Upper Darby, PA Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Sidewalk & Mobile Vending (2026)
Key Facts
- Licensing agency
- Upper Darby Dept. of Public Health
- Mobile food establishment fee
- $150 per year
- Definition covers
- Any vehicle selling/serving food
- License required before
- Operating at all
- Max fine for operating unlicensed
- $1,000 plus jail up to 90 days
Summary
Upper Darby treats a food truck or vending vehicle as a regulated food establishment: operating one without a Department of Public Health license is unlawful, and the Township charges a flat $150 annual fee for all mobile food establishments.
FOOD ESTABLISHMENT: Any place, restaurant, coffee shop, cafeteria, tavern, food stand, private club; kitchen, dining room or snack bar at a hospital or care facility; ... vehicle or any other place where food, drinks or refreshments are served, sold, handled or prepared, and sold or given away over any period of time... It shall be unlawful for any proprietor to conduct or operate a food establishment within Upper Darby Township without first obtaining a license, as herein provided. Such license shall be issued by the Department.
Full Breakdown
' The license comes from the Township's Department of Public Health, requires an application on the Department's forms with the applicable fees, and cannot issue until the Department inspects the premises, facilities and equipment and finds them adequate to protect public health. Under the companion fee schedule at § 290-5, 'All mobile food establishments' pay a flat $150 annual license and inspection fee, the same rate charged to a nonprofit with current 501(c)(3) status, rather than the square-footage-tiered fee applied to fixed restaurants. Operators who sell food from a stand or vehicle on Township streets or sidewalks separately fall within the Peddling and Soliciting definitions in Chapter 405, but the health license under Chapter 328 is what specifically governs the food-safety side of mobile vending.
A vendor who operates without securing this license, or who continues after a suspension or revocation, is in violation and subject to prosecution before a Magisterial District Judge.
Violations & Fines
Operating a food establishment (including a mobile unit) without a license, or after suspension/revocation, is a violation under § 328-12: a fine up to $1,000 plus prosecution costs and attorneys' fees, with jail up to 90 days in default of payment; each day unabated after notice is a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a food truck count as a 'food establishment' under Upper Darby's code?
How much does a mobile food vendor license cost in Upper Darby?
What happens if I sell food from a truck without a license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Upper Darby
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