Alameda County Cart and Truck Info

You’ll need to contact the Department of Environmental Health at:
1131 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda 94502
phone: (510) 567 6700
fax: 519 337 9432

In addition, each municipal jurisdiction will have separate parking rules governing mobile vending requirement. Please see below for contact information for all major Alameda County cities.

Steps to get the Health Permit:

1)     Call the office and speak with the inspector for the vehicle program to ask questions specific to your proposed business.
2)     Decide where in Alameda County you wish to sell. (Berkeley is not included)
3)     Ask the city to see if they will allow your type of business.

1. Some cities have strict limits on location and time of day when you can operate. They may also have a city business license requirement.

4)     Get a letter from the commissary where you will be parking your cart at night.
5)     Make an appointment to bring your cart into the office.
6)     Within 60 days of permitting you must obtain a food safety certificate. A list of providers for the food safety test can be obtained from the office.
7)     When you bring your cart in for inspection, be sure to have all of the equipment turned on so we
can confirm that it works properly. Such as steam table, water pump, etc.

1. They need to see:
   1. DMV registration for the cart (if the cart has a license plate.)
   2. A letter from the commissary
   3. Authorization from the city (or a note indicating that they will allow your type of business)
   4. A current driver license for the person requesting the health permit
   5. Copy of liability insurance for the food
2. They will assist you in filling out the application for the health permit
3. You will pay the fees for the application and the permit
   1. Application $132 (one time only fee)
   2. Permit $291 (Mobile Food Facility) (annual fee)
4. They will then inspect the cart to verify that it meets the code requirements. (If the vehicle is one you work inside of, then the unit must also have a certificate from the state Department of Housing and Community Development. 916 255 2501 This is usually not needed for carts since you work from the outside of it.
5. If the cart passes inspection they will issue a health permit good for a year and will place a decal on the back.

To renew the permit:

1. 2 months before your permit expires you will get a bill for the next year.
2. You have 30 days to pay the bill without penalty. Late fees are expensive so do not delay. (25% after 30 days, 50% after 60 days)
3. Once you have paid the bill, call 510 567 6700 for an appointment for an inspection. You must have the facility inspected before the expiration date of your permit.
4. On the day of inspection we will want to see the same type of documents that we looked at last year. (registration, license, food safety certificate, commissary contract, etc.)
5. They will inspect the vehicle and confirm that it meets the health and safety code requirements.
6. If the cart passes inspection they will issue a health permit good for a year and will place a decal on the back of the cart.

Limited Food on a Cart

(a) “Limited Food Preparation” means food preparation that is restricted to one or more of the following:

(1) Heating, frying, baking, roasting, popping, shaving of ice, blending, steaming or boiling of hot dogs, or assembly of non-prepackaged food.
(2) Dispensing and portioning of non-potentially hazardous food.
(3) Holding, portioning, and dispensing of any foods that are prepared for satellite food service by the onsite permanent food facility or prepackaged by another approved source.
(4) Slicing and chopping of food on a heated cooking surface during the cooking process.
(5) Cooking and seasoning to order.
(6) Preparing beverages that are for immediate service, in response to an individual consumer order, that do not contain frozen milk products.

(b) “Limited Food Preparation” does not include any of the following:

(1) Slicing and chopping unless it is on the heated cooking surface.
(2) Thawing.
(3) Cooling of cooking, potentially hazardous food.
(4) Grinding raw ingredients or potentially hazardous food.
(5) Reheating of potentially hazardous foods for hot holding, except for steamed or boiled hot dogs and tamales in the original, inedible wrapper.
(6) Hot holding of non-prepackaged, potentially hazardous food, except for roasting corn on the cob, steamed or boiled hot dogs, and tamales in the original, inedible wrapper.
(7) Washing of foods
(8) Cooking of potentially hazardous foods for later use.