Last updated 2026-08-21
TL;DR
Georgia does not issue one statewide concession trailer license. You renew a county food service permit under Chapter 511-6-1, keep sales tax and the local business license current, and stay inspectable on fire suppression. Fees and calendars change by county. Start with the health department that permitted your commissary and confirm every number on that board's current fee sheet.
What does concession trailer renewal in Georgia actually mean?
Renewal in Georgia means keeping a valid county food service permit on your mobile unit, then keeping the tax, tag, and fire paper next to it current. There is no separate statewide concession trailer renewal form. Your real deadline is the date the county health authority printed on the permit, plus any city occupational tax date that does not match it.
People hunt for a single Georgia concession trailer license because other states sell a mobile vendor card with a state seal on it. Georgia does not. The Department of Public Health writes Chapter 511-6-1. County environmental health offices issue the permit, inspect the unit, and take the fee.[1]
If the permit already lapsed, you are not renewing in the casual sense. You are asking the same board to let you operate again. They can treat you like a new applicant if they want to. Call before you pay anything online, and do not assume you are fine.
Keep the physical permit on the trailer. Inspectors ask for it. Event organizers ask for it. A PDF on your phone helps in a pinch. It does not stand in for paper when the person at the gate wants to see it on the wall.
Think of renewal as a file, not a sticker. The health permit is the center of that file. Sales tax, the local business license, the trailer tag, the CFPM card, the commissary letter, and the hood service tags all sit around it. Miss one and you can still get shut down on a Saturday morning, even if the health card looks pretty.
Do you need a license for a concession trailer in Georgia?
Yes. You need a food service permit to run a concession trailer that prepares or serves food in Georgia. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 511-6-1-.08 states, "Any person operating a food service establishment shall possess a valid permit issued by the Health Authority on a form prescribed by the Department."[1]
That permit is the core license people mean. It is not the only paper. You also need a Georgia sales tax account if you sell prepared food, a local business license or occupational tax certificate where you are based (and sometimes where you vend), and a titled, tagged trailer.[4][8]
A trailer, pushcart, or truck that works from a commissary is a mobile food service unit under the definitions in 511-6-1-.02.[2] Same rulebook as a sit-down restaurant. Different construction notes. Same permit logic.
Weekends only does not buy you a pass. Private catering on a farm does not either. If you are a food service establishment under the rule, you need the permit. Cottage food is a different, much narrower path at the Department of Agriculture, and it does not cover a hot line in a trailer. Do not mix those two files.
If you only sell sealed, shelf-stable snacks, ask the county before you assume you are exempt. I have seen counties go either way on the same bag of chips. Get the answer in writing and keep it with the unit.
Who issues the health permit for a Georgia concession trailer?
The Georgia Department of Public Health writes the Food Service rules. Your county board of health, or the health authority that covers that county, issues the permit and sends the inspector.[1]
Park the application in the county where the base of operations sits. A mobile food service unit has to work from a commissary or base. That is where you store food overnight, dump wastewater, fill potable water, and wash utensils if the trailer cannot do it. The county that regulates that commissary is usually the county that writes your permit.
DeKalb Public Health publishes food service contacts and application paths for operators based there.[14] Every other county has an environmental health shop too. Use that county's page, not a Facebook rumor about "the Georgia food truck license."
DPH does not mail you a statewide mobile vendor card. Stop waiting for one.
If you vend on city property, at a festival, or inside a park that runs its own special event rules, you may need extra paper that is not the health permit. The health permit still comes first. Do not pay a festival application fee until you know which health authority has to bless that weekend, because some events want a letter from your permitting county and some want their own temporary permit on top.
How does the health permit renew in Georgia?
Most Georgia counties run food service permits on an annual cycle. Some expire on a fixed calendar date. Some expire one year from issuance. Read the permit. Then read this year's fee sheet, because boards change both.
Renewal is usually an application, a fee, and an inspection. If you did not remodel the trailer, you should not be in a full plan review. If you added a fryer, moved the hand sink, or switched from a snow-cone layout to a smash-burger line, tell them. Hiding a remodel is how you get a stop-work conversation in a parking lot.
