Fairfield, CT Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

Fairfield regulates mobile food vendors through Chapter 99's transient merchant scheme rather than a standalone food-truck ordinance. Section 99-7A sets the general license term at one year, or up to 10 consecutive days for a temporary license, both issued by the Chief of Police. Section 99-7B sets the default solicitation window at 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. but carves out two exceptions: food and/or ice cream truck transient merchants may operate from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and parade vendors from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

To operate at all, a food truck vendor must first hold a transient merchant license under § 99-2, filing the sworn application described at § 99-3 (identity, vehicle information, goods to be sold, Better Business Bureau status, conviction history) and paying the fee schedule at § 99-5, which runs $350 for a nonresident annual license or $200 temporary, versus $75-$100 (or $50-$75 temporary) for residents. Any applicant proposing to operate from a roadside or outside stand, which covers a stationary food truck location, must also produce a certificate of zoning compliance for that location under § 99-3E.

While operating, § 99-8G bars selling on any public street or sidewalk of certain prohibited articles, and § 99-8F separately bars any solicitation that obstructs the free and convenient use of a street or sidewalk, both of which apply to a truck parked at curbside.