How to start a pizza truck in the US: permits, commissary, fire and costs
Starting a pizza truck in the US takes four things before your first pie: a mobile food permit from your county or state health authority, a commissary or other approved base to clean, restock and dump water, a fire inspection of your oven, propane and suppression system, and the right to sell where you plan to park. Every city does this differently, so the order is always the same: call the health department first, then the fire marshal, then city hall.
The health permit, and the commissary behind it
A truck is a food establishment on wheels, and most health departments treat it like a small restaurant with extra rules. Expect a plan review of the truck before it’s built or bought, an inspection, and a permit you renew every year. You will also need a certified food manager, and in many places every food handler needs a card. Austin, for example, requires at least one registered Certified Food Manager per food business and a Food Handler Certificate for every employee who handles food within 60 days of hiring.
Almost every jurisdiction requires a commissary (also called a central preparation facility or base of operations): a permitted kitchen where you prep, store food, fill fresh water, dump gray water and grease, and clean. Health departments usually want a signed commissary agreement before they issue the permit. Industry guides put commissary access anywhere from a few hundred to a couple of thousand dollars a year, and far more in big cities.
Fire: the inspection that stops you trading
A pizza truck carries an oven at 600 °F or more, propane tanks and often a wood or gas flame inside a metal box. The local fire department or fire marshal usually wants to inspect the propane system, the oven installation and clearances, a hood and fire suppression system over any grease-producing equipment, and portable extinguishers. Industry guides put a truck suppression system at several thousand dollars installed. Wood-fired ovens draw extra attention: ask early whether yours is acceptable on the streets you want to work.
Where you are allowed to sell
Owning a permitted truck doesn’t give you the right to park and sell anywhere. Cities set rules on public streets (zones, time limits, distance from restaurants, schools and other trucks), and private lots need the owner’s written permission and sometimes a zoning approval. Events and festivals have their own vendor fees and permits. The guide to pizza truck spots covers how to find good ones.
What it costs to start
| Item | Reported range |
|---|---|
| Commissary access | $300 – 2,500 a year (much more in large cities) |
| Fire department permit | $100 – 1,000 |
| Fire suppression system, installed | $3,000 – 6,000 |
| Commercial auto insurance | $1,500 – 3,000 a year |
| Health and fire inspections | $300 – 2,500, with possible rechecks |
ABC POS food truck guide and Colorado food truck start-up guides, 2025–2026. Not official fee schedules; check your own city and county.
The truck or trailer and the oven are the big numbers, and they vary too much to average: a used trailer with a deck oven and a custom truck with a wood-fired dome are different businesses. Price the permits and the commissary for your city before you buy the vehicle; a cheap truck that can’t pass your fire inspection is the most expensive one.
The rest of the paperwork
- A business entity, an EIN and a local business license.
- A seller’s permit, and sales tax collected at the rate where you sell, which changes as you move between cities.
- Commercial vehicle registration and commercial auto insurance; personal auto policies don’t cover a food truck.
- General liability insurance, which most events and private lots ask to see.
- Workers’ comp once you hire.
The full permits and licenses checklist
Being findable when you move
A restaurant’s address never changes. Yours does, every day. Customers need one place that always says where the truck is tonight, when you open and what’s on the menu, and that place should be yours, not a social feed that buries yesterday’s post. A simple site with a weekly schedule, a live “we’re here now” status and pre-ordering for pickup at the window turns a line of strangers into regulars who find you wherever you park.