Mission Viejo, CA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)

Sec. 020 makes it unlawful for any person to engage in the act of vending, defined in Sec. 010 as selling or offering merchandise, fruits, vegetables, ice cream or foodstuffs from a vehicle, wagon or pushcart, without first obtaining a vendor's permit from the city. Sec. 030 requires a nonrefundable processing fee with the application, which the county sheriff's department reviews to verify the licensing of the vending vehicles; the city manager then approves, conditionally approves or denies the permit based on paid fees, approved insurance certificates, and a finding that no owner, driver or vendor has been convicted of a moral-turpitude, drug-related or sex-related misdemeanor or felony, including controlled-substance sales, obscene-matter offenses, indecent exposure, unlawful lottery sales, gambling, bookmaking or alcohol- or drug-related traffic offenses; a denial can be appealed under Sec.

100. Once approved, the sheriff's department runs a criminal background check on every owner and operator before fees are finalized, and the city issues a photographed identification card valid for one year to each of them (Sec. 040); anyone who misrepresents information on the application is barred from reapplying for a background check or ID card for one year. A permit can be revoked by the city manager after a hearing for any violation of the vendor regulations, with a right of appeal to the city council, and a revoked permittee cannot obtain a new permit for at least one year (Sec.

050). Vending vehicles must stay free of defective, unsafe or unsanitary conditions and are subject to inspection by any city officer at any time (Sec. 060). Vendors selling fruits, vegetables, ice cream or foodstuffs must display a valid county health inspection sticker, each operator must carry a valid driver's license and wear the city ID card while vending, and vendors must police up litter left by customers within 25 feet of the vehicle (Sec. 070).