Los Banos, CA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

Article 45 of Title 9 of the Los Banos Municipal Code implements Senate Bill 946, the statewide sidewalk vending law, by setting up a City permit system administered by the Community and Economic Development Director. Anyone who sells food or merchandise from a pushcart, stand, or other non-motorized conveyance, or from their own person, on a public sidewalk needs the permit in hand before vending. Applicants pay a nonrefundable processing fee set by City Council resolution, submit a LiveScan background check through the Los Banos Police Department, carry a seller's permit from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, and, if selling food, complete a food handler course and hold a Merced County Department of Public Health permit.

A liability insurance policy of at least $1,000,000 naming the City as additional insured is required before the permit issues, and any vending cart must pass a Fire Department safety inspection first. The Director decides applications within 30 days and can deny one for reasons including unpaid prior fines, a permit revoked in the past 12 months, or a felony drug-sale conviction within three years. Permits run 12 months and are nontransferable. Vending is barred inside 200 feet of an operating certified farmers' market or swap meet, 300 feet of school grounds during school hours, 300 feet of a church or child care center, 400 feet of another vendor, and inside any City parking lot or residentially zoned area for stationary carts.

daily, and carts cannot exceed four feet wide by seven feet long. Vendors must haul away trash within a 15-foot radius of the stand before leaving.