Utah has the most operator friendly food truck law in the Mountain West. Since 2017 the state has required cities and health departments to honour each other’s licences, permits and fire inspections, and since 2023 it has barred restaurant buffers, day limits and per location permits outright. What that means in practice is one health permit, one business licence and one fire sticker for the whole state, at a cost that is now uniform from Logan to St George. This guide covers the statute as amended in May 2026, the health rule revised in November 2025, every county’s fees and plan review charges, training, fire, sales tax, business setup and the market, from the code and the departments’ own 2026 schedules.
We build food trucks and trailers in Colorado and have delivered to Utah, including the all electric cookie truck in Salt Lake City. Every figure here carries its source, and where a city’s figure could not be confirmed we say so.
Building a food truck for Utah? See what a fully-equipped, inspection-ready truck actually costs with our free build & cost calculator.
The law: the Mobile Business Licensing and Regulation Act
Utah’s food truck statute began as SB 250 in 2017 and was amended in 2018, 2019, 2023, 2025 and 2026; chapter 56 of title 11 is now called the Mobile Business Licensing and Regulation Act and covers food trucks, food carts, ice cream trucks and enclosed mobile businesses. A food truck is a fully enclosed food service establishment on a motor vehicle or a trailer in which the vendor stands inside; a food cart is not motorised and the vendor stands outside it, and since 2025 that includes a cart pulled by an electric bicycle.
The business licence
A city or county may require a business licence only if the truck does not already hold a current licence from another Utah political subdivision, and must honour another subdivision’s licence unless the truck lacks a current health permit or fire inspection. The fee may only reimburse the cost of processing. Cities may not charge a second licence, any other fee or a per employee fee, may not require a criminal background check except for ice cream truck employees, may not require proof of zoning at application and may not regulate the size of the truck. They may require copies of the licence, health permit and fire approval to be kept on the truck.
Health and fire
Each truck needs an annual health permit from the local health department where the majority of its operations take place, and every other Utah health department must recognise it. Health permit fees are limited to the cost of regulation, with a fee allowed for a failed inspection. Fire inspections follow the Utah Fire Prevention Board’s criteria, and a local authority must honour another’s fire approval and may not require a new inspection in the same calendar year.
Where trucks can operate
Section 11-56-106, last amended in May 2026, is the part cities used to fight about. A city may not prohibit food trucks, outright or in effect, in a zone where food establishments are permitted or conditional uses; may not prohibit a truck within a set distance of a restaurant; may not cap the days a truck operates in a year; and may not require a site plan for a right of way location, a schedule of dates and times or a land use permit per location. On private property with the owner’s consent a city may not limit days, require the written consent to be filed or kept, or require a site plan for a truck there under ten hours a week. The 2026 amendment added one power: a city may keep trucks off a street, or its sidewalk, that is temporarily closed for a mass gathering or special event.
For events, a city may not require a fee or permit for an event on private property, a truck licensed anywhere in Utah needs nothing more for a private event closed to the public, the organiser may get an event permit on the trucks’ behalf, and at a temporary mass gathering of 500 or more people for two hours a day a truck may stay in one spot for up to five consecutive days.
The health rule: R392-102
The mobile food business sanitation rule, last revised in November 2025, sets the requirements every health department enforces. Utah’s general food rule adopts the 2022 FDA Food Code with the December 2024 supplement, and trucks follow it except where the mobile rule says otherwise.
Permits, tiers and plan review
Permits are annual, or temporary for a fixed location up to 14 days. Tier 1 is fewer than three temperature controlled foods and no raw animal products; Tier 2 is three or more or any raw animal product. Fees must be uniform statewide. The application needs the CFPM certificate, the plate, the menu, a route or schedule and the commissary agreement, the permit decal goes on the outside rear of the truck, and renewal is due in the 30 days before expiry. Plan review is required before building, converting or remodelling, or when a menu change moves you to a different tier, with the menu, food volumes, equipment cut sheets, plumbing and mechanical schedules, a dimensioned floor plan, a finish schedule and an equipment layout. A pre operational inspection comes before the permit and at least one inspection a year after it.
