Arizona Food Vendor Requirements: TPT, Health, and Mobile Permits

To sell food in Arizona you need a state Transaction Privilege Tax license from the Department of Revenue and a health permit from your county, and if you run a mobile unit you also need a commissary agreement and a statewide mobile food license issued through the county where that commissary sits. Cottage food producers selling shelf-stable homemade items are exempt from the health permit but still need the state tax license. The full stack of Arizona food vendor permits and licenses layers state registration, county health approval, and often city-level business licensing on top of each other, and the order you tackle them matters.

Transaction Privilege Tax License

Every food vendor in Arizona needs a Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) license from the Arizona Department of Revenue before collecting any revenue. This is Arizona’s version of a sales tax license, and it applies whether you run a restaurant, a food truck, or a single booth at a weekend market. The license costs $12 per business location as a one-time fee and is obtained by submitting the Arizona Joint Tax Application (Form JT-1).¹

Many cities and towns require their own municipal business or privilege tax license on top of the state TPT. Tempe requires a separate annual license for each mobile merchant business, each owner, and each non-owner driver.² Globe requires a mobile vendor license before you operate within city limits.³ If you plan to work across multiple municipalities, budget time to research each one. Arizona cities with populations over 50,000 must make their license applications available online.⁴

Check the Cottage Food Exemption First

Before spending anything on equipment or commissary agreements, check whether your product qualifies under Arizona’s cottage food law. Arizona Revised Statutes sections 36-931 through 36-933 let home-based producers sell certain homemade food products without a food establishment license or health department inspection. Arizona imposes no annual sales cap on cottage food operations, which sets it apart from many other states. The exemption covers non-potentially-hazardous foods: baked goods, jams, candies, dried herbs, and similar shelf-stable items that don’t require refrigeration.

If your product qualifies, you skip the commissary agreement, plan review, and county health permit entirely. You still need proper labeling that identifies the product as a cottage food item and lists ingredients, and you still need a TPT license. For anyone selling cupcakes at farmers markets or cookies online, this is the right first checkpoint.

County Health Permit and Plan Review

Fixed food establishments deal directly with their county health department for an operating permit. Before that permit is issued for a new location, you complete a plan review. The submission is detailed. Reviewers want to see scaled layout drawings, a proposed menu, equipment with make and model numbers, plumbing and ventilation schedules, finish schedules for floors, walls, and ceilings, and the placement of handwashing sinks, warewashing areas, mop sinks, and grease traps.⁵

The Arizona Food Code sets baseline standards regardless of establishment type. Food contact surfaces must be smooth, durable, and easily cleanable. Handwashing sinks must supply water at a minimum of 110°F through a mixing valve or combination faucet.⁶

Permit fees vary widely by county. Navajo County charges annual fees ranging from $200 for a limited establishment to $350 for a complex establishment, with temporary food establishment permits at $50.⁷ Mohave County fees start at $35 for a nonprofit temporary retail food permit and exceed $1,000 for multi-department food service and retail operations.⁸ Plan review fees are charged separately from operating permit fees, so budget for both.

Once the county approves the plan review and application, an environmental health inspector schedules a pre-operational inspection to confirm your setup matches what you submitted. Passing that inspection triggers issuance of the operating permit, which must then be displayed where customers can see it.⁷

Mobile Food Unit Licensing

Arizona’s statewide framework for mobile food units divides them into three categories based on how much preparation the unit performs.⁹ Type I units sell or dispense food without cooking, preparing, or assembling it. Type II units handle more complex operations and require plumbed handwashing with hot and cold running water. Type III units do full cooking and food preparation and must carry a three-compartment warewashing sink supplied by at least 30 gallons of potable water under pressure. The full equipment specifications appear in Arizona Administrative Code R9-8-110.¹⁰ Confirm your category with the county health department before you buy or build out a unit, because getting it wrong means failing the pre-operational inspection.

Every mobile food unit must also have a written agreement with an approved commissary or servicing area located in the county that issues the unit’s license. The commissary is a permitted fixed food establishment that provides services the mobile unit can’t perform on its own: overflow food preparation, potable water supply, wastewater disposal, and warewashing. The written agreement must list the commissary’s name, address, phone number, and health permit number; your name and contact information; the specific services the commissary will provide; and any expiration date.¹¹ Counties reject applications when the commissary’s own permit has lapsed or the listed services don’t match the unit’s operations.

Statewide Reciprocity for Mobile Units

Mobile food unit licenses carry statewide reciprocity. You get licensed through the county health department where your commissary sits, and that license is valid in every Arizona county.⁹ You don’t need a separate health permit for each county where you park and sell.