Start the renewal file 45 to 60 days before the printed expiration. That is my habit, not a legal deadline. Some offices turn files around fast. Some are short-staffed in the spring. Nobody publishes a public, statewide processing clock I can cite, and I will not invent one. Confirm turnaround with the environmental health office that holds your file. No approval timeline is promised here.
Bring the CFPM certificate, the commissary letter, water and wastewater notes if they ask, and the last inspection. If they use an online portal, use it. If they still want a paper check, send the paper check.
Operate with an expired permit and you are operating without a permit. The rule does not hand you a grace period I can point to in 511-6-1-.08.[1] Event promoters who say "you can slide a week" are not the Health Authority.
What other paper sits next to the health permit?
The health permit is required. It is not sufficient. A concession trailer in Georgia usually carries a small stack of unrelated paper that renews on different calendars.
| Paper | Who issues it | What renewal looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Food service permit | County health authority | Reapply, pay the county fee, inspection |
| Sales tax account | Georgia Department of Revenue | Account stays open; you keep filing |
| Occupational tax / business license | City or county | Annual certificate, local fee sheet |
| Trailer title and tag | County tag office under DOR rules | Tag cycle; TAVT on a purchase |
| CFPM card | ANSI-CFP accredited exam provider | Recertify when that card expires |
| Hood / suppression tags | Licensed fire service plus local fire | Often a 6-month service interval |
Georgia's state sales tax rate is 4 percent, and prepared food sold from a concession trailer is taxed at the combined state and local rate.[6] The grocery exemption does not cover a plated meal or a cooked-to-order sandwich sold off the trailer. Register through DOR and file on the schedule they assign.[4]
The IRS does not charge a fee to issue an EIN when the application is submitted on IRS.gov.[7] Get one if you are hiring, opening a business bank account, or forming an entity. Forming an LLC is a Secretary of State job, not a health department job.[8]
Buying the trailer can trigger title ad valorem tax. Confirm the current TAVT rate with the Department of Revenue before you price a purchase, because that number is a tax rate, not a guess you want to make in a seller's driveway.[4]
511-6-1-.03 requires a certified food protection manager through an accredited program.[3] The FDA Food Code, which Georgia's chapter tracks, says "At least one EMPLOYEE that has supervisory and management responsibility and the authority to direct and control FOOD preparation and service shall be a certified FOOD protection manager who has shown proficiency of required information through passing a test that is part of an ACCREDITED PROGRAM."[12] ServSafe is the common card. It is not the only legal card. That card dies on its own cycle, often years after your permit year, so put the date on the same wall as the permit.
If you also chase events out of state, do not reuse this stack. The concession trailer renewal in Florida path and the concession trailer renewal in Alabama path are different statutes, different boards, different calendars.
How much does a concession trailer cost in Georgia?
Nobody publishes an official Georgia concession trailer price. Not DPH. Not DOR. Listing sites and builders are what you have, and they swing.
Used 8- to 16-foot units change hands from the mid $10,000s into the $40,000s depending on rust, grease, tank condition, and whether the hood is a real listed system. New custom 16- to 24-foot kitchens often land between about $50,000 and $150,000 once you add fryers, refrigeration, a generator, and suppression. Those are market ranges, not a study. Treat any single quote on social media as advertising.
Buy a used, already-permitted layout if you are new. Paying $120,000 before you have sold a few hundred plates is how people go broke in March. A cheaper unit that already passed a Georgia county plan review is worth more than a shiny box that has never seen 511-6-1.
Used units fail plan review when a prior owner boxed plywood over a grease line or ran a domestic fridge on a generator circuit that will not hold temperature. Budget a shop day and a second inspection. Budget a water test if the tanks smell like a garden hose.
Insurance, a wrap, the generator, opening food stock, and commissary deposits sit on top of the purchase price. I will not invent those premiums. Ask an agent who actually writes food service, then confirm commissary rent with the kitchen you will really use, not the one in a blog post.
The trailer is the expensive object. The permit is the object that lets you earn the trailer back.
How much does concession trailer renewal cost each year in Georgia?