The truck
The business name on the outside in letters at least four inches high; 16 mesh screens; 50 foot candles of light at prep surfaces; no living quarters; a hand sink with hot and cold water; a three compartment sink with enough water on board to fill every compartment at once; a potable tank of at least 30 gallons for a truck, ten for a cart; and a wastewater tank 15 percent larger with a drain of at least an inch and a shut off valve. Salt Lake County’s checklist still prints a 10 gallon minimum, which is the cart number; build to 30. The 30 gallon fresh and 40 gallon waste tanks on our standard build meet the rule.
The commissary
A commissary is required unless the truck meets a narrow exemption: Tier 1, no temperature controlled products, nothing held overnight, all work done on the truck, and approved water and waste arrangements. The agreement must be written, signed and renewed every year, every visit logged with the date, the time in and out and initials, and the log kept for a year. No food or equipment may be stored at a home, a storage unit or a garage. Davis County adds that the commissary or service provider must be in Davis County.
Health department fees for 2026
Every 2026 schedule we checked charges the same annual permit, $350 for Tier 1 and $500 for Tier 2, which is what the uniform fee rule requires. Plan review is where they differ, so it pays to know which department will review your truck before it is built.
Salt Lake County, from its September 2026 schedule: $755 mobile plan review, $155 for a failed or follow up inspection, $15 food handler permit, and food carts at $230 to $385 by risk. The process starts with a mobile class, then the commissary and restroom agreements, plan review, the city licence, CFPM registration and the pre opening inspection. Utah County: $570 plan review, which can take up to 30 business days, and $140 for a follow up. Davis County: $550 plan review, a decision within five business days, permits expiring on 31 December, and a Davis County commissary. Weber Morgan, from July 2026: the $350 and $500 permits, with no separate mobile plan review fee published. Southwest Utah in St. George, from May 2026: $380 plan review and 30 business days. Bear River in Logan: $800 plan review. Wasatch County and Tooele County: $150 plan review, the cheapest in the state. Summit County, which covers Park City, still posts a 2024 schedule showing $300 for a high risk truck and a $100 secondary permit; confirm with the department, because the uniform fee rule and the reciprocity statute both postdate it.
Food handlers and the certified manager
Every food worker needs a Utah food handler permit: training within 14 days of hire and the permit within 30, from a course of at least 75 minutes and a 40 question exam with a 75 percent pass mark. The permit is valid statewide for three years, the health department’s fee is capped at $15 by rule, and the $20 to $25 totals some counties quote include the training. Each truck must also have at least one Certified Food Protection Manager from an ANSI accredited exam; since May 2026 certification lasts five years instead of three, health departments may not charge to register it, and a CFPM does not also need a handler permit. Summit County’s older schedule lists a $75 manager registration fee that the current statute prohibits.
Fire
The State Fire Marshal’s food truck rule, R710-14, requires an inspector with Utah Inspector I certification and the state’s food truck training, no patrons or seating inside the truck, secured gas appliances, generators used per their listing, and a listed propane detector at floor level near the cooking equipment. The sticker goes inside the rearmost door and lasts a year. The statewide fire code moved to the 2024 International Fire Code, with the 2024 editions of NFPA 54 and 58, on 1 July 2026.
The State Fire Marshal’s inspection checklist is what the inspector carries: propane containers outside the vehicle or in a vapour tight cabinet vented outside, never stored inside; fasteners rated to four times the full container weight; a Type I hood with suppression serviced every six months; at least one 2A:10BC plus a Class K where frying; no refuelling a generator with the public present; a no smoking within 25 feet sign; thermostat controlled fryers only, cooled for 30 minutes before the truck moves; and wheel chocks. Ogden’s 2026 special event notice asks for the fire sticker, the hood cleaning sticker, the suppression tag and both extinguishers at every event. Every truck we build leaves with the hood, a suppression system installed by a licensed company, outside cylinder mounts, the detector and the extinguishers in place, and the UL 300 guide explains what the inspector looks at.
Salt Lake City and the other cities
Salt Lake City licenses mobile food businesses under chapter 5.69 of its code with separate fees per vehicle at the city’s standard base fee, $198 from September 2026. Right of way vending is allowed in the M-1, M-2, D-1 to D-4 and G-MU zones, for up to two hours at one spot without a transportation permit and 12 hours in any 24, with the window facing the sidewalk and one truck per block face. The city’s page, last updated in September 2025, still lists a background check, a per employee fee and a 100 foot buffer from restaurant doors; all three are barred for food trucks by the state statute. If you already hold a licence from another Utah city, Salt Lake City has a reciprocal application packet. See the Salt Lake City guide.