Any county health department can still enforce the statewide inspection standards against your unit regardless of where the license was issued. Random inspections cost nothing extra, but failing one can put your license at risk. Each mobile food unit requires its own separate license, renewed annually, displayed in a visible location while operating.⁹ Applying in a county other than your commissary county means submitting the application, menu, commissary agreement, toilet-use agreement, photos of the unit, route sheet, and permit fee to that county’s environmental services department.¹²

Food Handler and Manager Training

Arizona law requires all employees of a mobile food vendor to hold either a valid food handler card or a certificate from an accredited food handler training class.⁹ Food handler cards are generally valid for three years and cost roughly $7 to $25 through ANAB-accredited providers.

Some counties go further. Maricopa County requires each food establishment to have at least one Certified Food Protection Manager on staff, a full-time employee who supervises and trains other food workers on safety regulations. Establishments that serve only foods not requiring time or temperature control are exempt.¹³ Check the environmental health code in your county for CFPM requirements specific to your jurisdiction.

Fire Inspection for Cooking Units

Mobile units that cook food generating grease-laden vapors need a Type I exhaust hood with an integrated fire suppression system, a requirement drawn from the International Fire Code and enforced by local fire authorities. Running a Type I hood typically means obtaining a fire department operational permit in addition to your health permit.

State law limits how cities can pile on. If your mobile food unit passed a fire inspection by any Arizona city or town fire department within the preceding 12 months, another city cannot require a separate fire inspection before you operate there.⁴ Keep the fire inspection documentation in the unit at all times.

City Operating Rules and Their Limits

Cities and towns impose their own rules on where and how mobile food vendors operate. Arizona law lets municipalities restrict mobile food vendors at public airports, public transit facilities, and residential zones, including within 250 feet of a residential zone, and cities can enforce their existing zoning codes against food trucks.⁴

State law also limits what cities can require. A city cannot require a special permit that isn’t required for other temporary or mobile vending businesses in the same zoning district. It cannot force you to operate a minimum distance from an existing restaurant or commercial establishment, except as required by building, fire, and sidewalk codes. And it cannot ban you from using legal parking spaces, though it can limit the number of spaces, set vehicle size restrictions, and cap how long you park.⁴ If a city tells you that you can’t park within 500 feet of a competing restaurant, that rule is likely unenforceable.

Temporary Event Permits

Vendors operating at a single short-term event like a fair, festival, or farmers market need a Temporary Food Establishment permit tied to that specific location and date range.¹² You submit your menu and setup plan in advance. In Pima County, applications and fees must reach the health department at least 14 days before the event to avoid a late fee, and food must be prepared at the approved location shown on the permit; deviating from that site can result in immediate shutdown.¹⁴

Vendors who already hold an annual mobile food establishment permit may operate at special events and farmers markets under that existing permit in some counties and permit types, without obtaining a separate temporary permit.¹²

Federal Tax Registration

If your food vending operation is anything other than a sole proprietorship with no employees, you need a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. Partnerships, corporations, LLCs with multiple members, and any business with employees all require one. The application is free and processed instantly through the IRS online tool.¹⁵ Form your business entity with Arizona before applying, since the IRS may delay processing if the entity doesn’t yet exist at the state level.

Self-employed food vendors owe federal self-employment tax of 15.3% on net earnings: 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare.¹⁶ The Social Security portion applies to the first $184,500 of combined wages and self-employment income in 2026.¹⁷ The Medicare portion has no cap. If your net self-employment income exceeds $200,000 as a single filer, you’ll also owe an additional 0.9% Medicare surtax on the excess.

Liability Insurance

Arizona has no blanket state requirement for food vendor liability insurance, but event organizers, commissary owners, and municipalities often require proof of coverage before letting you operate. A general liability policy covers injuries or property damage caused by your operation. Event organizers commonly ask for a certificate of insurance naming them as an additional insured, and no certificate usually means no booth.

Beyond general liability, food vendors should consider commercial auto coverage if you drive a food truck on public roads, and food spoilage coverage for losses caused by equipment failure or power outages. Costs vary by revenue, location, and menu, but general liability policies for small food vendors typically start at a few hundred dollars per year.

1
Arizona Department of Revenue. TPT License
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City of Tempe. Mobile Merchant License
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City of Globe. Mobile Vendor License
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Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 9-485.01 – Mobile Food Vendors; Mobile Food Units; Operation
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Pinal County. Food Establishment Plan Review Packet
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Arizona Department of Health Services. Arizona Food Code
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Navajo County, AZ. Permits / Licensing
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Mohave County. Environmental Health – Fee Schedule
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Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 36-1761 – Mobile Food Vendors; Mobile Food Units; Rules; Health and Safety Licensing Standards
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Arizona Secretary of State. Arizona Administrative Code Title 9 Chapter 8
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Legal Information Institute. Arizona Administrative Code R9-8-110 – Mobile Food Units
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Maricopa County. Mobile Food Establishments
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Maricopa County. Maricopa County Environmental Health Code – Chapter 7
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Pima County Health Department. Guidelines for Temporary Event Food Vendors in Pima County
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Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
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Internal Revenue Service. Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare Taxes)
17
Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base