Food Truck Permit Requirements in Boston, MA

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

   Required if you have employees or operate as an LLC/corporation. Free from the IRS.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online)

   Free

   Immediate (online)

1. Boston Mobile Food Establishment Permit (ISD Health Division)

   Massachusetts DPH writes the state Food Code (105 CMR 590), but the permit itself is issued by the local board of health — in Boston, the Inspectional Services Department's Division of Health Inspections. A new mobile unit must submit plans to the Health Division for approval before a permit is issued, then pass an inspection. Your truck must operate from a fixed licensed food establishment (a commissary) and report there twice a day for food, supplies, and cleaning, with a letter from that establishment on its letterhead. If you sell time/temperature-controlled foods, a certified food protection manager must be assigned full time to the unit.

   Official government source

   $100 per mobile unit, plus $30 if you sell milk or ice cream, or $100 if you make frozen dessert on a soft-serve machine. The City's separate food truck permit from the Office of Small Business is a $500 annual application fee.·Plan review by appointment comes first; inspections are done weekday mornings, 8:00-9:30 a.m., at 1010 Massachusetts Ave. The City asks for two weeks to approve a food truck permit

   $100 per mobile unit, plus $30 if you sell milk or ice cream, or $100 if you make frozen dessert on a soft-serve machine. The City's separate food truck permit from the Office of Small Business is a $500 annual application fee.

   Plan review by appointment comes first; inspections are done weekday mornings, 8:00-9:30 a.m., at 1010 Massachusetts Ave. The City asks for two weeks to approve a food truck permit

2. Certified Food Protection Manager and Allergen Awareness (105 CMR 590)

   Under the Massachusetts Food Code (105 CMR 590), a retail food establishment — including a food truck — must have a certified food protection manager; not every food service worker needs individual certification. The person in charge must be 18 or older and hold the certification, obtained by passing an exam from an accredited provider (training beforehand is recommended but not required). Massachusetts also requires allergen awareness under 105 CMR 590.011(C): DPH-approved allergen posters displayed, menu language telling customers to notify staff of allergies, and a certified food protection manager trained in allergen awareness.

   Official government source

   Set by the private accredited exam provider (and by any optional training course) — no state-set fee·Certification is required before the food service permit issues; exams recognized by the Department carry a five-year expiration, as does allergen awareness certification

   Set by the private accredited exam provider (and by any optional training course) — no state-set fee

   Certification is required before the food service permit issues; exams recognized by the Department carry a five-year expiration, as does allergen awareness certification

3. Massachusetts Meals Tax Registration (DOR)

   Massachusetts treats a food truck as a restaurant — the Department of Revenue's guide lists canteen trucks and wagons, street wagons and carts, and mobile eating establishments explicitly — so meals you sell are subject to the sales tax on meals, including take-out. You must register as a meals tax vendor with DOR through MassTaxConnect before you start selling. The state rate is 6.25% of the sales price of the meal. A city or town may add a local option meals excise of 0.75%; Boston adopted it effective October 1, 2009, so the combined rate on a meal sold in Boston is 7%.

   Official government source

   Free — registering as a vendor through MassTaxConnect has no fee. The tax itself is 6.25% state plus Boston's 0.75% local excise, 7% in total, collected from the customer and remitted to DOR.·Register online through MassTaxConnect; registration is completed in the same session and must be done before you begin selling

   Free — registering as a vendor through MassTaxConnect has no fee. The tax itself is 6.25% state plus Boston's 0.75% local excise, 7% in total, collected from the customer and remitted to DOR.

   Register online through MassTaxConnect; registration is completed in the same session and must be done before you begin selling

1. Boston Food Truck Permit

   The City of Boston's food truck permit is applied for through the Office of Small Business, not the Boston Public Health Commission. Before you apply you need permits from Inspectional Services and the Fire Department, a Hawker and Peddler License from the state Division of Standards, a Business Certificate, a Certificate of Liability Insurance, a business plan, and a written agreement with your commissary — the licensed food establishment where you prepare and store food and report twice a day. Once you submit, start looking for a location: public spots are assigned by lottery, private spots need the property owner's permission, and each type has its own rules and licensing. You pick your permit up at Public Works, 1 City Hall Square, Room 714.

   Official government source

   $500 annual application fee, by check payable to the City of Boston. Separately, the ISD Health Division's mobile food permit is $100 per unit, plus $30 if you sell milk or ice cream, or $100 if you make frozen dessert on a soft-serve machine.·The City asks for two weeks to approve the food truck permit. New mobile units must have plans approved by the ISD Health Division before the health permit is issued, and health inspections are done weekday mornings, 8:00-9:30 a.m., at 1010 Massachusetts Avenue.

