Thurston County, WA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)
Key Facts
- License fee
- $25 per year
- Licensing authority
- Thurston County auditor
- Governing state law
- RCW Chapter 36.71
- Applies to
- Unincorporated Thurston County
Summary
Thurston County requires anyone peddling goods or food on public streets, sidewalks, or door-to-door in unincorporated areas to hold an annual $25 peddler's license issued by the county auditor.
6.48.010 Fee. The license fee for peddlers pursuant to RCW Chapter 36.71 is fixed at twenty-five dollars per year. ... 6.48.020 Licensing official. The Thurston County auditor is designated as the licensing authority for peddlers licenses in Thurston County pursuant to RCW Chapter 36.71
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 77).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 6.48 of the Thurston County Code sets the peddler's license required under RCW Chapter 36.71 for anyone selling goods or food on public streets, sidewalks, or door-to-door in the unincorporated county. The license costs twenty-five dollars per year, and the county auditor, not the sheriff or planning department, is the designated licensing authority who issues it. The chapter does not carve out a separate food-truck or food-cart category; a mobile food vendor working the sidewalk falls under the same general peddler's license as a door-to-door salesperson. Selling within a county park is handled separately under the park code's vendor-concession rule.
Violations & Fines
Peddling goods or food anywhere in unincorporated Thurston County without the county auditor's peddler's license violates Chapter 6.48 and can draw a citation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to run a food cart in Thurston County?
Who issues the peddler's license in Thurston County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Thurston County
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