There is no statewide renewal fee. County boards set food service fees on their own schedules. I will not quote a DeKalb number that might be last year's PDF. Pull the current environmental health fee schedule from the county that permitted you.[14]
Annual cash you should expect to see again: the county permit fee, city occupational tax, sales tax you collect and send (that is tax, not a fee, but it is still cash), hood and suppression service, commissary rent, tag costs if your plate works on a cycle, CFPM recert when that card dies, and liability insurance.
The hood service is easy to forget and dumb to skip. Fire companies bill what they bill. Operators plan around a 6-month inspection interval on the cooking extinguishing system because that is the normal NFPA 96 service interval.[10]
A consultant who charges four figures to renew a permit you already hold is, in most counties, a waste of money. The form is short. Pay them if you remodeled, changed commissaries, or got a suspension. Do not pay them to type your VIN into a portal you can open yourself.
UGA's Small Business Development Center will talk business planning for free or cheap. That is useful for the tax and entity side. It is not a substitute for the county health application.[15]
How long does concession trailer permitting take in Georgia?
Sales tax registration with DOR can be quick online. An EIN is often immediate on IRS.gov.[4][7] Those are the easy clocks.
The slow step is the health permit, and it is slowest the first time because of plan review. Counties review drawings, water, wastewater, finishes, equipment cut sheets, and the commissary contract. I have seen that move in a couple of weeks and I have seen it sit. There is no honest statewide median. Confirm with your board. Do not advertise an opening date until the inspector has left a passing report.
Renewal is shorter when nothing on the trailer changed. You still wait on the inspector's calendar. Festival season backs those calendars up. That is not a rule. It is how spring works in Georgia.
Vehicle title work depends on the county tag office and whether the VIN and bill of sale are clean. TAVT is due on qualifying purchases, which can stall a deal if the buyer did not bring money for the tax.[4]
If anyone quotes you a fixed "Georgia approves concession trailers in 10 days," they are guessing. Walk away. The only clock that matters is the one the environmental health clerk gives you for your file, this year, in that county.
What if you change counties or change the trailer layout?
Change commissary counties and you are often a new applicant, not a renewing one. Some counties will honor another Georgia county's mobile permit for a weekend event with a notification or a courtesy letter. Some will not. Metro Atlanta offices are not known for casual reciprocity. Ask both counties in writing and keep the email.
Leave the state and you are under someone else's statute. Concession trailer renewal in California is still a health-department world, just not this chapter. Illinois and Colorado will not care that Cobb already likes your hand sink.
A remodel triggers plan review under the same chapter that required plans the first time.[1][2] Adding grease-laden cooking also drags the fire marshal back in, because now you have a hood problem, more than a sink problem.[11]
Selling the trailer does not sell the permit. Permits are not a bonus sticker on the VIN. The buyer starts their own application with their own commissary and their own CFPM. If you are the seller, take your copies and walk. If you are the buyer, do not pay extra for "the permit transfers." It does not.
I would rather lose two weeks on a new plan review than find out at a Saturday market that the unit in the driveway is still permitted to the previous owner in a county you do not work.
What do Georgia inspectors actually look at on a mobile unit?
They look at the unit the rule describes. A handwashing sink that works. Hot and cold water under pressure. Wastewater that does not hit the parking lot. Food equipment in good repair. Cold hold and hot hold at the temperatures in 511-6-1. A Person in Charge who can answer questions. A CFPM certificate that is not expired.[3]
They look at the commissary agreement. They look at where you store bulk food overnight. "I keep it in my garage" is how you fail. So is a cooler in a bedroom.
They look at finishes. Smooth, cleanable, non-absorbent. Raw OSB walls fail. Carpet fails. A home fridge with a broken seal fails. Bare wood over the three-comp sink fails.
Water tanks need to be food-grade. Hoses too. The fill connection should not look like a garden-hose afterthought taped to a spigot behind a church.
Georgia's rules track the FDA Food Code on a lot of these points. The Food Code is the model, not your permit. Your permit is the county form hanging in the trailer.[12]
If last year's inspection had a violation, fix that first. Inspectors remember repeat greasy floors and a missing stem thermometer. Show up boring and clean, not clever and new.
What fire suppression does a Georgia concession trailer need?
