Long Beach, CA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)
Key Facts
- Health permit issuer
- LB Dept. of Health and Human Services
- Small-vendor exception
- ≤25 sq ft, prepackaged food only
- Max operating footprint
- 100 sq ft
- Residential hours
- 8 a.m.–8 p.m. (or sunset if later)
- School-zone ban
- 7 a.m.–5 p.m. weekdays, 1 block
- Food-vending penalty
- enforced via CA Health & Safety Code
Summary
A vendor selling food from a pushcart, stand or other nonmotorized conveyance on a Long Beach sidewalk needs a health permit from the City's own Department of Health and Human Services in addition to the base sidewalk vendor permit. Municipal Code § 5.73.030(B) requires that health permit for all food sidewalk vending except very small prepackaged-food operations.
Additionally, it is unlawful to engage in, operate, conduct, carry on, or allow to be carried on, or otherwise engage in the sidewalk vending of food without also having first obtained a health permit from the City Department of Health and Human Services. 1.Exception: A sidewalk vendor with twenty-five (25) square feet or less of display area from which only prepackaged non-potentially hazardous food and whole uncooked produce is sold is not required to obtain a health permit.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 52 Update 1 | City Charter: Supplement 5).
Full Breakdown
73, Sidewalk Vendors, enacted by ORD-24-0002 in January 2024, separately conditions the sale of food from a non-motorized sidewalk conveyance. 030(A) requires of every vendor. 030(B)(1) excuses a vendor with 25 square feet or less of display area selling only prepackaged non-potentially-hazardous food and whole uncooked produce. Because Long Beach runs its own municipal health department rather than relying on the Los Angeles County health authority that governs most neighboring cities, that health permit is issued and inspected locally rather than by the County. 110(B) additionally requires all food sidewalk vendors to comply with Title 8 of the Municipal Code and the California Health and Safety Code. until the park's closing time. m. 110(D).
Violations & Fines
Sidewalk vending of food without the § 5.73.030(B) health permit is punishable under the California Health and Safety Code per § 5.73.160(D), separate from the Chapter's own graduated fine schedule for other violations, which runs from a $100 administrative fine for a first offense up to $500 for repeat offenses within a year, plus permit revocation on a fourth violation (§ 5.73.160(A)).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a separate health permit to sell food from a cart on a Long Beach sidewalk?
Is there any exception to the food health permit?
Why does Long Beach issue its own food-vending health permit instead of the county?
What hours can I vend food on a Long Beach sidewalk?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Long Beach
California rules heatmap·Compare Long Beach to another location·View the California food trucks & mobile vendors overview
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Sidewalk & Mobile Vending in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Los Angeles County handle sidewalk & mobile vending.