Charleston, SC Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

Section 17-121(a) governs stationary carts, vehicles and devices on public ground. Inside the Old and Historic District, no one may sell food or drink with any alcohol contained in it, or reading material, from a stationary cart or vehicle parked or stopped on a city street, in a public parking space, in a public right-of-way, on a sidewalk beside a city street or on any other public property. The only exception is an area the Department of Traffic and Transportation has designated and marked and city council has approved. Subsection (a)(7) applies the same prohibition outside the district and again allows sales only in spaces the department designates and marks.

The director of traffic and transportation surveys the nonresidential parts of the Old and Historic District and reports to city council at least annually on suitable locations, weighing vehicular and pedestrian circulation, access, parking and street or sidewalk width. A designated space can never sit within 100 feet of a church entrance or within 100 feet of a residentially designated district, and the director must avoid placing spaces unreasonably close to existing restaurants or other vendor spaces.

Designated spaces are open daily from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on a first come, first served basis unless the space is franchised or council says otherwise. To work a space, a vendor needs a business license, a peddler's permit for himself and for each employee who operates the cart (approved by the police department and issued by the business license division), and a decal from the business license division displayed prominently on the cart. The vendor must also pay the space fee set by city council, file a signed indemnification and hold harmless agreement with the traffic and transportation director, and keep every part of the operation inside the perimeter of the vendor space.

Subsection (b) covers mobile food vendors on private property in the Central Business District. Those vendors need a business license, a peddler's permit for themselves and each employee, one current mobile food vendor operational permit from the fire marshal division and written permission from the property owner. They may operate only from 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., must clear the parcel of the vehicle and all materials at the end of each business day, and must set up at least 10 feet back from the public way.