Des Moines, IA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

Des Moines Municipal Code § 78-203 requires every mobile vender to get a license from the city clerk before selling food or beverages, and that license only authorizes parking and selling within the mobile vender zones set in § 78-201, downtown zones and neighborhood zones, or at a specific event location approved under a temporary use or conditional use permit. Each vehicle needs its own license, and downtown operators must also rent a meter hood (§ 78-207) to hold a metered parking space. Licenses run on an annual cycle and expire every March 1 under § 78-208. Selling anywhere on a Des Moines street outside a mapped zone isn't allowed under this permit, the same cart operating a few blocks away in West Des Moines or Windsor Heights falls under that city's own code instead.