Mobile food vending — Palm Bay, Florida

Food trucks can operate in Palm Bay with only a state license from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and the City of Palm Bay charges no fee and requires no city registration for mobile food vending.

The Palm Bay Mobile Food Vending page explains that Florida Statutes section 509.102, effective July 1, 2020, lets mobile food trucks operate throughout Florida without any added licensing, business tax receipt or permit beyond the state Mobile Food Service license from the DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants (City of Palm Bay Mobile Food Vending). The same page states that no fees or registrations are required within the city, but that local code section 174.022 must be observed. Last verified: October 12, 2026, on the City of Palm Bay Mobile Food Vending page and the Palm Bay Land Development Code.

Two papers ride in every truck working in Palm Bay. The city page requires the current DBPR Mobile Food Service license to be kept inside the vehicle, together with the site owner's permission to operate on the property, and that permission must name the specific hours and days of the week vending will happen there. The Land Development Division, reachable at (321) 733-3042, answers questions on where and how to operate in Palm Bay.

The state statute explains why Palm Bay regulates only land use. Section 509.102 preempts to the state all regulation of mobile food dispensing vehicles that involves licenses, registrations, permits and fees, and it bars a municipality from prohibiting them from the entirety of its jurisdiction (Florida Statutes, section 509.102). Palm Bay code section 174.022 repeats that limit in its purpose clause, describing itself as land use and zoning rules for the property where a vendor operates (Palm Bay Land Development Code, section 174.022).

Under Palm Bay code section 174.022, a food truck may sell on private property with the owner's written permission, or on city property inside an area the mayor or a designee sets aside, subject to distance limits.

On private Palm Bay property, evidence of the owner's written permission must be available for inspection by the city while the truck is operating (Palm Bay Land Development Code, page 174-14). The truck must stay at least 50 feet from any flammable or combustible liquid or gas storage and dispensing structure, at least 50 feet from a single-family or multifamily residential lot unless a solid wall at least six feet high screens it, and at least 10 feet from any building or structure.

No more than four mobile food vendors may operate on any private property in Palm Bay at one time unless a city special event or temporary use permit allows more, and no truck may block driveways, building entrances, emergency exits or business access or sit in a public or private right-of-way (Palm Bay Land Development Code, page 174-15). A truck generally needs a lot with a principal structure, though a vacant lot is allowed when it abuts a built lot under the same ownership; lots across a public right-of-way do not count as abutting. Trucks may also serve an active commercial or multi-family construction site in Palm Bay, or a single-family subdivision under master infrastructure construction until its first certificate of occupancy. Each truck operates from a stationary spot but may move between several locations during the day, and it keeps the posted hours of the business on site, or 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. where no business is open, counting setup and breakdown time.

A Palm Bay mobile food vendor may sell only food and beverages, may not sell or serve food from a free-standing barbecue grill or fryer, and may not use amplified music or sound to draw customers.

Section 174.022 limits what sits around a Palm Bay truck to two trash receptacles, one recycling receptacle and one menu board no larger than 30 by 50 inches, and the vendor must show the city a valid state license under section 509.241 on request (Palm Bay Land Development Code, page 174-15). The vendor must provide trash and recycling containers, keep the surrounding area neat and remove garbage before leaving (Palm Bay Land Development Code, page 174-16). No grease, waste or trash may go onto city streets, sidewalks, gutters or the storm drainage system in Palm Bay.

Seating at a Palm Bay truck is tightly drawn. One 10 by 10 foot outdoor dining area per vendor may be allowed, but tables, chairs, benches and counters are permitted only when a site plan or special event permit expressly authorizes them, and none may sit in the public right-of-way. Any canopy or awning must hang entirely from the truck or its trailer without touching the ground. A fire extinguisher must be on site when a generator or open flame is used, and alcohol sales are prohibited unless a special event permit authorizes them.

Trucks parked on city-owned Palm Bay property carry an insurance requirement as well. The vendor must keep commercial general liability coverage of at least $300,000 for each accident, $600,000 general aggregate, $600,000 for products and completed operations and $100,000 for damage to rented premises, plus commercial auto liability of $1,000,000 per accident, and must file a certificate of insurance naming the city as an additional insured (Palm Bay Land Development Code, page 174-16).

Palm Bay section 174.022 states that its provisions do not apply to a vendor working under a special event permit or temporary use permit, and catering for a permitted event is allowed in any zoning district.

The code exempts vendors operating under those permits from the general section, then sets catering conditions (Palm Bay Land Development Code, page 174-14). Only one mobile food vendor may cater on private residential property under a city-issued permit, and a catering vendor may serve only the event's patrons, with no sales to the public. A permit for mobile food vendors on property with residential structures runs no longer than 12 hours per site, and on other property no longer than 18 hours (Palm Bay Land Development Code, page 174-15).

Event organizers in Palm Bay apply for a Special Event Permit for any public event on non-city property through the city's iMS portal, attaching a to-scale site plan for events on city-owned and non-city property alike (City of Palm Bay Special Event Applications). For events in city parks, the Mobile Food Vending page points to the Palm Bay Parks and Recreation Department at (321) 726-5671 (City of Palm Bay Mobile Food Vending).

Not fully: the Palm Bay Mobile Food Vending web page still lists zoning districts, a two-truck limit and a 12-hour cap that differ from the section 174.022 text in the Land Development Code adopted on September 19, 2024.

The city web page says mobile food vending is allowed in four Palm Bay zoning districts, CC Community Commercial, HC Highway Commercial, BMU Bayfront Mixed Use and LI Light Industrial, mapped in Northwest and Northeast and Southwest and Southeast quadrant PDFs (City of Palm Bay Mobile Food Vending). It bars trucks from city parks, city property and residential zoning except at city-sanctioned events, caps any one stay at 12 consecutive hours, and allows no more than two trucks on a property. It also lists practices the code text does not repeat: no balloons, banners or large flashing lights, no drive-up sales to customers in moving vehicles, no unimproved surfaces or abandoned or vacant business sites, and no use of parking spaces a business is required to keep.

The adopted code takes a different approach, with separation distances in place of a district list, four vendors per private property and designated areas on city property (Palm Bay Land Development Code, section 174.022). The zoning chapter adopted the same day lists Community Commercial, Highway Commercial and Light Industrial and Warehousing districts, and it shows no Bayfront Mixed Use district among the commercial and industrial categories (Palm Bay Land Development Code, Chapter 173). The City of Palm Bay says it adopted the updated Land Development Code in September 2024 and is advancing Phase 2 textual amendments (Palm Bay LDC Phase 2 Updates). Where the two Palm Bay sources differ, the Land Development Division at (321) 733-3042 is the office the city names for questions.

Every food truck serving in Palm Bay needs a Mobile Food Dispensing Vehicle license from the DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants, which lets the truck operate anywhere in Florida.

The DBPR guide says the license lets operators drive from place to place throughout the state, offer catering, and work a 1 to 3 day temporary event without paying additional temporary event fees (DBPR Guide to Mobile Food Dispensing Vehicles). A truck must fill its water tank and empty its wastewater tank at a commercial, non-residential location such as a commissary or a truck stop, so a residence cannot be the water and sewer base for a truck working in Palm Bay. Plan review is required for a vehicle never licensed by the division, one closed for more than 18 months or one that has been remodeled, and the paper route uses application form HR 7036 with commissary form HR 7022. Fees depend on the application date and county, and every new licensee must pass a sanitation and safety inspection before opening. For state licensing questions, the Palm Bay Mobile Food Vending page lists the DBPR call center at (850) 487-1395 (City of Palm Bay Mobile Food Vending).