According to the Texas Food Establishment Rules, any business that sells food, beverages, or both to the public from a mobile unit in Texas must have a permit. The category of “mobile units” includes:
- Motor vehicles,
- Trailers,
- Bikes,
- Pushcarts and kiosks, and
- Peddlers on foot selling from coolers or hot boxes.
Permits are not transferable between mobile units. If your business has more than one mobile unit, you’ll need a separate permit for each one.
Exceptions to the mobile food vendor permit
Sometimes your business can’t follow a requirement of the mobile food vendor permit, but you can keep your customers safe in a different way. Under the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) rules, you can request a variance—or exception to the rule—and explain how you will protect the public from food safety risks in a way that is as safe as or safer than the permit requirement.
For example, a small mobile food business might not have space to store paper products in their mobile unit, but the unit often parks next to a bar that does have storage space. This business can use the HACCP Variance application to explain how they’ll use the bar to store their paper products in a sanitary way.
To request an exception, fill out the HACCP Variance application.