Texas food trucks get one statewide permit, easing local fees

Food truck operators who used to chase permits across Houston, Harris County and surrounding suburbs now needed one Texas license to work statewide after the new system took effect July 1. Under the old patchwork, permit and inspection charges could run several hundred dollars in each jurisdiction and, in some cases, more than $1,000. Boot Shooters BBQ co-owner Damon Uherek put the total at about $3,000 a year once all the different local fees were added up.

HB 2844 created that uniform licensing system because mobile food vendors faced inconsistent requirements and duplicative costs from one jurisdiction to another, including neighboring cities such as Midland and Odessa. The law required one license per food vending vehicle and kept the Texas Department of State Health Services in charge of issuing the statewide license, while allowing local authorities working with DSHS to continue handling standardized health inspections.

DSHS opened applications June 4. Mobile food vendors had to hold a DSHS license to operate beginning July 1. Current vendors could keep operating after that date if they had submitted a complete application and paid the required fees, while new vendors had to pass a pre-licensing inspection before opening for business. Once a vendor passed that inspection, the license was good for one year from the inspection date. DSHS Deputy Commissioner for Consumer Protection Timothy Stevenson wanted the transition to be smooth for vendors, customers and the local jurisdictions that had licensed them before.

Houston and Harris County had already moved to align their own rules with the state system. The Houston Health Department stopped accepting mobile food unit plan review applications on May 15, and permitting authority shifted to DSHS beginning July 1. Most food businesses still need a county permit, but mobile food unit permits and licenses after July 1 are issued by DSHS.

The new state fee schedule ranged from $300 to $1,350 for an initial application and pre-licensing inspection, and from $300 to $850 for annual renewal. State fiscal notes estimate DSHS could license roughly 19,000 food vendors and generate as much as $17 million a year.