If you produce grease-laden vapor, you are in hood territory. NFPA 96 is the standard fire officials use for commercial cooking ventilation and fire protection.[10] Georgia's Safety Fire Commissioner adopts state minimum fire safety standards in Chapter 120-3-3.[11]
Local fire marshals inspect mobile units that cook. Expect a hood, a listed suppression system, a charged Class K extinguisher near the fryer, and a regular ABC extinguisher. Expect them to want service tags that are not expired.
Operators plan around inspection and service of the cooking extinguishing system at least every 6 months, which is the normal NFPA 96 interval.[10] Hood cleaning frequency depends on how hard you fry. A festival trailer that runs a fryer all weekend is not on an annual wipe-down. If the interior of the duct looks like a candle, you waited too long.
Do not buy a trailer whose "suppression system" is a hardware-store extinguisher zip-tied to a range. You will fail a city fire check and you will deserve it. A pretty wrap does not put out a grease fire.
If you want a single folder that tracks the health packet next to the hood tickets, ConcessionPath sells a $149 one-time Health + Fire-Suppression Kit at /start. It is a checklist product. It is not a Georgia permit and it does not move your county's calendar.
What renewal mistakes waste a Georgia season?
Letting the permit expire in April because you "only work football season." The county does not care about the Bulldogs calendar.
Building a new trailer in a shop two counties away, then surprising environmental health with a finished unit and no plans. Plan review exists so you do not spend $8,000 putting a hand sink in the wrong wall.
Using a friend's restaurant as a commissary without a letter the inspector will accept. A text that says "yeah you can wash pans here" is not a base of operations.
Paying for a wrap before plan review. Ugly steel is cheaper than reprinting vinyl after you have to cut a window.
Assuming a county permit lets you ignore city special-event rules, park rules, and private property permission. The health card is not a parking pass.
Skipping sales tax because you only take cash. DOR does not find that charming.[4]
Copying an Arkansas or Connecticut checklist and filing those forms in Georgia. Wrong state. Wrong board. Wrong fee sheet.
What should you do 60 days before the permit lapses?
Pull the permit. Write the expiration on the shop wall. Do it today if you have to squint at the date.
Download this year's fee sheet from the county site that actually permitted you.[14] Do not reuse last year's dollar amount from a group chat.
Book the fire service company if the suppression tag will die in the same window. Those companies get busy right before festival season too.
Confirm the commissary still wants you. Kitchens drop vendors. Get a fresh letter if yours is old.
Check the CFPM date. Check the city occupational tax date. Those two almost never match the health permit date, which is how people stay "legal" on one paper and illegal on two others.
If the trailer changed, call plan review now, not after you take deposits for a Saturday wedding.
ConcessionPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a service company. Use /start only if you want the optional kit. Then call the county. The clerk who owns your file beats any article, including this one.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license for a concession trailer in Georgia?
Yes. You need a county food service permit under Chapter 511-6-1 to operate a concession trailer that prepares or serves food. You also need sales tax registration, a local business license or occupational tax certificate, and a tagged trailer. Georgia does not issue one statewide mobile vendor card. Confirm the exact application with the health authority that regulates your commissary.
How much does a concession trailer cost in Georgia?
There is no official Georgia price index. Used 8- to 16-foot units often change hands from the mid $10,000s into the $40,000s. New custom 16- to 24-foot kitchens often land between about $50,000 and $150,000 once equipment and suppression are in. Those are market ranges from builders and listings, not a state dataset. A used layout that already passed a Georgia plan review is usually the smarter first buy.
How long does concession trailer permitting take in Georgia?
Sales tax and an EIN can be quick online. The health permit is the slow step, especially the first time, because of plan review and the inspection calendar. Renewal is usually shorter if the trailer did not change. Nobody publishes a statewide processing clock. Confirm current turnaround with the county environmental health office that holds your file. Do not advertise a date until you have a passing inspection.
Is there a statewide Georgia food truck or concession trailer license?
No. DPH writes the Food Service rules. County health authorities issue the permit. Cities add occupational tax and event rules. DOR handles sales tax. Fire officials handle the hood. If a seller promises one state card that covers all of that, they are selling a story. Start with the county that regulates your commissary.
Which county health department do I renew with?