Provo requires a commercial business licence with extra requirements for mobile food vendors, with fees in its consolidated fee schedule and about 14 days to process. Ogden amended its food truck ordinance in 2017, 2019 and 2022. We could not verify current fees for Orem, Sandy, West Valley City, St. George, Park City, Logan or Lehi from primary sources, so ask each city; remember that under the statute none of them can charge you a second licence if you already hold one from another Utah city. The Provo, Ogden and St. George guides carry the local detail.
Sales tax
Utah’s state rate is 4.70 percent with other state components on top; grocery food is taxed at 1.75 percent, but prepared food is not grocery food and pays the full combined rate. Counties may also levy a restaurant tax of up to 1 percent on food and beverages sold by restaurants; whether a county applies it to food trucks is a question for the Tax Commission. Combined rates by address are on the Tax Commission rate charts. For events, the State Fair requires every concessionaire, including those already registered, to take out a temporary sales tax licence and file a special return with the Tax Commission’s special event unit.
Business setup
A Utah LLC costs $59 to form and $18 a year to renew, with a $10 late fee; a company from another state registers as a foreign LLC for $59, and a DBA is $22. Workers’ compensation is required through an authorised insurer or approved self insurance. There is no statewide insurance minimum for trucks; the State Fair asks for $1 million per occurrence and $3 million aggregate naming the fair, or $115 for its own policy.
Where a truck earns in Utah
Utah has 3.54 million people and the Salt Lake City, Provo and Orem combined area has 2.9 million of them, with Salt Lake City proper at 218,000, West Valley City 137,000, Provo 115,000, St. George 109,000, Lehi 95,000, Orem 95,000, Sandy 92,000 and Ogden 90,000. St. George’s metro has grown to 214,000 and Logan’s to 161,000.
The Utah State Fair runs 10 to 20 September 2026; food vendors pay 25 percent of gross daily sales, 22.5 percent with the value meal program, put down a $750 deposit for up to 300 square feet, pay $55 to $250 for power, need an extended Salt Lake County health permit and may not use propane inside buildings. Sundance held its last Utah festival in Park City and Salt Lake City in January 2026 and moves to Boulder, Colorado for 21 to 31 January 2027. The Food Truck League runs weekly league nights across the Wasatch Front from spring. And because cities cannot require a permit for an event on private property, brewery lots, apartment complexes and office parks are an open market.
The climate runs from one extreme to the other. Salt Lake City averages 52 inches of snow, a January high of 39 and a July high of 94, with winter inversions trapping cold air in the valley for days. St. George’s July high is 102 and it barely sees snow. Park City sits at about 6,900 feet. A Wasatch Front truck needs heat, tank protection and a generator sized for altitude; a St. George truck needs refrigeration and air conditioning for the desert; our cold weather page and generator guide cover both.
The timeline and the budget
Pick the health department where most of your operations will be, submit plan review before the truck is built, which takes up to 30 business days in Utah County and Southwest Utah and five in Davis County, and line up the commissary agreement for the application. When the truck arrives, book the pre operational inspection and the state fire inspection, get every worker a handler permit, and take out one business licence. A first year budget for a Tier 2 truck in Salt Lake County: $755 plan review, $500 permit, the fire inspection, about $198 for the city licence, $15 per handler permit plus training, the CFPM exam, $59 for the LLC and the commissary. About $1,600 before the commissary and insurance.
The mistakes we see most
Applying in the wrong county. The permit comes from the department where most of your operations happen, and plan review fees range from $150 to $800 depending on which one that is.
Paying for things the law forbids. A second business licence, a per employee fee, a background check or a manager registration fee from a city or county are all barred; ask for the statute section if you are charged.
Building the truck before plan review, or with a 10 gallon tank. Plan review comes first, and 30 gallons is the truck minimum.
Skipping the commissary log. Every visit, with times and initials, kept for a year.
Bringing a sea level truck to Park City or a Colorado winter truck to St. George. Utah has both climates within four hours of each other.
On video: trucks we built for Utah
Frequently asked questions
How much is a food truck health permit in Utah?
