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

The license runs through the Meriden Police Department. Under § 156-2, an applicant swears to an application listing place of residence, a physical description with two photographs taken within 60 days, proof of a Connecticut sales tax permit, the nature of the business and any criminal convictions, plus a certificate of insurance. The Chief of Police may issue the license within 10 days, and it costs $150 and expires one year after issuance. Before the City hands over a license for a transient or itinerant business, § 156-5 requires a $3,000 bond running to the City of Meriden, backed by two sureties and approved by the Corporation Counsel, to cover judgments for misrepresentation or deception during a sale.

Section 156-4 requires every licensed vendor to have the license number plainly inscribed on any vehicle used in the business, and § 156-3 makes the license personal and nontransferable, so a vendor cannot dodge the rule by tagging along with a local dealer. The peddler and solicitor definitions in § 156-1 are broad enough to cover a person vending from a stationary cart or food truck on a sidewalk, not just door-to-door sales; the only carve-outs are farmers and gardeners selling their own produce, milk and bakery delivery, sales on approval, businesses operating from a fixed store, tax-exempt nonprofits registered with the Police Department, and anyone who has kept a regular place of business in the City for the preceding 12 months.