Riverside, CA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

RMC Chapter 5.36 governs mobile food merchants. Operators must obtain (1) a City Mobile Vending Permit through the City's HdL business-license portal, (2) a Riverside business tax certificate under RMC Chapter 5.04, (3) a Riverside County Department of Environmental Health Mobile Food Facility permit (Cal. Health & Safety Code §§ 113700 et seq., California Retail Food Code), and (4) a California Seller's Permit if selling taxable goods. Operating hours per Chapter 5.36 are limited to sunrise to sunset in residential-only areas and sunrise to midnight in all other zones. Sales from a vending vehicle on a public street must be from the side facing the sidewalk, not the side facing moving traffic; sales to people standing in the roadway are prohibited. No tables, chairs, umbrellas, or signs may be placed in the public right-of-way that obstruct pedestrians or traffic. On private property, the operator must have written owner permission, must provide at least two off-street parking spaces, and may not park the truck overnight. Insurance of at least $1 million in general liability is required by the City. Note: prior to 2024 city law restricted mobile food trucks operating within City limits to prepackaged food only — Riverside's current ordinance and the County DEH retail-food permit regime now allow open food preparation when the truck is certified as a Mobile Food Facility under the California Retail Food Code.