Who to call, what permitting actually costs, and a free checklist to work through before the inspector shows up.
Requirements reviewed 2026-07-28 against Georgia DPH, Mobile Food Service Establishment FAQ (rev. 1/03/23); Chapter 511-6-1.
Georgia Department of Public Health, County Environmental Health Office
Georgia treats the base of operation and the truck as one establishment under Chapter 511-6-1. Both are permitted, and both are permitted in your county of origin — the county where the base sits, not the county where you want to trade.
Georgia DPH Food Service →The order matters — several of these are expensive to do out of sequence.
Georgia DPH says this first for a reason: some cities and counties simply do not allow mobile food units, and that is a planning and zoning question, separate from any health department requirement. Confirm it through the city or county planning office before you spend.
You need your own base, within a reasonable distance of where you trade, because you must return to it daily to dump wastewater, refill tanks, and restock. The minimum is a dump station or mop sink, a handwashing sink, and a potable water tap.
Apply at the health department in your county of origin for both. Bring your menu, a to-scale diagram of the base and the unit, and photographs of the truck inside and out.
Since 1 January 2023 a county-of-origin permit is recognised elsewhere in Georgia, but recognition is not automatic access. Before trading in another county you must apply to that county's health department for authorization to operate.
Sharing space or equipment between two separate permit holders is not allowed, for liability and traceback reasons. Each permit holder needs their own base.
Fees are set by county boards of health rather than by the state, so there is no single Georgia number. There are two kinds: the permit fees for your base and unit in the county of origin, and the authorization-to-operate fees in each outside county, which cover the administrative cost of verifying your home-county permit. A truck that works several counties pays the second kind repeatedly, so map your trading area before you budget.
Your county environmental health office, under the Georgia Department of Public Health. The county of origin — where your base of operation sits — holds the permit and does the inspecting. Other counties verify that permit and issue authorization rather than re-permitting you from scratch, which is what changed in 2023.
Sometimes. The Georgia Food Service Rules prohibit food service operations in a private home or in a room used as living or sleeping quarters. If local zoning allows it and you have an area completely separate from residential use, such as an outbuilding, the health department may permit it.
No, not since 1 January 2023. Your county-of-origin permit is recognised statewide, but you must apply to each outside county's health department for authorization to operate before you trade there.
No. Georgia DPH does not allow two separate permit holders to share space or equipment, citing liability and foodborne illness traceback. Each permit holder needs their own base of operation.
Georgia's food truck rules and regulations sit in DPH Chapter 511-6-1 for mobile food services, enforced by county environmental health offices, with the 2023 reciprocity law letting one county permit work statewide after notification. Fire and zoning rules stay local to each city.
The $9 prep pack adds a print-ready checklist, a commissary letter template, an inspection log, and a temperature reference card.
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