New Brunswick, NJ Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Issuing office
- Office of the City Clerk, City of New Brunswick
- License fee
- $200 for each wagon, automobile or other vehicle
- Expiration
- Midnight on March 1 of each year
- Renewal
- File application and fee by March 1, with satisfactory health inspection
- Transferable
- No, only the named person can operate under it
- Fixed vs. non-fixed
- Fixed location is a mobile food vendor; otherwise a peddler
Summary
In the City of New Brunswick, New Jersey, a mobile food vendor needs a permit and license from the office of the city clerk before selling prepared food from a motorized vehicle at a fixed location. The license fee is $200 for each vehicle, and every license expires at midnight on March 1.
A.It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, partnership or voluntary association to engage in the business of a "peddler" or "mobile food vendor" as defined herein, without obtaining the proper permit(s) and license(s) from the office of the city clerk. Such permit(s) and license(s) are posted in a conspicuous place in the mobile unit.B.This section is not construed to include: ... 3.Any veteran who holds a special license issued pursuant to N.J.S.A. 45:24-9 is exempt from application for a license but is required to comply with all other applicable sections of this chapter.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 5.68 of the New Brunswick Municipal Code, titled Peddlers and Mobile Food Vendors, governs food trucks in the City of New Brunswick. Section 5.68.010 defines a mobile food vendor as anyone who offers prepared food for sale from a motorized vehicle at a fixed location. A vendor who sells prepared food from a motorized vehicle at any location other than a fixed one is treated as a peddler and must meet the peddler rules in the same chapter. Under § 5.68.020, engaging in either business without the proper permits and licenses from the city clerk's office is unlawful, and those documents must be posted in a conspicuous place in the mobile unit.
Section 5.68.030 sets the sequence. An applicant first obtains a peddler's license or its equivalent from the city clerk, then applies in writing on the clerk's forms. The form asks for a permanent home address, the name and address of the firm represented, any conviction for a crime, misdemeanor or municipal ordinance violation, and the firm's written authorization if the applicant is an employee or representative. Applicants must also comply with N.J.S.A. 39:4-128.3 et seq. to the extent it applies to the licensed activity. An existing license renews automatically when a new application and the prescribed fee are filed on or before March 1, provided a satisfactory health inspection has been obtained.
Under § 5.68.040 the clerk investigates the facts in the application, then issues the license on approval and payment. The license is personal: only the designated person named on it can operate under it, and it cannot be transferred to anyone else. The clerk supplies a plate, badge or other evidence carrying the license number and year, and it must be displayed in a conspicuous part of the vehicle. A license is good only for the year of issue and expires at midnight on March 1, and anyone who applies after the first day of January pays the fee for the full year. Section 5.68.050 sets that fee at $200 for each wagon, automobile or other vehicle. Sections 5.68.090 and 5.68.100 add equipment rules: a waste tank with a capacity at least equal to the water supply tank, and a covered refuse container available to customers and operators.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 5.68 prints no general penalty clause for operating without a license, so the default in § 1.08.010 applies: a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $2,000, or up to 90 days of imprisonment, or both, or up to 90 days of community service at the municipal court judge's discretion. Under § 1.08.020 each day a violation exists is a separate violation. Section 5.68.080 requires any city officer to demand the license from a vendor not known to be licensed and to enforce the chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who issues a food truck license in the City of New Brunswick?
How much does a mobile food vendor license cost and when does it expire?
Does a truck that moves between spots count as a mobile food vendor?
Can an employee operate a truck under the owner's license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Brunswick
Compare New Brunswick to another location·View the New Jersey food trucks & mobile vendors overview
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Food Truck Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle food truck permits.