Texas Food Truck License in 2026: The New DSHS Statewide Permit, Unpacked

The short version

For years, a Texas food truck lived under a patchwork of city and county permits. Houston issued medallions, Dallas issued its own permit, and a truck that worked three counties needed three sets of paperwork.

That ended on July 1, 2026. House Bill 2844, passed in the 2025 legislative session, added Chapter 437B, Mobile Food Vendors, to the Texas Health and Safety Code. Under it, a mobile food vendor needs a license issued by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), one per vehicle, and a licensed vendor that follows the rules can't be shut out of a city just for being a food truck.

Two things did not change. Your truck still has to pass a health inspection, and every person handling food on it still needs food safety training. The rest of this page unpacks the new system and the part of the old one that stayed.

Who the law covers

Chapter 437B defines a mobile food vendor as any person who dispenses food or beverages from a food vending vehicle for immediate service or consumption (§437B.001). The bill retired the older term "mobile food unit" from the permit statute, so expect DSHS forms and inspectors to say "food vending vehicle" and "MFV."

If you serve from a truck, a trailer, or a cart that moves, assume this chapter applies to you. If you're unsure whether your setup counts as a vehicle, ask DSHS before you build the menu around the answer.

The three license types

Section 437B.151 tells DSHS to sort vendors into three risk-based classifications, and your type sets your fees and how often inspectors come by.

• Type I — prepackaged foods, beverages that don't need time and temperature control, or otherwise low-risk vending. Think a prepackaged ice cream truck or a non-TCS snack cart.
• Type II — prepackaged time/temperature-control-for-safety (TCS) food that needs limited handling, or food prepared to order for immediate consumption. DSHS gives coffee trucks, snow cone stands, and hot dog carts as examples.
• Type III — vendors who prepare, cook, hold, and serve food from the vehicle. Burger, BBQ, and taco trucks live here.

Pick your type honestly. A Type II application for a truck that's clearly cooking and holding food wastes the application fee, because the inspector sees the flat-top and the hot-hold cabinet on day one.

What it costs

DSHS publishes the fee schedule on its mobile food vendor page. At the time of writing it reads:

• Type I: $309 application fee, no pre-licensing inspection fee
• Type II: $618 application fee plus a $400 pre-licensing inspection fee
• Type III: $876 application fee plus a $500 pre-licensing inspection fee

Routine inspections after licensing carry their own fee for Type II and Type III vendors, and complaint-driven inspections are billed for every type. The application fee is due up front. Section 437B.058 lets the department collect application, renewal, and inspection fees, so treat the numbers above as a snapshot and confirm them on the DSHS page the week you apply.

One license per vehicle, one year at a time

Section 437B.051 is blunt: a separate license is required for each food vending vehicle. Two trucks means two applications, two inspections, and two fees. The license expires on the first anniversary of the date of issuance (§437B.055), and DSHS ties that date to the day you pass your pre-licensing inspection.

Once licensed, you must display the license and inspection certificate on the vehicle and pass the inspections DSHS requires (§437B.103). The department runs randomized follow-up inspections weighted by your type and your past results (§437B.153), so a clean first inspection buys you fewer surprise visits later.

What happened to your city permit

Section 437B.003 preempts local rules that conflict with the chapter, and §437B.051(b) bars a city or county from prohibiting a licensed vendor who is following the law. Houston has already told operators that its mobile food unit permits and medallions are no longer valid as an operating license, and other cities have posted similar notices.

That does not mean cities vanished from your life. Fire codes, zoning, event rules, and where you can park are still local decisions as long as they don't conflict with Chapter 437B. The state license gets you the right to operate. The city still decides which curb.

One welcome change for owners who've argued with a commissary contract: §437B.004 prohibits rules that force a vendor to associate with a commissary if the vehicle carries the equipment needed to comply with state law and handles grease disposal properly.

Already licensed locally? Here's the on-ramp

DSHS split applicants into two groups for the transition.

• You held a current Texas local license. Submit the DSHS application with proof of that license, pay the fees, and keep the application summary on the vehicle. You can keep operating while DSHS schedules your pre-licensing inspection.
• You had no current Texas license. You cannot operate until the pre-licensing inspection is complete. DSHS says it prioritizes these applications, but there's no shortcut around the inspection.

Either way, the law is clear that the department may not issue a license to an applicant whose vehicle does not pass a health inspection (§437B.054). The inspection is the license.

The rule that didn't change: your crew still needs training

A new license chapter is easy to misread as a reset of every rule. It isn't. Section 437B.104 requires every mobile food vendor to comply with food safety laws, including any food safety and food manager certifications required under Chapter 438.

In practice, that means the Texas Food Establishment Rules still apply inside your truck. Food employees complete an accredited food handler course within 30 days of employment, and the establishment keeps the certificate on hand. A certified food manager requirement may apply depending on what you serve and how your local health authority classifies your risk. For the handler side, read Texas Food Handler Card Requirements: The 30-Day Rule. For who needs the manager credential, read Food Handler Card vs. Food Manager Certification.

An inspector who climbs into a Type III truck will ask for those certificates. Have them on the vehicle, not in a drawer at home.

Why the training should be worth the hour

Most food handler courses are built for the cheapest possible seat time: a wall of text, a timer you can't skip, and a quiz that asks you to hold a list of numbers in short-term memory for five minutes. That's a strange way to prepare someone for a 110-degree trailer where the hot-hold cabinet, the ice bin, and the handwash sink are all within arm's reach of each other.

The ideas that keep a food truck safe are learnable: the temperature danger zone, cross-contamination on a two-foot prep surface, handwashing when there's a line out the window, and knowing when a sick cook stays home. When you see why a number matters, you don't need to cram it.

CortovaFood is our Texas food handler course, built that way: visual-first lessons, real Texas kitchen and truck scenarios, audio overviews for the drive to your spot, and plain language that respects your time.

Difficult subjects can be simplified to be understood. Wisdom. Unpacked.

Verify before you rely

Chapter 437B is new, DSHS rules under it are new, and fees and procedures can change. This page is a plain-language explainer, not legal advice. Confirm current requirements on the DSHS mobile food vendor page and with your local health authority before you apply, buy a vehicle, or sign a lease on a spot.