Usually the county where your base of operations or commissary sits, because that is the kitchen the mobile unit is tied to. If you switch commissaries across a county line, many offices treat you as a new applicant. Ask both counties in writing before you move coolers. Keep the commissary letter in the trailer with the permit.
Does a Georgia county permit let me vend in every Georgia city?
Not automatically. The health permit is about food safety. Cities still run business licenses, parking rules, and special-event permits. Some counties want notice or their own paper even if another Georgia county already permitted the unit. Get the event promoter's health requirement in writing before you pay a booth fee.
Do I need a certified food protection manager in Georgia?
Yes, for a food service establishment under 511-6-1-.03. At least one person with management authority over food prep needs an accredited CFPM credential. ServSafe is common. Other ANSI-CFP exams also satisfy the rule. The card expires on its own cycle, which is not the same as your permit year. Put both dates on the wall.
Is prepared food on a Georgia concession trailer sales-taxable?
Yes. Georgia's state sales tax rate is 4 percent, and local taxes stack on top. The food exemption is for food and food ingredients meant for home consumption, not a cooked-to-order plate sold from a trailer. Register with DOR, collect the combined rate for each location, and file on the schedule they assign.
Does the food service permit transfer if I sell the trailer?
No. The buyer needs their own permit, their own commissary agreement, and their own CFPM. Do not pay extra for a "transferable license." If you are selling, hand over equipment manuals and last inspection copies. If you are buying, start the county application before you wrap the trailer in your name.
How often does the fire suppression system need service?
Plan on the cooking extinguishing system being inspected and serviced at least every 6 months, which is the normal NFPA 96 interval. Hood cleaning can be more often if you fry hard. Local fire marshals also want a Class K extinguisher by grease cooking and current tags on the unit. Confirm the local fire shop's checklist before a city event.
Can I use my house as the commissary for a Georgia concession trailer?
Usually no, not if you are a food service establishment under 511-6-1. Inspectors want a permitted base of operations for food storage, warewashing, potable water, and wastewater. A garage fridge and a garden hose is a failing story. Get a written commissary agreement from a kitchen the county already understands.
What should I bring to a Georgia mobile unit renewal inspection?
The current permit application and fee receipt, the posted permit, CFPM card, commissary letter, last inspection, thermometer, and current hood and extinguisher tags. The unit should have working hot and cold water, a stocked hand sink, clean tanks, and holding temperatures already in range. If you remodeled, bring the approved plans. Do not make the inspector discover a new fryer.
Sources
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 511-6-1-.08 (Food Service, Compliance and Enforcement): A food service establishment must possess a valid permit issued by the Health Authority on a Department form.
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 511-6-1-.02 (Food Service, Definitions): Georgia food service rules define mobile food service units as a regulated category tied to a base of operations or commissary.
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 511-6-1-.03 (Food Service, Management and Personnel): Georgia requires a certified food protection manager through an accredited program for food service establishments.
- Georgia Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax: Sellers of taxable goods and prepared food must register with DOR and collect Georgia sales tax; TAVT applies to qualifying vehicle purchases.
- Georgia Department of Revenue, sales tax rate charts: Georgia's state sales tax rate is 4 percent, with local sales taxes added by jurisdiction.
- IRS, Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) Online: The IRS does not charge a fee to issue an EIN when the application is filed on IRS.gov.
- Georgia Secretary of State, How-To Guide: Starting a Business in Georgia: Business entity formation and related state registrations run through the Georgia Secretary of State, separate from the county health permit.
- NFPA 96, Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations: NFPA 96 sets the standard for commercial cooking ventilation and fire protection, with regular inspection of the cooking extinguishing system.
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 120-3-3 (Rules of Safety Fire Commissioner, state minimum fire safety standards): Georgia adopts state minimum fire safety standards through Chapter 120-3-3 under the Safety Fire Commissioner.
- U.S. FDA, Food Code 2022: The FDA Food Code requires at least one supervisory employee to be a certified food protection manager who passed an accredited exam.
- DeKalb Public Health, Food Service: DeKalb Public Health environmental health administers food service permitting for establishments in DeKalb County.
- University of Georgia Small Business Development Center: The UGA Small Business Development Center offers business planning help to Georgia small businesses.