Tacoma, WA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- License fee
- $225
- Liability insurance
- $1,000,000 minimum
- Health approval
- Tacoma-Pierce County plan check, WAC 246-215
- Fire inspection
- Required under TMC Chapter 3.02
Summary
Operating a food truck on Tacoma's public ways requires a $225 City license, health department plan approval, fire inspection, and $1M liability coverage.
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in or carry on the business of food truck vending upon the public ways of the City without first having obtained a license or licenses pursuant to this chapter. ... The license fee for a Food Truck Vendor is hereby fixed as $225.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4946110; v22 updated 2026-07-28).
Full Breakdown
Anyone who vends food from a truck on Tacoma's public ways must get a food truck vendor license under TMC Chapter 6B.175 before operating; the fee is $225. Applicants must show $1,000,000 in commercial general and auto liability coverage naming the City as an additional insured, get Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department plan-check approval and a Mobile Unit Permit under WAC 246-215, and pass a Tacoma Fire Department inspection for compliance with the Fire Prevention Code, TMC Chapter 3.02. The license can be suspended or revoked if the health permit is pulled or the truck violates chapter rules.
Violations & Fines
Vending without a license, letting the Health Department's Mobile Unit Permit lapse, or violating operating rules can get the license suspended or revoked and the truck impounded.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a Tacoma food truck license?
Can the City revoke a food truck license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tacoma
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Food Truck Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle food truck permits.