Nicholasville, KY Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

Section 17-24(c) defines an itinerant merchant to include an individual or entity that conducts business from a mobile food truck, whether independently motorized, a vehicle-towed trailer, or otherwise mobile, in which food is cooked or prepared to order and served to walk up customers. Restaurants operating from a fixed location are carved out only if they otherwise fall outside the definition and report the unit's sales with the restaurant's overall sales. Section 17-25(a) requires an occupational license under Chapter 27, and the application must specify a permanent business address where notices are mailed.

Section 17-25(b) then requires a valid permit from the Nicholasville Planning Commission in accordance with the Nicholasville zoning ordinance. The application includes a copy of the occupational license, documentation of inspection by the City of Nicholasville Fire Marshal under NFPA 1-50.7, inspection by the Jessamine County Health Department if applicable, and the mobile food unit license number, description, VIN and proof of automotive insurance. The permit names the merchant and the exact location, is not transferable, and must be posted at that location at all times.

A merchant who wants a different location must notify the Fire Marshal by email or other written notice. Section 17-25(e) sets the annual fee at one hundred sixty dollars ($160.00) with a Fire Marshal inspection no less than once per year, and § 17-26(f) adds a twenty-five dollar ($25.00) inspection fee, by appointment only, for merchants with cooking equipment. The Division of Planning and Zoning reviews the site plan under § 17-30 and can approve only with Fire Marshal approval. Section 17-31 exempts vending at special events by otherwise licensed merchants, nonprofit vending, and private catering located entirely on private property.