   $500 annual application fee, by check payable to the City of Boston. Separately, the ISD Health Division's mobile food permit is $100 per unit, plus $30 if you sell milk or ice cream, or $100 if you make frozen dessert on a soft-serve machine.

   The City asks for two weeks to approve the food truck permit. New mobile units must have plans approved by the ISD Health Division before the health permit is issued, and health inspections are done weekday mornings, 8:00-9:30 a.m., at 1010 Massachusetts Avenue.

2. City of Boston Business Certificate (DBA) for a Food Truck

   Massachusetts General Laws chapter 110, section 5 requires anyone conducting business under a title other than their real legal name to file a certificate with the clerk of every city or town where the business has an office. In Boston that is the City Clerk's Office. This is a public record of who owns the business, not a business license, and it does not replace or substitute for any trade or health license. The trigger is the name, not the entity type: a sole proprietor, partnership, LLC, or corporation all must file if the operating name differs from the owner's legal name or the name on record with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Your signature must be executed under oath, so the form has to be notarized (the Clerk's Office will notarize it if you bring valid photo ID). You must supply a signed lease with start and end dates, or a notarized letter from your landlord; a virtual address or P.O. box is not accepted. The certificate is in force for four years and must be renewed every four years or it lapses. Operating without one is punishable by a fine of up to $300 for each month the violation continues. Food trucks face an extra document list at filing: the Clerk will not accept a food truck business registration without a valid health permit, a valid fire permit, a Hawkers and Peddlers License, a commissary kitchen agreement or letter, and a Certificate of Liability Insurance. Those come first, so the certificate is one of the last steps, not a foundational one.

   Official government source

   $65. If you are not a Massachusetts resident but want to conduct business in the Commonwealth, you pay an additional $35. Paying by credit card or pinless debit card adds a non-refundable processor fee of 2.5% of the payment ($1 minimum), which the City does not keep. A later change-of-location filing is $50.·Same day: bring the notarized form, a copy of your signed lease (or a notarized letter from your landlord), and payment to the City Clerk's Office, Room 601, 1 City Hall Square, Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Filing by mail is also accepted; enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope and allow return-mail time.

   $65. If you are not a Massachusetts resident but want to conduct business in the Commonwealth, you pay an additional $35. Paying by credit card or pinless debit card adds a non-refundable processor fee of 2.5% of the payment ($1 minimum), which the City does not keep. A later change-of-location filing is $50.

   Same day: bring the notarized form, a copy of your signed lease (or a notarized letter from your landlord), and payment to the City Clerk's Office, Room 601, 1 City Hall Square, Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Filing by mail is also accepted; enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope and allow return-mail time.

3. Boston Food Truck Permit and Vending Location

   Boston's food truck program is run by the Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, not Public Works. Before applying you need permits from Inspectional Services and Fire, a Hawker and Peddler License, a Business Certificate, a Certificate of Liability Insurance, a business plan, and a written agreement with your commissary. After you apply you look for a location: public locations are assigned through a lottery, and private locations require the property owner's permission, each with its own rules and licensing. Approved permits are picked up at Public Works, 1 City Hall Square, Room 714.

   Official government source

   $500 annual application fee, payable by check to the City of Boston·Allow about two weeks for permit approval after you submit; public site assignments follow the next public site lottery

   $500 annual application fee, payable by check to the City of Boston

   Allow about two weeks for permit approval after you submit; public site assignments follow the next public site lottery

4. Commissary Kitchen Agreement (Boston food trucks)

   Boston requires every mobile food vendor to have a written agreement with a commissary — a licensed food establishment where you prepare and store food and report twice a day. Possible commissaries include community kitchens, church kitchens, or restaurant kitchens. The written commissary agreement is one of the documents you must have in hand before applying for a food truck permit, alongside permits from Inspectional Services and Fire, a Hawker and Peddler License, a Business Certificate, a Certificate of Liability Insurance, and a business plan. The commissary itself must be a licensed, inspected food establishment; food and sanitation compliance in Boston is enforced by the ISD Health Division, not the Boston Public Health Commission.

   Official government source

   Commissary rent is a private commercial arrangement negotiated with the host kitchen — the City publishes no rate. The City's food truck permit itself is a $500 annual application fee.·Secure the commissary agreement before applying; permit approval then takes about two weeks

   Commissary rent is a private commercial arrangement negotiated with the host kitchen — the City publishes no rate. The City's food truck permit itself is a $500 annual application fee.

   Secure the commissary agreement before applying; permit approval then takes about two weeks

Official Sources

• Boston Public Health Commission
• Boston Inspectional Services Department
• MA Department of Public Health - Food Safety
• MA Department of Revenue

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