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Chesterfield County, VA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

License tax
$25 per vendor or vehicle, per year
Max stop time
30 minutes per sale
Daily cap
8 hours of vending at one place
Exemptions
Charitable peddlers, home-grown perishables
License terms
Not transferable, not prorated

Summary

Mobile food and drink peddlers in unincorporated Chesterfield County pay a $25 license tax per vendor or vehicle and cannot leave a vehicle parked in one spot longer than a sale requires, capped at 30 minutes per stop, under County Code Section 6-48(d), with an overall 8-hour daily cap under Section 6-48(h).

These county ordinances apply to unincorporated areas of Chesterfield County. Incorporated cities within the county may have their own rules that take precedence over county-level regulations.

A license tax of $25.00 per vendor or vehicle for the license year shall be imposed on any peddler who sells or offers for sale in person or by his employees food, drinks, or other goods if such items were not grown, produced, or harvested by him or by his employees; and who, for the purpose of peddling such food, drinks, or goods, does not stay in one location or allow his vehicle to remain in place any longer than is necessary to conclude a sale of any goods, wares, or merchandise or a continuous uninterrupted series of sales thereof, for any longer than a maximum of 30 minutes. ... It shall be unlawful for a peddler to park, stand, stop or allow a vehicle to remain in any place for the purpose of peddling more than eight hours in any day.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 80).

Full Breakdown

00 per-vendor or per-vehicle tax specifically for peddlers selling food, drinks, or other goods that they didn't grow, produce or harvest themselves, the category that covers most mobile food vending. That lower tax comes with a movement condition: the vendor cannot let the vehicle sit in one location any longer than necessary to finish a sale or a continuous run of sales, and never more than 30 minutes. Subsection (h) layers on a separate, flat daily limit: a peddler cannot park, stand, stop or leave a vehicle in any one place for vending purposes for more than 8 hours in a single day, regardless of how many short stops are made.

Section 6-48(c) exempts peddlers selling home-grown or home-produced perishables like meats, milk, eggs, vegetables and fruit, and subsection (e) exempts peddlers acting solely for charitable purposes without pay. Peddler licenses are not transferable and are not prorated for partial years under subsection (g), so the full tax is due once assessed. If a mobile vendor instead sells at a vendor event where the promoter has purchased a vendor-event license under Section 6-50, the peddler license tax does not separately apply to that vendor for that event location, per Section 6-47(k).

Violations & Fines

Selling without the required peddler license, or exceeding the 30-minute per-stop limit or the 8-hour daily cap in Section 6-48(d) and (h), is enforced by the county's license inspector, who under Section 6-21 can issue a summons or seek an arrest warrant charging the violation in general district court. A vendor's license can also be revoked under Section 6-20 for violating any chapter provision, effective five days after mailed notice or three days after hand delivery.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a food truck park anywhere in Chesterfield County to sell?
No. Section 6-48(d) bars a mobile food peddler from letting the vehicle remain in place any longer than necessary to finish a sale or a continuous run of sales, and sets a hard cap of 30 minutes before the vehicle has to move to a new spot.
How long can a food truck vend at one Chesterfield County location per day?
Section 6-48(h) makes it unlawful for a peddler to park, stand, stop, or leave a vehicle in any one place for vending purposes for more than 8 hours in a single day, no matter how many separate short stops are made there.
What does a Chesterfield County mobile food vendor pay for a license?
A $25 per-vendor or per-vehicle license tax under Section 6-48(d) applies to peddlers selling food or drinks they didn't grow or produce themselves. The fee covers the full license year and, under Section 6-48(g), isn't prorated or transferable.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Chesterfield County

All Chesterfield County rules

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