Washoe County, NV Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- WCC § 25.359
- Required passageway
- 2-foot clear path for pedestrians
- Application filed with
- License division
- Prohibited conduct
- Blocking street/alley or creating fire hazard
- Enforcement tool
- License division inspections (§ 25.367)
Summary
Washoe County has no separate food-truck ordinance, so the county's general sidewalk sales law governs any vendor, including a food cart, selling from a public walk, street or alley. A license from the license division is required before anyone vends there.
It is unlawful for any person, transient, merchant, church, club, charitable institution, hawker or peddler to vend, sell, dispose of or offer to vend, sell, dispose of or display any goods, wares, merchandise, produce or vegetables on any public walk, street, alley or anywhere within the county without having first obtained a license from the license division for that purpose.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 20 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
359 makes it unlawful for any person, transient, merchant, church, club, charitable institution, hawker or peddler to vend, sell, dispose of, offer, or display goods, wares, merchandise, produce or vegetables on any public walk, street or alley, or anywhere else in the county, without first obtaining a license from the license division. 361 must be made in writing and state the applicant's name (or the names of partners, officers, or principal officers for an organization) and the exact location or locations where the merchandise will be displayed and sold.
365: no street or alley may be blocked by merchandise offered for sale, a two-foot passageway must remain open for pedestrians, goods must be placed so they cannot endanger passersby or fall into the street or alley, and the sale cannot be operated in a manner that creates a nuisance or a fire hazard. 367, which allows it to make or order as many inspections as needed of the personnel conducting the sales. Because prepared food sold from a cart or stand on a public sidewalk falls within the ordinance's broad reach ('goods, wares, merchandise'), a mobile food vendor working from a fixed sidewalk spot needs this license in addition to any state health permit.
Violations & Fines
Selling from a sidewalk, street or alley without the § 25.359 license is enforced as a licensing violation under the general business license penalty at § 25.443, a misdemeanor punished as provided in § 125.050. Blocking the required two-foot pedestrian passageway or creating a fire hazard under § 25.365 is separately grounds for the license division to deny, suspend, or revoke the license and order the sale stopped.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a food cart need a permit to sell on a Washoe County sidewalk?
How much sidewalk space must stay open for pedestrians?
Who inspects sidewalk vendors in Washoe County?
Is there a Washoe County ordinance written specifically for food trucks?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Washoe County
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