For operators
Food trucks & carts
Mobile operators deal with more scattered requirements than anyone else in this business — four separate approvals from three agencies, none of which talk to each other. This is the short version, with everything else one click away.
The four approvals
| What | Who issues it | Renews |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile food service license | Board of health where your headquarters sits | Annually |
| Certificate of Qualification (propane) | Cleveland Division of Fire | Annually |
| Mobile Food Shop Location Permit | Cleveland Division of Assessments and Licenses | April 15 |
| Property owner permission | The owner — or Public Works for city land | Per location |
If you run a pushcart, read this first
Cleveland requires pushcarts to work out of a commissary — a licensed food service operation such as a restaurant or grocery. The cart must begin and end each working day there, and a commissary agreement signed by both parties is required annually, before a mobile food service license is issued.
Concession trailers and knockdown concessions do not carry the same requirement. This is the single biggest hidden cost in the cart model — line up the agreement before you buy the cart.
Commissary & shared kitchens → — including 6 questions to ask before you commit.
The date that catches people
April 15
The Mobile Food Shop Location Permit expires annually on April 15 regardless of when it was issued. One permit per vending device, $100 each, through the Division of Assessments and Licenses.
Subscribe to the deadline calendar to get a reminder 30 days out.
Guides that apply to you
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How to get a food service license in Cuyahoga County
Which agency licenses you (it depends on your address), what plan review costs and how long it takes, how risk levels are assigned, and the order the inspections have to happen in.
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Starting a food truck in Cleveland — permits, costs, and the commissary rule
The four separate approvals a Cleveland food truck needs, who issues each one, what they cost, and the commissary requirement that catches pushcart operators.
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Outdoor dining in Cleveland — the patio license, and the second permit nobody mentions
What the Cleveland Outdoor Restaurant License costs, what to submit, when it expires, and why serving on a sidewalk triggers a separate permit from a different city division.
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Commissaries and servicing areas — what Ohio actually requires
The word "commissary" does not appear in Ohio's food code. The thing it describes does, under a different name, with requirements attached — and knowing which term applies to you decides who you have to satisfy.
What we are not building
A public-facing "where are the trucks today" finder. Several sites and social accounts already do that well for eaters, and a half-maintained version would be worse than none. This hub is for the operator side — permits, commissaries, costs, and deadlines.
If you run a truck and there is something you keep having to figure out the hard way, tell us and we will write it up.