The application · checked October 19, 2026
Getting the Texas DSHS mobile food vendor license, step by step
- Find your type. Menu decides: prepackaged shelf-stable only → Type I. Prepackaged perishables or limited prep and reheating → Type II. Cooking, holding, serving → Type III. Types and fees are in the table below.
- Document your Central Preparation Facility. Type II and III licenses require CPF (commissary) documentation — where the truck is serviced, takes on water, and discharges waste. Type I requires it only in some cases (25 TAC ch. 226). Get the agreement signed before you apply; the agreement page lists what it must show.
- Apply to DSHS and pay. One application per vehicle. Fees include the Texas Online charge in the published schedule.
- If you hold a current local license, say so in the application. Proof of a current local license is what entitles you to keep operating while your pre-licensing inspection is pending. No current license? You wait for the inspection like everyone else.
- Pass the pre-licensing inspection. The truck must remain readily movable (no permanent utility hookups or skirting), with water and wastewater tanks, handwashing and warewashing sinks, and servicing-area documentation per your type.
- Keep the license on the truck and renew annually. Renewals run $300–$850; routine and complaint inspections are billed per the schedule when they occur.
| DSHS license type | Who it covers | Application | Pre-licensing inspection | To open |
|---|
| Type I | Prepackaged, non-perishable (non-TCS) food; low risk | $309 | — | $309 |
| Type II | Prepackaged perishable (TCS) food, or limited handling and preparation | $618 | $400 | $1,018 |
| Type III | Cooks, holds, and serves food from the vehicle | $876 | $500 | $1,376 |
Fees from the DSHS Mobile Food Vendor Guide, verified October 19, 2026. Renewals run $300–$850 a year; routine and complaint inspections are billed at $300 (Type I complaint), $400 (Type II), $500 (Type III) when they occur.
Queue honesty: the statute's inspection clock is 14 days (§437B.054). The reported reality in the summer and fall of 2026 was a queue measured in weeks to months while ~19,000 vendors entered the system. We date-stamp this note; when DSHS publishes a reliable turnaround, the correction log will record the change.
Included in the $29 FoodTruckCleared Kit
- Permit Path sheets for all 51 jurisdictions: who issues your permit, the step sequence, the commissary rule, and the local layer that survives — one printable sheet per state
- The Texas HB 2844 transition guide: DSHS license types and fees, the inspection-queue playbook, and the exact answer to give a city still demanding its retired permit
- Reciprocity playbooks for Colorado, Utah, and Oklahoma: the document packet, the 14-day clocks, and the copy-delivery errand, state by state
- The commissary agreement template: a fill-in agreement with the sections health departments look for, plus how to find and negotiate a commissary in a new city
- Inspection checklists: the health walk-through and the fire walk-through, in the order inspectors actually move around the truck
- The event and temporary-permit pack: an application tracker, the questions to ask an organizer before you pay a booth fee, and the mass-gathering notice rules
- Fee worksheets and a renewal calendar: what you paid, to whom, and when it expires — so no permit ever lapses silently
Get the FoodTruckCleared Kit — $29
One payment of $29. No subscription. The kit is a web page you can return to and print — Permit Path sheets for all 51 jurisdictions, the Texas transition guide, reciprocity playbooks, the commissary agreement template, inspection checklists, the event pack, and fee worksheets.