Sumter County, FL Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)

Sumter County Code § 13-537 governs transient merchants, mobile vendors and other temporary commercial uses countywide. A mobile food vendor may only operate on a parcel carrying an adopted future land use of commercial, mixed use or industrial under the Sumter County Comprehensive Plan, or on a parcel with a vested commercial or industrial zoning designation. The vendor needs a written lease with the property owner, or other proof of authorization, before setting up. Development Services requires a detailed site plan showing the boundaries of the intended use, any structures including tents, sanitation arrangements, parking areas and vehicular and pedestrian access, reviewed case-by-case by county staff.

If the site's access is from a state-maintained road, the Florida Department of Transportation must approve the access point in writing; if access runs off a county-maintained road, Sumter County Public Works must approve it instead. Any vendor using a tent or drawing electricity on-site must first obtain the applicable Sumter County permits. , and all equipment, inventory and evidence of the day's operation must be cleared from the site daily at close of business, so no overnight staging is allowed. A narrow exception in the broader section lets transient merchants operate on church or school property regardless of the parcel's underlying future land use category, once the church or school submits written permission to the county.