Montgomery, AL Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- Business license before any cart sale
- Annual fee
- $300.00 per cart
- License term
- Not more than one year, non-transferable
- Cart size limit
- 4 ft wide x 6 ft long x 5 ft tall
- Location
- Confined to mapped downtown vending district
- Banned merchandise
- Tobacco products
Summary
Montgomery requires a business license before selling food, beverages or merchandise from a cart or kiosk on any city street or sidewalk, at an annual fee of $300 per cart. Licenses run for no more than one year, cannot be transferred, and are valid only for a designated downtown vending district.
E. License required. 1. It shall be unlawful to sell, or offer for sale, any food, beverage or merchandise on any street or sidewalk within the city from a cart without first obtaining a business license therefore. 2. A nonexclusive license for not more than one year may be granted for the operation of one or more carts at locations within a vending district. 3. An annual license fee of $300.00 per cart shall be paid in advance. One business license for each cart shall be required at the applicable rate pursuant to the business license ordinance. 4. A license may not be transferred in any manner. 5. The provisions of this article shall not apply to festivals, community projects, or public events which occur on a periodic basis and which are specifically approved by city council.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 27).
Full Breakdown
Article VI, Sec. 1 of the zoning ordinance (City Code App. C) creates a downtown vending district, defined by a lengthy metes-and-bounds legal description running from Court Square along the Alabama River and back through the surrounding downtown blocks, and confines licensed sidewalk vending to that mapped area. A cart is defined as a portable, non-motorized wheeled device no more than four feet wide, six feet long (excluding hitch or handles) and five feet tall (excluding canopy); a kiosk is a small roofed structure with one or more open sides.
Permitted merchandise under subsection (D) is limited mainly to food and non-alcoholic beverages, such as sandwiches, hot dogs, tamales, burritos, ice cream and packaged snacks, plus boat and jet-ski rentals; tobacco products are explicitly barred. Subsection (E) requires the license, sets the $300 annual per-cart fee, caps the license term at one year, and bars transferring a license to another vendor. Subsection (F) requires the application to identify the applicant and cart owner, describe the merchandise and cart, list the proposed vending location or locations, and disclose where the cart is stored off-street when not in use. Festivals and city-council-approved public events, such as Jubilee Cityfest, fall outside this article and instead require a separate permit from the event sponsor.
Violations & Fines
Selling food, beverages or merchandise from a cart or kiosk on a Montgomery street or sidewalk without first obtaining the required business license violates Article VI, Sec. 10.14.1(E) and is punishable under Article II, Sec. 5 as provided in City Code § 1-6, with each day of the violation a separate offense. Vending outside the mapped downtown vending district, selling merchandise not on the permitted list, or vending tobacco products from a cart is likewise a violation regardless of whether the vendor holds a license.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Montgomery
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