Metro file · Texas · checked October 19, 2026

Food truck permits in Houston: what changed, what didn't

Houston and Harris County mobile permits were replaced by the single DSHS license on July 1, 2026. One state license now covers the whole metro.

Still local in Houston

Houston's freedom is real but it is about land, not licenses: with no zoning, your constraint is property permission and fire checks, not the permit that HB 2844 already settled.

Metro file: compiled from Compiled from DSHS HB 2844 guidance + City of Houston published vendor rules. Being double-checked against the city’s current pages.

The state layer: Texas permit rules · Run your move: the free checker · All metros: guides.

Included in the $29 FoodTruckCleared Kit

  • Permit Path sheets for all 51 jurisdictions: who issues your permit, the step sequence, the commissary rule, and the local layer that survives — one printable sheet per state
  • The Texas HB 2844 transition guide: DSHS license types and fees, the inspection-queue playbook, and the exact answer to give a city still demanding its retired permit
  • Reciprocity playbooks for Colorado, Utah, and Oklahoma: the document packet, the 14-day clocks, and the copy-delivery errand, state by state
  • The commissary agreement template: a fill-in agreement with the sections health departments look for, plus how to find and negotiate a commissary in a new city
  • Inspection checklists: the health walk-through and the fire walk-through, in the order inspectors actually move around the truck
  • The event and temporary-permit pack: an application tracker, the questions to ask an organizer before you pay a booth fee, and the mass-gathering notice rules
  • Fee worksheets and a renewal calendar: what you paid, to whom, and when it expires — so no permit ever lapses silently

Get the FoodTruckCleared Kit — $29

One payment of $29. No subscription. The kit is a web page you can return to and print — Permit Path sheets for all 51 jurisdictions, the Texas transition guide, reciprocity playbooks, the commissary agreement template, inspection checklists, the event pack, and fee worksheets.