Phoenix, AZ Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors: Vending Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Where allowed
- Private property only, with owner permission
- License
- Separate mobile vendor license per site
- Unit size cap
- 24 ft x 10 ft x 12 ft
- School buffer
- 300 ft, no operating 6am-5pm
- Penalty
- $50-$2,500 civil sanction per day
Summary
Phoenix licenses mobile food vending only on private property with the owner's written permission: no public right-of-way vending. Each site needs its own mobile vendor license, must clear vision triangles, and stay 300 feet from schools during school hours.
Mobile vending units and mobile food vending units shall not be placed or located within the vision triangles specified in Section 31-13 of this Code... No mobile vending unit or mobile food vending unit shall be larger than twenty-four feet long by ten feet wide by twelve feet high... A mobile vendor or mobile food vendor located within three hundred feet of any school... shall not operate between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance G-7524, passed June 17, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Phoenix City Code § 10-161 requires a mobile vendor license for every mobile vending or mobile food vending operation, with a separate license for each location. Under § 10-166, the licensee must hold and document authority to use the private parcel, cannot place a unit in a vision triangle or connect utilities without a Planning and Development Department permit, and the unit itself is capped at 24 feet long by 10 feet wide by 12 feet high. Under § 10-167, a mobile food vendor within 300 feet of a school cannot operate between 6:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Violations & Fines
Civil sanction of $50 to $2,500 per violation, with each day a separate offense; violators are also guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor under § 10-171.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a food truck vend in Phoenix's public right-of-way?
How close to a school can a mobile food vendor operate?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Phoenix
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Vending Zones in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Maricopa County handle vending zones.