Food trailers for sale in Florida

Updated October 2026 · TX Food Trailers, Houston, Texas

Health license: one state license (DBPR)

Florida licenses food trucks and trailers as Mobile Food Dispensing Vehicles (MFDV) through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), Division of Hotels and Restaurants. The law covers any vehicle "self-propelled or otherwise movable," so trailers are included.

Since July 1, 2020 (section 509.102, Florida Statutes), licensing is the state's job: cities and counties may not require another license or permit or charge extra fees for it, and may not ban mobile food vehicles from their whole area, though they can still regulate where and how you operate. Units that sell only prepackaged or limited foods are permitted by the Department of Agriculture (FDACS) instead.

• Plan review is required for a vehicle the division has never licensed, which includes a new trailer: equipment plan, menu, a side photo showing the wheels and open service window, and your commissary or water and waste site. Plan review costs $0.
• Inspection: a sanitation and safety inspection before you open.
• Commissary: operate from an approved commissary and report there at least daily, unless the vehicle is self-sufficient. Even then you need a commercial site to fill water and dump waste; private homes are not allowed.
• Fees: $347 per year plus a $50 application fee for a new license.
• Tanks: the DBPR rule sets no sizes; FDACS guidance asks for a waste tank 15% larger than the fresh tank. Ours are 40 gal fresh and 53 gal waste.

Send us the DBPR plan review checklist and we prepare the equipment plan for your submission.

Fire and propane

DBPR's rule requires fire extinguishers and LP-gas equipment to meet the Florida Fire Prevention Code as approved by the local fire authority. That code (NFPA 1, Florida edition) covers mobile cooking operations, including a hood with fire suppression under NFPA 96 and gas leak checks. Your local fire department inspects.

Title and registration

Title and register at your county tax collector (Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles). Trailers with a net weight of 2,000 lb or more are titled, and all trailers are registered.

• Form HSMV 82040, Application for Certificate of Title
• Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin
• Bill of sale or invoice showing the price and any tax paid
• ID for each applicant

Florida's VIN verification form (HSMV 82042) states it is not completed for a new motor vehicle, whether bought in Florida or out of state. Confirm with your tax collector.

Sales tax

Florida charges 6% state sales tax plus your county's discretionary surtax on the first $5,000 of the price, based on the county where the trailer is registered. You pay it at the tax collector, and no title is issued without a tax receipt. Florida credits a similar tax lawfully paid in another state. 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.