Palm Coast, FL Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Underlying license
- Required under Sec. 35-163 for mobile food sales
- School buffer
- 200 feet, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. school days
- Parking rule
- Curb-side wheels, only while serving a customer
- Prepared foods
- Confined to designated "authorized sales area"
- License term
- Up to 12 months
- Violation penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine, 60 days jail
Summary
Vehicular mobile food sales in Palm Coast run through the City's peddler-license division. Sec. 35-164 bars parking to sell within 200 feet of a school building from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on school days, requires curb-side parking that lasts only as long as it takes to serve a customer, and confines prepared-food sales to a City-designated "authorized sales area."
(a)No solicitor engaging in vehicular mobile sales selling or distributing any food items or any other items shall park or stop the vehicle for the purpose of making a sale of such items in an area which is closer than 200 feet to a school building between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on days which school is in session, as measured from the closest point of the property upon which the building is located to the location on which the vehicle is parked.(b)Any solicitor engaging in vehicular mobile sales parking in any permissible area within the City must comply with all of the City's traffic regulations including, but not limited to, stopping with the right wheels to the curb, and shall only be allowed to park for that amount of time which it takes to serve a customer.(c)No solicitor engaging in vehicular mobile sales selling or distributing any prepared foodstuffs such as, but not limited to, hot dogs and hamburgers, shall park or stop the vehicle for the purpose of preparing and selling such foodstuffs to a customer in any area other than that area so designated as their authorized sales area under a license issued pursuant to this division.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 44 | Land Development Code: Supplement 18).
Full Breakdown
A vehicular mobile food vendor is a "solicitor" under Sec. 35-162(b), which covers anyone selling goods, wares, merchandise or services by going "door-to-door or place-to-place" within the City, so the vendor first needs the Sec. 35-163 license: a sworn application, fingerprints, and a Level II FDLE background check before operating. Sec. 35-164, titled "Restrictions as to certain activities," then sets rules specific to vehicular mobile sales. on school days, measured from the closest point of the school property to the vehicle's location. " Subsection (c) further restricts vendors selling prepared foodstuffs "such as, but not limited to, hot dogs and hamburgers" to the specific area designated as their "authorized sales area" under the license, rather than any open curb space.
Subsection (d) makes it unlawful to sell in violation of the section. These rules sit within Division 2, Peddlers and Hawkers, alongside the general Sec. 35-163 licensing requirements.
Violations & Fines
Selling in violation of the 200-foot school buffer, traffic rules, or authorized-sales-area limit is unlawful under Sec. 35-164(d). Because vehicular mobile food sales run through the same peddler license, violators face the Sec. 35-171 misdemeanor penalty of up to $1,000 and 60 days in jail, plus license suspension for up to 90 days under Sec. 35-169 or revocation under Sec. 35-170 for repeat or serious violations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a food truck need a permit to operate in Palm Coast?
How close to a school can a food truck park to sell?
Can a food truck park anywhere it wants to sell hot dogs or burgers?
What happens if a mobile vendor sells without following these rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Palm Coast
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Palm Coast to another location·View the Florida food trucks & mobile vendors overview
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