Cupertino, CA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)
Key Facts
- Registration
- Annual, Mobile Vendor Registry
- School buffer
- 500 feet during school hours
- Stationary vendor hours
- 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Cart size cap
- 8 ft long x 5 ft wide
- Violation cap before denial
- 4 in 12 months
- Penalty
- Ch. 1.12, limited by Govt. Code Sec. 51039
Summary
Cupertino requires every sidewalk food or goods vendor to register annually in the City's Mobile Vendor Registry before operating, under Municipal Code Section 5.48.030. Vendors must stay clear of schools, fire hydrants, and other vendors, keep carts within a nine-by-nine-foot footprint, and follow set operating hours under Sections 5.48.050 and 5.48.060.
No person shall place, maintain, conduct, park or allow to stand or remain any sidewalk vending facility used for displaying, selling or offering for sale food or goods within the City limits without first registering in the City’s Mobile Vendor Registry on an annual calendar year basis, pursuant to Section 5.48.040, except that the regulations in this chapter shall not apply to the exceptions identified in subsection B. below. ... Within five hundred feet of a public or private school. This prohibition applies during school hours (when classes are in session) and one hour before and after such school hours. ... Vending area: Maximum nine feet in length and nine feet in width, subject to compliance with section 5.48.060(B)(9), to accommodate any allowed appurtenances, as follows: Vending facility: Maximum eight feet in length and five feet in width and height. ... Any person who violates the provisions of this chapter shall be punished as provided in Chapter 1.12, except as limited by Govt. Code Section 51039.
Full Breakdown
20 solicitors who are not also sidewalk vendors, and vendors at permitted outdoor events. 040 registration requires a valid Cupertino business license, a registration fee, government identification, a certificate of insurance naming the City as an additional insured, a description of the goods and hours of operation, a California seller's permit, and County health department approval if food is sold; the City must register a compliant applicant within thirty days unless the vendor has had four or more Municipal Code violations tied to vending in the prior twelve months.
050 keeps vendors out of park recreation areas, streets and medians, within ten feet of no-parking zones, fifteen feet of fire hydrants, twenty-five feet of bus stops and loading zones, twenty feet of another vendor, and five hundred feet of a school during school hours plus an hour on each side. 060B caps a vending area at nine feet by nine feet, with the cart itself no larger than eight feet long, five feet wide, and five feet tall.
Violations & Fines
Vending without registration, or exceeding four Municipal Code violations tied to vending activity within twelve months, blocks or forfeits Mobile Vendor Registry status under Section 5.48.040. Any violation of Chapter 5.48 is punished under Chapter 1.12, subject to the limits of Government Code Section 51039, per Section 5.48.080.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do sidewalk food vendors need a permit in Cupertino?
How close to a school can a sidewalk vendor set up in Cupertino?
What are the operating hours for a stationary sidewalk vendor in Cupertino?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Cupertino
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