Bozeman has one of the strongest food truck markets in Montana: MSU, Big Sky traffic, a busy downtown and a long list of breweries. The city has clear rules and fees. This guide was rewritten in October 2026.
The health license
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Real rigs we have built and delivered to Montana operators.
16ft Burger Food Truck
Bozeman, MT
Read the video transcript: Bozeman Burger
Hello and welcome to Zion Foodtrucks. Today we have this beautiful 16 ft food truck that we are shipping out to Montana. Let's check out its many features. We start on the inside today just because the outside is a little chilly. Right up here is the plumbing unit that has the three compartment sink, hand wash sink, the water tanks, and the water heater. You'll notice that um wherever there is a gap, we have filled that in with coke. Make sure that water does not get in between. Also, there is a splash guard between the handwash sink and the three compartment sink. Of course, there's a shelf on top. Soap dispenser, towel dispenser, refrigerator. All equipment of course are mounted to the floor with washers and all equipment stay six in above the ground to make sure they're compliant with code. So you can put a broom underneath or like a mop underneath and clean it. Right next to that is a freezer. Small work table. Another table that is the freshwater tank that you're looking at. goes the ABC fire extinguisher. That's the K series fire extinguisher. That is the egress in this food truck. Right up there is the junction box. As with all our trucks, every piece of equipment has its own breaker. It's not been labeled yet, but it will be soon. Fire suppression system is of course labeled and tagged. You'll notice all the is inside conduits, not inside the walls areas that um the walls of the truck, they flex when they drive and uh chafe it. This of course prevents that. Plus, it's easy to access that as well. Sandwich prep. Oh, before that, the generator door turned a box which we make into a workt. Nice work table. So, we can do all your prep there if you want to. Floor is aluminum diamond plate. Sandwich prep, steam table. This one's electric. Under that is the chef base, two fryers, each of them, two basket, and a griddle. It's not just a griddle. There's a it's a range. So, there is the oven right under that. Of course, a two on a stove. You'll see all the walls are stainless steel and uh and inside the walls is 1 in of insulation, 9/16 in of uh plywood. Forgot to show you this one. This is the uh self-closing window. You lift up the product and close by itself. Let's go see outside. And this, of course, started out as a 16 ft Freightlininer diesel truck. There's a shelf, outside shelf for the service window. Let's have you fill the water. The outside access door. Truck's not been wrapped yet, but it will be. customer decided to do that themselves. Uh so we'll ship it and uh they will wrap it themselves. That of course is the generator which you'll notice is in a nice tray. That's the shore power plugin. Of course, you'll notice the hood on top. Sorry, hood fan on top. Look at that. beautiful 16 ft food truck that we are shipping out. If you have any questions or if you would like one like this yourself, do contact us through our website zionfoodtrucks.com. Thank you. Have a nice day.
Hello and welcome to Zan Food Trucks. Check out this cute little doughut and ice cream trailer that we are shipping off to Montana today. This one is of course for this organization. Um, and it is 12 ft long. It's small, but it has all kinds of features. Let's go check it out. Outside of course is the you can see our seamless construction, which means you would not see any rivets on the outside. makes the trailer a lot longlasting and uh well the wrap doesn't bubble around it so the wrap lasts a lot longer as well. Of course uh you can't forget the wrap on the outside. Check out the clarity on this. Let me show you the the features. You can actually see each of the grains of the wheat. Something we are very very proud of. Of course, also outside are two LED lights. Well, four of them in two sets. outside shelf and the um serving window which is of course self-closing. That is how it do it look when it is in operation. On this side of course that's how you drain the water. That's how you fill the water and that's the shore power connection. This has a donut fryer inside. Therefore has propane tanks. And you can see the propane going under the floor of the trailer. Very important. Um it is required by code in many places also. Um it's much safer 10 years from today if it leaks it leaks outside. Giant bowls you see are holding up the fire suppression system. Of course like all trailers that we built the this is also double axle heavy duty of course. You can see the that was the exhaust fan with the grease catch pan of course. Let's go inside. To prevent the doors from fluttering around, there is a little catch there. Floor is aluminum diamond plate. Cooking wall of course is stainless. You can see the large doughut fryer up there. This was supplied by the customer. And the ice cream machine. little ice cream machine, but works really well for them. Three compartment sink, hand wash sink. Hand wash sink of course has a splash guard. They haven't labeled the um the breakers yet, but we will of course before shipping. And you can see every single piece of equipment has its own breaker, soap dispenser, towel dispenser, and the fire suppression system is of course um you can see has tags. Between every panel there is a um there is a trim piece to prevent grease from going inside and whatnot. The hood of course slightly oversized. idea is that tomorrow they might want to add another piece of equipment. So we picked a rather large cylinder for this richen freezer and refrigerator. Both will open completely of course. And uh here is one of the highlights of our construction. Every all our wiring is inside conduits. This way, this trailer lasts for as long as it needs, 20, 25, 30 years. If we we were to put it inside the walls, the wires would eventually chafe due to the motion of the trailer and you would develop short circuits. You also see how every piece of equipment has its own breaker. That brings us to the end of Oh, before that, let me show you this thing. You see how every piece of equipment is bolted to the floor with washers. If you have any questions um or if you would like a trailer or truck like this, please do contact us through zonfuttras.com. Thank you. Have a nice one.
