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

Manatee County Code Chapter 2-19, Article II regulates ice cream trucks vending on public roads throughout unincorporated Manatee County. Since April 1, 2008, no ice cream truck may vend until the Sheriff's Office inspects and certifies it: the truck must carry amber signal lamps and an extendable 'Slow Children Crossing' signal arm, exterior mirrors covering blind spots, warning decals in six-inch lettering, a $50,000 liability policy, and a five-pound fire extinguisher. Inspection certificates expire one year after issuance and are non-transferable. Separately, every driver needs an operator permit from the county administrator, issued only after a criminal background and driving-record check confirms the applicant is not a registered sex offender, has no reckless-driving or DUI convictions in the preceding three years, and has no more than three such convictions in a lifetime; the permit expires three years after issuance.

Sec. or after sunset, cannot vend on roads posted above 30 mph, must have a clear sightline of 200 feet in both directions, must stay 500 feet from any school for an hour before and after the school day, must sell only from the curb side away from traffic, and cannot back up while a child is within 50 feet. Sound amplification is limited to nonvocal music, capped at 500 feet of audibility, and barred within 500 feet of hospitals, schools, or churches. 253, Florida Statutes; general mobile food trucks selling from private property or permitted events fall outside this article.