Food Truck Permit Requirements in Warwick, RI

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

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

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online application)

   Free

   Immediate (online application)

1. Rhode Island Division of Taxation — Sales Tax Permit

   Required for all businesses selling tangible personal property or taxable services in Rhode Island. Rhode Island charges a 7% state sales tax with no local sales taxes. Register with the RI Division of Taxation online via the RI Tax Portal.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online)

   Free

   Immediate (online)

2. Rhode Island Department of Health - Certified Food Safety Manager

   Under the Rhode Island Food Code (FDA Food Code 2022, section 2-102.12), the person in charge of a food establishment must be a certified food protection manager who has passed a test forming part of an accredited program, so a catering operation needs at least one. RIDOH issues the Certified Food Safety Manager credential and only trained, certified people may use that title. Certification runs five years, and renewal requires 8 professional development units - eight hours of approved food safety and sanitation training - within the period.

   Official government source

   $50.00 RIDOH Certified Food Safety Manager certification fee and $50.00 at each renewal under fee regulation 216-RICR-10-05-2, plus the private provider's course and national examination fees.·Not published by RIDOH; certification lasts five years and renewal notices are sent 60 days before the expiration date.

   $50.00 RIDOH Certified Food Safety Manager certification fee and $50.00 at each renewal under fee regulation 216-RICR-10-05-2, plus the private provider's course and national examination fees.

   Not published by RIDOH; certification lasts five years and renewal notices are sent 60 days before the expiration date.

1. Rhode Island Department of Health - Mobile Food Service License

   Food trucks operating in Warwick and statewide need a Mobile Food Service license from the RI Department of Health's Center for Food Protection. Kent County has no government and Rhode Island has no municipal health departments. The Rhode Island sequence is: register the mobile food establishment with the Department of Business Regulation first, then obtain the RIDOH mobile food licence, then obtain the municipal mobile food licence - in Warwick, the Licensing Division's Food Truck/Cart/Trailer (MOBILE) licence. The unit must operate from an approved commissary and passes a pre-operational inspection.

   Official government source

   $100.00 per year for the RIDOH Mobile Food Service license, prorated to $75.00 or $50.00 depending on when in the license year you register; no fee for non-profit mobile food service. Warwick charges a separate fee for its Food Truck/Cart/Trailer licence.·Not published by RIDOH; the licence issues after the pre-operational inspection of the unit.

   $100.00 per year for the RIDOH Mobile Food Service license, prorated to $75.00 or $50.00 depending on when in the license year you register; no fee for non-profit mobile food service. Warwick charges a separate fee for its Food Truck/Cart/Trailer licence.

   Not published by RIDOH; the licence issues after the pre-operational inspection of the unit.

2. No General Business License in Warwick

   Warwick issues no general business license or business tax certificate. The city's Licensing Division, administered through the Warwick Police Department and filed on the city's OpenGov portal, licenses only specific activities - liquor, second class victualler, inside and outside entertainment, food truck/cart/trailer, general and produce peddlers, daily vendor, kennel, massage therapy, permanent make-up, second hand dealer, used car dealer, tobacco, private detective, laundromat, dry cleaners and similar. Mobile dog grooming appears nowhere in that catalogue, and Rhode Island has no state grooming license.

   Official government source

   No fee - Warwick issues no general business license, and neither Warwick nor the state licenses dog grooming.·Not applicable - no general business license is issued.

   No fee - Warwick issues no general business license, and neither Warwick nor the state licenses dog grooming.

   Not applicable - no general business license is issued.

3. Commissary Agreement (Mobile Food Establishment)

   Rhode Island's mobile food rules, administered by the RI Department of Health's Center for Food Protection, require a food truck to operate from an approved commissary - a licensed commercial kitchen used for food preparation and storage, potable water, waste disposal and cleaning of the unit. A signed commissary or incubator-kitchen lease agreement is submitted as a supporting document with the RIDOH Mobile Food Service licence application, and the commissary must itself hold a RIDOH food establishment licence.

   Official government source

   Commissary rental is a private, market-rate arrangement between the operator and the kitchen; it is not a government fee and no rate is published by the state or any municipality. The commissary's own RIDOH Commissary licence is $280.00 per year, paid by the commissary operator.·The signed commissary agreement must be in place before the RIDOH Mobile Food Service licence application is submitted.

   Commissary rental is a private, market-rate arrangement between the operator and the kitchen; it is not a government fee and no rate is published by the state or any municipality. The commissary's own RIDOH Commissary licence is $280.00 per year, paid by the commissary operator.

   The signed commissary agreement must be in place before the RIDOH Mobile Food Service licence application is submitted.

Official Sources

• Warwick / Kent County Health Department
• Rhode Island Division of Taxation — Sales Tax Permit

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