The state retail food license under MCA 50-50-205 is $150 a year for a small mobile unit (two or fewer employees at peak) or $225 for a large one, with a $25 late fee. It expires on 31 December, the county health officer validates it, and counties may not add their own inspection fees unless a violation goes uncorrected after two inspections.
Building a food truck for Bozeman? See what a fully-equipped, inspection-ready truck actually costs with our free build & cost calculator.
The Gallatin City County Health Department handles plan review and validates the state license. Its fee schedule lists $252 for a mobile unit plan review plus $126 for the pre operational inspection, $378 in all. The department has up to 30 days to review a complete application, with no expedited option. In 2026 the department published draft health code changes for mobile units, including a 40 gallon fresh water minimum for self sufficient units and a winter freeze protection plan; they are a draft, not yet in force.
The Bozeman city permit
Bozeman’s mobile vending business license is $250 citywide plus $250 for the downtown business improvement district endorsement, valid one year from submission. Apply through ProjectDox with your generator’s make, model and decibel rating, extinguisher details, the Gallatin health license, general liability insurance and a photo of the unit.
Fire inspection
Bozeman Fire has required an annual inspection since 1 January 2024, $225 paid before the inspection. Bring your business license or application, the fire inspection application and your health permit. Generators sit 12 feet from the truck and propane is capped at 200 pounds. Inspectors look for a Type I hood with a UL 300 suppression system serviced every six months, Class K and ABC extinguishers, propane cylinders secured outside the cab with leak tested lines, and a propane alarm.
Sales tax
Montana has no general sales tax. Big Sky, down the canyon, has a 4 percent resort tax on prepared food.
Where trucks sell in Bozeman
Music on Main on summer Thursdays, which needs the fire inspection and a Gallatin license ($125 a night in 2026), MSU events, breweries, Big Sky and private catering.
In order
Submit plans to Gallatin City County Health 30 days or more ahead and pay the state license. Pass the $225 Bozeman Fire inspection. Apply for the city mobile vending license, with the downtown endorsement if you want downtown.
Common Reasons Food Trucks Fail Bozeman Inspections
Based on Healthy Gallatin and Bozeman Fire Marshal inspection data, here are the most common failure reasons:
Propane shutoff signage missing or non-compliant: Must be 2-inch red letters on white background. This is the #1 fire inspection failure in Bozeman
Fire suppression system not properly certified before plan review: System must have third-party inspection tag and documentation before submitting to Healthy Gallatin
Fire suppression nozzles pointing wrong direction: Nozzles must point at cooking equipment, not away. Fire marshal will verify this
Missing dedicated handwashing sink: Must be separate and independent; shared sinks fail inspection
Commissary kitchen agreement missing or from unapproved facility: Healthy Gallatin verifies the kitchen is licensed. An unapproved commissary is an automatic failure
Hood not properly sealed or sloped: Hood must be sealed, sloped toward grease trap, and installed per manufacturer specifications
Inadequate cold storage or temperature control: Refrigeration must maintain 41 degrees F reliably. Thermometers must show actual temperatures
No Certified Food Protection Manager on staff: You must have proof of current CFPM certification before health inspection
Greywater system inadequate: Tank must be at least 15% larger than fresh water tank. Dumps on ground = automatic failure
Most failures are avoidable if you plan carefully and use a manufacturer who understands Bozeman’s specific requirements. The two biggest failure points are fire suppression system certification and propane signage. Don’t skimp on either one.
