Food Trucks & Mobile Vendors in Pennsylvania (2026)
40 rules on the books across Pennsylvania, 16 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Food Truck Permits
Licenses and health permits required to operate a food truck, including fees, inspections, and renewal requirements.
Pennsylvania: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsPennsylvania's Food Code requires all mobile food units to obtain retail food facility licenses through the Department…
Read full rule →Bensalem
Significant RestrictionsBensalem Township requires every food truck, canteen truck and ice cream truck to hold a mobile food vendor permit from…
Read full rule →Erie
Significant RestrictionsAnyone selling food or beverages from a stand or vehicle on Erie's streets or sidewalks needs a peddler/vendor license…
Read full rule →Harrisburg
Significant RestrictionsIn the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a mobile food vendor must hold a mobile food vendor license from the Health…
Read full rule →Lower Paxton
Significant RestrictionsLower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, prints no separate mobile food unit permit. A vendor selling goods…
Read full rule →Pittsburgh
Significant RestrictionsEvery food truck in Pittsburgh needs a vending license from the License Officer under Chapter 719 before operating…
Read full rule →Abington
Some RestrictionsAbington Township requires every food truck or cart to carry two permits at once: a Location Permit and a Mobile Food…
Read full rule →Allentown
Some RestrictionsOperating a mobile food unit in Allentown requires a Bureau of Health food facility license under Chapter 303, plus a…
Read full rule →Bethlehem
Some RestrictionsBethlehem charges a $300 per-unit inspection fee for Mobile Food Establishments under its Food Code Regulation article…
Read full rule →Penn Hills
Some RestrictionsMobile food vendors in Penn Hills must obtain a Mobile Food Vendor Permit from the municipality plus an annual…
Read full rule →Philadelphia
Some RestrictionsAnyone operating a mobile food truck, cart, or other street-vending business in Philadelphia needs an annual license…
Read full rule →Reading
Some RestrictionsReading requires mobile food vendors to file a detailed license application with the Property Maintenance Division…
Read full rule →Scranton
Some RestrictionsEvery restaurant, food cart and food truck operating in Scranton must hold an annual license from the City Health…
Read full rule →Upper Darby
Some RestrictionsUpper Darby requires a Department of Public Health license before operating any food establishment, a definition that…
Read full rule →Vending Zones
Designated areas where food trucks and mobile vendors can operate, including time limits, distance from restaurants, and residential area restrictions.
York County
Heavy RestrictionsYork County closes its park system to food trucks and vendors by default. Code § 75-17 bans peddling, soliciting and…
Read full rule →Abington
Significant RestrictionsAbington Township confines routine food truck and food cart operation to six zoning districts: BC Business Center, MSH…
Read full rule →Allentown
Significant RestrictionsAllentown bars mobile food vending from city parks, the streets bordering them, and any spot within 100 feet of a…
Read full rule →Bensalem
Significant RestrictionsBensalem Township bars food trucks from the public right-of-way and from private property outside the GI General…
Read full rule →Bristol Township
Significant RestrictionsBristol Township sends temporary selling from a roadside stand, vacant lot or temporary structure to Chapter 205…
Read full rule →Harrisburg
Significant RestrictionsIn the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, mobile food vendors must stay 50 feet from other street vendors, 15 feet from…
Read full rule →Pittsburgh
Significant RestrictionsPittsburgh restricts food trucks and street vendors to License Officer-authorized locations in the right-of-way and…
Read full rule →Reading
Significant RestrictionsMobile food vendors in Reading need a license before operating anywhere, and the code steers licensed vendors…
Read full rule →Upper Darby
Significant RestrictionsUpper Darby treats selling food from a truck or cart on a public street as peddling: a license is required, sales are…
Read full rule →Bethlehem
Some RestrictionsA licensed sidewalk vendor in Bethlehem can only operate where the underlying zoning allows it: Section 721.05…
Read full rule →Penn Hills
Some RestrictionsFood trucks in Penn Hills are permitted in commercial zoning districts with property-owner authorization. Operation on…
Read full rule →Philadelphia
Some RestrictionsLicensed Philadelphia street vendors, including mobile food trucks, may sell only from the curb lane and must stay at…
Read full rule →Scranton
Some RestrictionsScranton keeps mobile food vendors at least 100 feet from a restaurant's entrance and service area under § 256-2B, even…
Read full rule →Sidewalk & Mobile Vending
Permits and rules for sidewalk vendors and pushcarts, where vending is allowed, cart and equipment standards, and the distance and hours rules that come with a vendor permit.
Bethlehem
Significant RestrictionsAnyone vending food, beverages or fresh flowers from a cart, stand or vehicle on a Bethlehem sidewalk for more than 21…
Read full rule →Bristol Township
Significant RestrictionsBristol Township bars a licensed peddler from occupying any fixed location on a street, highway, alley or sidewalk…
Read full rule →Erie
Significant RestrictionsAnyone selling food, beverages or merchandise from a stand or vehicle on Erie's public streets or sidewalks must hold a…
Read full rule →Harrisburg
Significant RestrictionsIn the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a mobile food vendor needs a license from the Health Officer and must stay 50…
Read full rule →Haverford
Significant RestrictionsIn Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, a licensed peddler cannot hawk or cry goods on any street or…
Read full rule →Lower Paxton
Significant RestrictionsIn Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, a transient retail vendor has no exclusive right to a street…
Read full rule →Philadelphia
Significant RestrictionsCenter City sidewalk vendors need an annual Department of Licenses and Inspections license tied to one blockface…
Read full rule →Reading
Significant RestrictionsReading confines sidewalk vending to the Downtown Improvement District: vending on public property anywhere outside the…
Read full rule →Allentown
Some RestrictionsSelling food from a sidewalk stand, pushcart or vehicle in Allentown requires a street and sidewalk vendor license from…
Read full rule →Bensalem
Some RestrictionsBensalem Township requires mobile food service vehicles operating near a sidewalk to leave at least six feet of clear…
Read full rule →Pittsburgh
Some RestrictionsPittsburgh requires a License Officer permit for street-vending carts and vending units, capping their selling area…
Read full rule →Scranton
Some RestrictionsScranton limits food cart and food truck vending on public streets and sidewalks to 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily…
Read full rule →Upper Darby
Some RestrictionsUpper Darby treats a food truck or vending vehicle as a regulated food establishment: operating one without a…
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