Vestavia Hills, AL Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Food Truck Permits (2026)

Section 8-272(a) of the Vestavia Hills Code of Ordinances requires every mobile food unit operator to obtain an annual business license from the City of Vestavia Hills Finance Department before making any food sales in the city, filed under NAICS Code 722330 and billed on Schedule 5A of the license classifications in section 8-37. The license covers both the mobile unit itself and the commissary that supplies it. Section 8-272(b) layers a second, separate operating permit on top of the business license: the City Clerk issues one operating permit per unit, running January 1 through December 31 each year, and the physical permit must be posted where it is visible on the truck or cart at all times it is in operation.

To get that permit, the operator has to submit current health department approval letters for both the commissary and the unit, along with the current business license, and the city's fire marshal must inspect and approve each unit before the permit is issued. Section 8-274 gives the city manager discretion to waive the license fee and permitting requirement for an operator working an organized civic event, festival, celebration or nonprofit event, though sales tax collection and the fire marshal inspection still apply even under that exemption. Violations of this article are enforced under section 8-273.