Colorado
Denver food truck permits: retail food mobile license, activity-based fees, and fire inspection
Denver’s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection issues the retail food mobile license. The application fee is $150, plus $25 for each food-processing activity you perform. All fabrication of the unit must be complete before you apply. Fire inspection is required, and propane users need a separate fire operational permit invoiced at $200 a year on the official application page we checked.
Last checked 2026-11-09 (America/New_York).
Official fees we could verify
Amounts below come from the linked official pages or PDFs. If a figure could not be confirmed, we say so and do not invent one.
| Item | Amount | Term and source |
|---|---|---|
| Retail food mobile application fee Paid in the online portal when you submit a new application. |
$150 | Application fee denvergov.org new retail food mobile application |
| License fee per food-processing activity The license fee is $25 for each activity you select, added together. Official activity list: selling prepackaged cold foods; scooping ice (including bagged ice for retail sale); heating commercially processed foods or cold holding foods; cooking raw animal products; cooling cooked foods; reheating previously cooked foods; serving raw or undercooked animal products (beef, eggs, fish); specialized process (fermentation, curing, sous vide, etc.); infusing products with hemp. |
$25 | Per activity, for the license (renewed annually) denvergov.org new retail food mobile application |
| Fire Prevention Flammable Operational Permit (propane) — annual invoice Required if you use propane. Apply in the fire operational-permit portal. The official application page says: do not pay until you receive an invoice for the annual $200 fee, emailed from info@denvergov.org. Do not apply for the propane permit until you are ready to have the unit inspected. Invoice timing may take 5–7 business days. |
$200 | Annual denvergov.org new retail food mobile application |
The path, in order
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1. Sort out the zoning use permit if you will operate on private property
The city says this license requires a zoning use permit for private-property use. Email CPD Records first to ask whether a permit already exists for the address (allow up to 10 business days), then Zoning if you need to apply. You may start the license application with an Acknowledgement of Zone Use Permit, but the license will not issue until a proper zoning use permit is on file. If Zoning does not require a permit, you can upload a signed food ZUP exemption. The zoning use permit fee itself is not quoted on the application page we checked — confirm with Zoning.
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2. Finish the vehicle and gather the plan-review packet, photos, and commissary affidavit
All fabrication must be complete before you apply. Upload the mobile plan review packet (or a state health department mobile food license if you already have one), appliance spec sheets, an affidavit of commissary, color photos of all four exterior sides including the license plate plus two interior photos, ID, and other documents listed on the official page. If you use propane, include the Denver Fire propane permit.
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3. Apply online and pay the $150 application fee plus $25 per activity
Apply in Denver’s Permitting and Licensing Center. Pay the $150 application fee and $25 for each food-processing activity that applies to you. Initial review of a complete application is typically within seven business days. DDPHE then reviews the packet (often remotely; the page says no physical DDPHE inspection is required) and contacts you within 7–10 business days.
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4. Schedule and pass the Denver Fire safety inspection
All new applicants must schedule and pass a fire safety inspection (email dfdmobiles@denvergov.org). If you already have a current annual FMAC Certificate of Inspection from a participating Fire Marshals Association of Colorado agency, you may submit that instead of a Denver Fire inspection. Cooking that produces grease-laden vapors requires a Class I hood with an approved suppression system and a Class K extinguisher. Keep a 2A:10BC extinguisher mounted in a bracket. Propane tanks must be metal-strapped (no bungee or fabric straps) and protected from impact.
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5. If you use propane, obtain the flammable operational permit ($200 annual invoice)
Apply for the Fire Prevention Flammable Operational Permit, attach registration, driver’s license, and a current fire-suppression inspection report, then wait for the $200 invoice. Carry a copy of the permit while open and provide it on inspection day.
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6. Receive the license and renew it every year
Once Denver Fire has approved the physical inspection and DDPHE has approved the unit, Licensing emails the license within 5 business days. Display it whenever you operate. Licenses expire annually; operating on an expired license is unlawful. File contact-information changes within 72 hours.
Fire, propane, and commissary notes
A sales-tax license may be required depending on your application answers.
Denver Fire: (720) 913-3405 or dfdmobiles@denvergov.org. Licensing: 201 W. Colfax Ave., Dept. 206, Denver, CO 80202.
- Zoning use permit dollar amount — not listed on the application page we checked.
- Exact fire-inspection fee, if any is charged separately from the propane operational permit — confirm with Denver Fire.
- Restricted-area map rules for downtown — download the official map from the application page rather than relying on a summary.
Nearby commissaries and shared kitchens
We have not yet listed a kitchen in Denver with a public address and website we could verify. Use the suggest a kitchen form if you know a good one, and check the official sources below.
Official sources
- New retail food mobile application (food truck or cart)
- Mobile Food Vendors Permitting Process (Denver Fire)
This page is not affiliated with Denver or the agencies above. It is a practical summary by Thirty and Beyond, LLC. Confirm current rules before you spend money or start construction.