central commissary where the vehicle and its contents are inspected daily. The operator keeps a log showing the time each day the vehicle returned and the signature of the person making the daily inspection, and the commissary must comply with all local and state regulations.

Other Village rules follow the vehicle. Section 12.102 B.5 applies the noise prohibitions of Section 11.2808, the nuisance declarations of Chapter 23, Article XIV, the delivery prohibitions of Sections 18.1311 and 18.1312, and the equipment requirements of Chapter 18, Article XV to all food service vehicles. Section 12.102 A adopts the 1989 edition of the state department of public health food service sanitation rules, with all later editions or amendments. The short term merchant definition in Section 11.102 also names food service vehicles, and Article V of Chapter 11 caps those licenses at 120 days. The Department of Community Development handles inspections under Article III of Chapter 12.