Boulder, CO Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

Section 9-6-5(d) of the Boulder Land Use Code defines where and how a 'mobile food vehicle,' a motorized, towed, or pedal-powered unit equipped to prepare and sell food, may operate. Trucks and carts may set up on private lots in the Mixed Use, Business, Downtown, or Industrial zoning districts, in the public right-of-way within the IS-1, IS-2, IG, IM, IMS, or P districts, in designated city park areas, or as part of an organized event or street closure permit. Outside an organized event, a vehicle must stay at least 150 feet from any residential zoning district and at least 150 feet from an existing restaurant, unless every restaurant within that radius signs a statement supporting the permit in the BC-1 district; a vehicle parked in the right-of-way must also stay 200 feet from any other mobile food vehicle there, and no property in the Mixed Use, Business, or Downtown districts may host more than four vehicles at once.

Beyond siting, Section 9-6-5(d)(2) requires a license from the city manager, proof of a valid driver's license, vehicle registration and insurance (or, for a bicycle cart, a state ID and Section 4-1-8 insurance), a Colorado retail food license for a mobile unit, a sales tax license, and the fee set by Section 4-20-66: $100 to apply plus $216 for a twelve-month license. , or longer than four hours at one approved location; from setting up tables, canopies, or chairs; from selling anything but food and non-alcoholic drinks; and from being left unattended. The vehicle must display its permit and keep three separate marked containers for trash, recycling, and compost.