Food van licence UK: what you need before your first pitch

A food van licence is several permissions, not one

People search for a food van licence as if it were one document. In practice a UK food truck needs three things from the public side before the first sale: permission to trade where you park, registration as a food business, and a hygiene rating that follows your first inspection. On top of that come the gas on the van, your insurance and your tax set-up with HMRC.

Street trading licences from your council

In England and Wales, you may need a street trading licence from the council where you want to trade. The rules come from the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, which lets each council decide street by street. A street can be a prohibited street, where nobody may trade; a licence street, where you need a licence; or a consent street, where you need the council's consent. That is why a licence in Leeds says nothing about trading in Bradford.

You apply to the council, and tell them where and when you want to trade. Many councils also ask for two photos and a fee. The council can refuse, or grant fewer days and times than you asked for, and popular streets often have a waiting list. A licence lasts up to 12 months, and a consent can be granted for any period up to 12 months. Nobody under 17 can hold one.

Trading without a licence, or breaking its conditions, can lead to a fine of up to £1,000. Markets and fairs held under their own grant are exempt, which is why a pitch at a chartered market is arranged with the market operator, not with the street trading team.

Food van licence cost: why every council is different

There is no national price for a street trading licence. The 1982 Act lets councils charge the fees they consider reasonable, so the amount depends on the council, the street, the number of days and sometimes the size of the pitch. Some councils charge a yearly fee, others per day or per event. Before you plan a route around a town, look up that council's street trading policy and fee list, and ask whether there is a waiting list for the streets you want.

London, Scotland and Northern Ireland

London boroughs run street trading under separate London legislation, so the rules and fees differ from the rest of England; ask the borough you want to trade in.

In Scotland you need a street trader's licence under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, and that includes selling from a vehicle. For a food business run from a vehicle, the licensing authority refuses the licence unless a certificate from the food authority shows that the vehicle meets the food hygiene requirements. Plan an inspection of the van before the licence, not after.

Northern Ireland has its own street trading law, so start with your district council.

Register the van as a food business

Every food business that supplies food regularly to the public has to register with the local authority at least 28 days before it starts trading. That includes mobile units, stalls and vans. Registration is free and can't be refused. If the van trades in several areas, ask the council where you keep it which authority your registration belongs with before you send it. The online registration service covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland; in Scotland, ask your local council how to register.

What the registration involves, who needs approval instead and what selling online adds, is covered step by step in our guide on how to register a food business. This guide sticks to what is different for a van. Selling at events for a caterer or alongside one? The page on software for caterers covers the quoting and stock side.

Your first inspection and hygiene rating

After you register, an officer from the local authority inspects your business. Inspections are unannounced, and higher-risk businesses are seen first, so the first visit may take several months. You get a food hygiene rating from 0 to 5, based on what the officer sees on the day.

A van is a small kitchen. The basics apply in full: hand washing with hot and cold water, separate areas for raw and ready-to-eat food, and a food safety management system based on HACCP. Many small businesses use the Food Standards Agency's Safer Food, Better Business pack for that. A food hygiene certificate is not compulsory, but it is recommended for anyone handling food.

In Wales and Northern Ireland, displaying your rating sticker is the law. In England it is voluntary, but customers and event organisers look for it, so a 5 on the side of the van and on your website does real work.

Allergens at the hatch

You have to give allergen information for food that is not prepacked. You can do that on the menu board or tell customers where to ask, as long as the information is right every time. Food you make and pack in your unit before customers order it, such as wrapped sandwiches for a lunch pitch, needs a full label with ingredients and allergens. That is explained in Natasha's Law. If you take pre-orders online, allergen information has to be available before the order is completed and again when the food is handed over.

Gas, electrics and the van itself

Most food trucks cook on LPG. HSE says work on gas fittings in workplaces such as shops and restaurants must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and the gas safety regulations cover LPG as well as natural gas. It is your job to check the engineer is registered for the work. Keep the record of each check with the van, and ask every council and organiser which gas and electrical documents they want to see before the day.

The van is also a vehicle. Your motor insurance has to know it carries a kitchen and that you trade from it. Tell your insurer how you cook, where you trade and how many people work in the van.

Tax, VAT and HMRC

If you trade as a sole trader, tell HMRC you are self-employed. You register for VAT once your taxable turnover passes £90,000 in any 12 months. From then on the menu matters: HMRC treats hot takeaway food and all hot drinks as standard-rated, and most cold takeaway food as zero-rated. Food eaten on your premises is standard-rated, and premises can include tables and chairs you set out for your customers, but not seating provided for general public use. Agree the rate per menu item with your accountant before you set up the till.

Pitches: streets, markets, festivals and private land

The licence decides where you may trade on the street. The pitch decides whether anyone buys.

Most traders mix the three: a regular lunch pitch for steady income, markets for new customers and private hire for the best days. How to plan that over a week with more than one van is on the page about food truck software. If you work a lot with organisers, the page on event companies shows the other side of the deal.

Start a food truck business in the UK: a worked example of the costs

Start-up costs vary too much for an average to mean anything: a new truck or a second-hand trailer, your own unit or a rented commissary kitchen, LPG or electric. So here is a way of calculating rather than a price. The figures are assumptions for this example, not market prices. Put in your own quotes.

Say you keep £5 per meal after ingredients and packaging, before VAT. Then you have to sell £1,850 divided by £5, or 370 meals a month, just to cover fixed costs. That is about 85 meals a week before you earn a penny yourself. One wedding for 100 guests covers that in an evening; three quiet lunches in a car park do not. Run your own numbers through the break-even calculator and check your margin per dish with the margin calculator.

Getting found before your first season

Your first customers see the van. The next ones search for you. Someone looking for food truck hire types it into Google with their town. First they see the map, which is your Google Business Profile with a service area; see create a Google Business Profile, and after each event ask for a review as in get more Google reviews, with a direct link from the Google review link generator. More ways to rank in your own towns are in local SEO tips.

Next comes your own site with this week's pitches, the menu and a hire form. What belongs on it is on food truck website design. Wondering whether Instagram is enough? Read do I need a website. A hire form that shows free dates works like a booking system for your website. What a site costs up front is in website cost UK. If you want someone to build it, that starts with website design, or a conversation through contact.