Tempe, AZ Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required
- Mobile merchant permit, §24-26
- Insurance
- $1,000,000 combined single limit
- Background check
- Fingerprints to Tempe Police, A.R.S. §41-1750
- Residential hours ban
- 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
- School buffer
- 500 feet during school start/end
- Permit expires
- Annually, December 31
Summary
Operating a food truck in Tempe requires a mobile merchant permit under Section 24-26, plus an identification card for each worker, $1 million in liability insurance, and Tempe Police fingerprinting under Section 24-27. Trucks also face location, hour and school-proximity restrictions under Section 24-29.
(a)It shall be unlawful for any person to act within the City as a mobile merchant without first obtaining a permit authorizing such activity.(b)It shall be unlawful for any person to carry on activity within the City as a mobile merchant unless the vehicle at or adjacent to which sales of tangible personal property are made bears a valid mobile merchant permit prominently displayed within the vehicle.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: City Code: Supplement 33 Update 4 | Zoning and Development Code: Supplement 11 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
Section 24-26 makes it unlawful to "act within the City as a mobile merchant," a person selling tangible property, including food and drink, at or adjacent to a vehicle per Section 24-16, without first obtaining a permit, and the permit must be displayed prominently inside the vehicle at all times. Section 24-27 lays out the application: the operator submits names and addresses of all owners, managers, drivers and operators, the proposed location, hours and products, and a signed "good neighbor policy" covering safety, property, noise and trash.
§ 41-1750. No permit issues until the operator files proof of at least $1,000,000 in combined single-limit liability insurance naming the City as an additional insured. Permits and identification cards expire every December 31 and must be renewed annually. ; no advertising noise in residential areas outside limited windows; no parking more than four hours within any eight-hour period at one spot; and no vending within 500 feet of school grounds around the start or end of the school day.
Violations & Fines
Operating as a mobile merchant without a permit, letting the permit lapse, or violating any Section 24-29 location or hour restriction is a misdemeanor under Section 24-29(h), punishable per the Code's general penalty section, Section 1-7. The Financial Services Director can also revoke a permit or identification card under Section 24-28 for a criminal record disclosure, a "good neighbor policy" violation, or any public health or safety concern.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a food truck park on Mill Avenue downtown?
Does every worker on the truck need their own permit?
How close to a school can a food truck park?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tempe
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