The state rule requires health permit fees to be uniform statewide in two tiers, and every county schedule we checked for 2026 charges $350 for Tier 1, fewer than three temperature controlled foods and no raw animal products, and $500 for Tier 2. Plan review is where counties differ: $150 in Wasatch and Tooele, $380 in Southwest Utah, $550 in Davis, $570 in Utah County, $755 in Salt Lake County and $800 in Bear River.
Is one Utah food truck permit valid statewide?
Yes, for the three things the law covers. Your annual health permit comes from the health department where most of your operations happen, and every other Utah health department must recognise it. Your business licence comes from one city or county, and every other must honour it as long as your health permit and fire inspection are current. Your fire inspection, done to the state’s criteria, must be honoured for the calendar year. Cities can still apply zoning and set how and where rules.
Can a Utah city keep food trucks away from restaurants?
No. Since 2023 the statute has barred cities from prohibiting a food truck within a set distance of a restaurant, from capping the days a truck operates, from requiring a land use permit for each location, and from banning trucks in zones where food establishments are allowed. Some city web pages still mention restaurant buffers; the state law overrides them. The one new power, from May 2026, lets a city keep trucks off a street closed for a special event.
Do I need a commissary in Utah?
Almost always. The state rule requires a written commissary agreement, renewed annually, with a log of every visit kept for a year, and forbids storing food or equipment at home or in a storage unit. The only exemption is narrow: a Tier 1 truck with no temperature controlled products, nothing held overnight, all work done on the truck and approved arrangements for water and waste.
What training does a Utah food truck crew need?
Every food worker needs a Utah food handler permit within 30 days of hire, after a course of at least 75 minutes and a 40 question exam; it is valid statewide for three years and the permit fee itself is capped at $15. Each truck also needs at least one Certified Food Protection Manager from an ANSI accredited exam, valid five years since May 2026, and health departments may not charge to register the certificate.
What fire inspection does a Utah food truck need?
An annual inspection to the State Fire Marshal’s criteria by an inspector with the state’s food truck training, which earns a sticker inside the rearmost door. Utah moved to the 2024 International Fire Code on 1 July 2026. The checklist wants propane outside the vehicle or in a vented cabinet, a listed propane detector at floor level, a Type I hood with suppression serviced every six months, a 2A:10BC and a Class K, thermostat controlled fryers and wheel chocks.
How big does the water tank need to be?
At least 30 gallons of potable water for a food truck and 10 for a food cart, with a wastewater tank 15 percent larger, a drain of at least an inch and a shut off valve, and enough water on board to fill every compartment of the three compartment sink at once. Salt Lake County’s older checklist still says 10 gallons, which is the cart figure.
Do I need a city permit for an event?
Not on private property. The statute bars cities from requiring a fee or permit for an event on private property, whether open to the public or not, and a truck licensed anywhere in Utah needs nothing more for a private event closed to the public. At a multi day mass gathering of 500 or more people a truck may stay in one spot for up to five days. The State Fair runs its own concession contract.
Utah city guides
Salt Lake City · Provo · Orem · Ogden · St. George · Logan · Layton · Sandy · West Valley City · Idaho permits · Nevada permits · Colorado permits
We build trucks for Utah
A truck with a 30 gallon fresh tank and a waste tank 15 percent larger, a three compartment sink the tank can fill at once, a hand sink with hot water, the name in four inch letters, 16 mesh screens, a Type I hood with licensed suppression, outside propane mounts rated to four times the load and a floor level propane detector passes plan review in every Utah county and the State Fire Marshal’s checklist on the first visit. We build to that standard on every unit and deliver to Utah from Colorado. Custom food trucks start at $55,000 and trailers at $40,000. Call or text 719-722-2537 with your menu and the county you will base in.
Jacob Varghese
Zion Foodtrucks
719-722-2537
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.
Next steps: free build & cost calculator · 2026 food truck cost guide · food truck financing
Already Have a Truck? We Do the Compliance Work Too
Passing an inspection is one thing, staying current is another. We handle the recurring items out of our Colorado shop:
- LP gas pressure testing, $350. Required annually, and again after any modification.
- Fire suppression inspection and service, $300. The code interval is every 6 months, not annual, which catches a lot of operators out.
- Hood and exhaust cleaning, with the written report and logbook entry inspectors ask to see.
Booked together they are one visit and one day off the road instead of three. Call or text 719-722-2537.
Ready to build your truck?
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.
Built in Woodland Park, Colorado. Delivered to operators in CO, AZ, NE, MT, and WY.