Tigard, OR Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

Chapter 18.750 of the Tigard Municipal Code, adopted by Ord. 25-01 on January 28, 2025, sets the approval path for food carts and food cart pods in the City of Tigard, Oregon. Under § 18.750.030, every food cart and every pod must maintain an active Tigard business license, and every food cart must be inspected and licensed by the Washington County Environmental Health department. Waste containers must be provided and kept in sanitary condition. Cords, hoses, pipes and cables serving a cart must be placed and protected so they do not create a tripping hazard, and where they cross pedestrian areas they must be adequately protected and marked. Each new food cart on a property must obtain approval before it operates, except that carts located within an approved food cart pod are exempt from individual approvals.

Under § 18.750.040, a food cart application and a food cart pod application are each processed through a Type II procedure as provided in Section 18.710.060. The approval authority approves, or approves with conditions, a cart application only when every standard in § 18.750.060 is met, and a pod application only when every standard in § 18.750.070 is met (§ 18.750.050). Changing the carts inside an approved pod needs no new review as long as each cart sits in an approved and marked stall. Any other modification to an approved cart or pod requires a new approval.

Section 18.750.020 exempts temporary food truck uses from the chapter. A food cart established before January 31, 2025 can continue to operate if indoor sales and service uses are allowed in its base zone, it sits on a paved surface, it is not connected to permanent utilities, it has not moved from the site where it was legally established, and it has an adequate means of collecting and containing fats, oils, and grease before wastewater discharge.