Food trailers for sale in Arizona

Updated October 2026 · TX Food Trailers, Houston, Texas

Health license: county license, valid statewide

Under A.R.S. 36-1761, the Arizona Department of Health Services sets the standards and the county health department where your commissary is located licenses and inspects each mobile food unit, once a year. That license has reciprocity in every Arizona county. Other counties may require a permit and charge a fee, but may not require another inspection, and must issue the permit online.

Cities may not require special permits that other mobile vendors do not need, set distances from restaurants, or require a new fire inspection if the unit passed one elsewhere in Arizona within 12 months. Cities can still require a business license.

• Type III is the category for a trailer that cooks.
• Commissary: a commissary or servicing agreement in the licensing county; the unit returns at least every 96 hours and keeps a 30-day service log.
• Water: at least 30 gal of pressurized hot and cold water, with more if there is a prep sink, and a wastewater tank 15% larger. Ours are 40 gal fresh and 53 gal waste.
• Equipment: a 3-compartment sink and NSF/ANSI equipment; the business name in permanent letters on the unit.

Maricopa County (Phoenix area) requires plan review for custom-built units, then a pre-operational inspection. Its fee summary approved in August 2026 lists Type III plan review at $300 and the annual Type III permit at $610. Pima County (Tucson) lists mobile food plan review at $230.

Fire

We found no statewide fire permit for mobile food units. Under A.R.S. 9-485.01, a city may not require a new fire inspection if your unit passed one elsewhere in Arizona within the last 12 months. Our cooking trailers have a hood and a fire suppression system tagged in Houston.

Title and registration

Arizona requires a certificate of title for a trailer within 15 days of purchase, through the ADOT Motor Vehicle Division. For a purchase from an out-of-state dealer, ADOT lists:

• Title and Registration Application (form 96-0236) and a copy of your Arizona license or ID
• The Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin, reassigned to you
• The invoice
• State and city use tax

Noncommercial trailers of 10,000 lb or less can get permanent registration for a one-time $125; commercial trailers are registered for 1, 2 or 5 years with annual vehicle license tax. Ask MVD which applies to your food trailer.

Use tax

Arizona state use tax is 5.6%, plus city use tax where you live (there is no county use tax). MVD collects it at title or registration, and tax already paid to another state is credited. When we ship the trailer to you by carrier, no Texas sales tax is charged; see nationwide delivery.

Rules and fees change and some cities and counties add their own. Confirm current requirements with the agency before you buy or apply.