Taunton, MA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

C of the Taunton Code, rewritten in its entirety in 2023, governs the temporary fixed-location vendor license required to sell food, goods, wares or merchandise from a vehicle, stand or other display that is not a permanent building. Before selling, the vendor applies to the licensing authority, the Municipal Council, and the application plus a processing fee goes to the Chief of Police for investigation and the Planning Department for a zoning review. Once approved, the City Clerk issues the license for a $250 fee, though the Council may substitute a valuation-based fee tied to the average stock on hand in lieu of the flat charge.

The license must be displayed at all times, is nontransferable, runs until the following May 1 unless revoked sooner, and authorizes only the licensee, with help from an assistant, to sell, not a separate agent or clerk. C requires a Board of Health certificate that the vehicle, receptacles and utensils are in sanitary condition, plus a license as a common victualer from the Board of License Commissioners, and, if selling milk, a separate milk license from the Board of Health. Certain goods are off-limits for these vendors regardless of license: jewelry, cell phones, earbuds, small electronics, furs, precious metals, wine, spirituous liquors, small artificial flowers and miniature flags.