On video: trucks we built for Bozeman
Walkthrough of the 14ft bagel trailer, Bozeman.
Read the video transcript: Bozeman Burger
Hello and welcome to Zion Foodtrucks. Today we have this beautiful 16 ft food truck that we are shipping out to Montana. Let's check out its many features. We start on the inside today just because the outside is a little chilly. Right up here is the plumbing unit that has the three compartment sink, hand wash sink, the water tanks, and the water heater. You'll notice that um wherever there is a gap, we have filled that in with coke. Make sure that water does not get in between. Also, there is a splash guard between the handwash sink and the three compartment sink. Of course, there's a shelf on top. Soap dispenser, towel dispenser, refrigerator. All equipment of course are mounted to the floor with washers and all equipment stay six in above the ground to make sure they're compliant with code. So you can put a broom underneath or like a mop underneath and clean it. Right next to that is a freezer. Small work table. Another table that is the freshwater tank that you're looking at. goes the ABC fire extinguisher. That's the K series fire extinguisher. That is the egress in this food truck. Right up there is the junction box. As with all our trucks, every piece of equipment has its own breaker. It's not been labeled yet, but it will be soon. Fire suppression system is of course labeled and tagged. You'll notice all the is inside conduits, not inside the walls areas that um the walls of the truck, they flex when they drive and uh chafe it. This of course prevents that. Plus, it's easy to access that as well. Sandwich prep. Oh, before that, the generator door turned a box which we make into a workt. Nice work table. So, we can do all your prep there if you want to. Floor is aluminum diamond plate. Sandwich prep, steam table. This one's electric. Under that is the chef base, two fryers, each of them, two basket, and a griddle. It's not just a griddle. There's a it's a range. So, there is the oven right under that. Of course, a two on a stove. You'll see all the walls are stainless steel and uh and inside the walls is 1 in of insulation, 9/16 in of uh plywood. Forgot to show you this one. This is the uh self-closing window. You lift up the product and close by itself. Let's go see outside. And this, of course, started out as a 16 ft Freightlininer diesel truck. There's a shelf, outside shelf for the service window. Let's have you fill the water. The outside access door. Truck's not been wrapped yet, but it will be. customer decided to do that themselves. Uh so we'll ship it and uh they will wrap it themselves. That of course is the generator which you'll notice is in a nice tray. That's the shore power plugin. Of course, you'll notice the hood on top. Sorry, hood fan on top. Look at that. beautiful 16 ft food truck that we are shipping out. If you have any questions or if you would like one like this yourself, do contact us through our website zionfoodtrucks.com. Thank you. Have a nice day.
Walkthrough of the 16ft burger truck, Bozeman.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a food truck license in Bozeman?
$250 a year citywide, plus $250 for the downtown endorsement, on top of the state license ($150 or $225) and the $225 fire inspection.
How much is plan review in Gallatin County?
$252 for a mobile unit plus $126 for the pre operational inspection, $378 in all.
Does Bozeman inspect food trucks for fire safety?
Yes, every year since 2024, at $225. Generators must sit 12 feet from the truck.
We build every truck to pass the plan review, the health inspection and the fire inspection on the first visit: a Type I hood with suppression installed by a licensed company, a three compartment sink and a hand sink with hot water, tanks sized for a full day, and propane in secured cylinders with a leak detector. Montana winters are hard on trucks, so we heat and insulate water lines and tanks on every Montana build. We built a burger truck and a bagel trailer for Bozeman. Custom food trucks start at $55,000 and trailers at $40,000. Call or text 719-722-2537 with your menu.
Jacob Varghese Zion Foodtrucks 719-722-2537
Written & reviewed by the Zion Foodtrucks build team
Zion Foodtrucks builds custom food trucks, trailers, and concession trailers from our shop in Monument, Colorado and delivers them ready to pass inspection across the Mountain West. Owner Jacob Varghese and our team work with first-time owners every day, sourcing the vehicle and handling the full build so you do not have to. Questions about permits or your build? Call or text Jacob at 719-722-2537 or see our custom build services.
Free Food Truck Permit & Inspection Checklist
We put together a printable checklist covering every permit and inspection a mobile food business typically needs. Tell us where to send it and it is yours.
We design and build custom food trucks and trailers compliant with the regulations on this page. From a single phone call to keys-in-hand in 6 to 8 weeks for most builds.
