Food trailer with service window open in a Georgia downtown setting

How to Start a Food Trailer Business in Georgia

How to Start a Food Trailer Business in Georgia

Georgia’s food trailer scene is real and growing — farmers markets, brewery lots, food truck parks, corporate campuses. The permitting path is manageable, but it’s not simple. Your county health department controls your food permit. Your commissary location determines your “home” county. And if you want to operate across multiple counties — which most food trailer operators do — there’s a specific process for that too.

The November 2025 law changes made multi-county operation significantly easier. More on that below.

Here’s the full path, from business formation to first service.

Georgia DPH Mobile Food Unit Permit

Food trucks, food trailers, and food carts all fall under the “mobile food unit” category in Georgia. The Georgia Department of Public Health (dph.georgia.gov) sets the standards, but your local county health department issues the actual permit and does the inspection.

You’re applying for two permits, not one:

  1. A permit for your commissary (the licensed kitchen you’re based out of)
  2. A permit for the mobile unit itself

Both come from the county health department in the county where your commissary is located. That county becomes your “home county” — the origin point for your statewide recognition. More on why that matters in a moment.

Fees vary by county. Expect to pay somewhere between $100 and $1,000+ depending on where you set up. Fulton and DeKalb tend to run higher. Smaller counties are often cheaper. Call your county health department directly to confirm current fees — they change, and the range is genuinely wide.

Before you get your permit, your mobile unit gets inspected. The inspector will check your equipment, your water supply setup, your handwashing station, your food storage temperatures, and your waste disposal system. If something doesn’t pass, you fix it and reschedule. Don’t try to rush this — build inspection time into your launch timeline.

You’ll also need a Certified Food Safety Manager on staff. This means someone has passed an accredited food safety manager exam (ServSafe is the most common). That person doesn’t have to be present every single hour of operation in all cases, but the certification must be in place before you get your permit issued.

Commissary/Base of Operations Requirement

This is the requirement that shapes everything else about running a food trailer in Georgia. Every mobile food unit must have a commissary — a licensed base of operations that you return to daily.

Not weekly. Daily.

The commissary serves as your operational anchor. You go there to clean your unit, do food prep, dispose of wastewater, restock your water supply, and store food at proper temperatures. Georgia health inspectors take this seriously. If you’re caught operating without a valid commissary agreement or skipping daily returns, you’re looking at permit suspension.

The commissary itself must be a currently licensed food service establishment. A friend’s home kitchen doesn’t count. Your garage doesn’t count. It has to be a permitted commercial kitchen.

Your options:

Rent commissary space. Shared commercial kitchens exist specifically for food trailer operators, caterers, and small food businesses. In metro Atlanta, Savannah, and other larger markets, you’ll find these with a quick search. Budget $500–$1,500/month in metro areas. Some commissaries charge by the hour; others by the month. Monthly arrangements are cleaner for daily-return requirements.

Partner with an existing restaurant. Some restaurants will allow you to use their kitchen during off-hours — early mornings before they open, or late nights after service ends. This can work well and sometimes runs cheaper than a dedicated commissary. Get the agreement in writing, and make sure their permit covers your use.

Build your own licensed kitchen. If you’re serious about scaling, this is the long-term play. You’d get your own food service permit for the kitchen, which also gives you control over your schedule and space. Higher upfront cost, but no monthly commissary fee.

One important note: your commissary permit and your mobile unit permit are both tied to the county health department where the commissary sits. Choose your commissary location thoughtfully — it determines your home county, which affects your multi-county operation process.

Multi-County Operation

Here’s where Georgia’s rules get interesting — and recently got a lot better.

Georgia has a multi-county recognition law: your home county food service permit is recognized statewide. You don’t have to get a completely separate health department permit in every county you want to work in. That’s a significant advantage over states that require full re-permitting in each jurisdiction.

But “recognized” doesn’t mean “automatically allowed.” Until recently, you still had to apply for authorization in each outside county before operating there — a process that varied wildly by county and could involve fees, wait times, and paperwork inconsistency.

November 2025 changed this. Under HB 1076 and HB 2459, all mobile food vendors who hold an OSDH (Office of the State Department of Health) food establishment license may operate in any local jurisdiction in Georgia. The intent is to streamline exactly the kind of county-by-county friction that made multi-county operation a headache. If you’ve got your home county permit, you have a clear path to operate statewide without each county creating its own barrier.

This is genuinely good news if you’re planning to work multiple counties — farmers markets in different jurisdictions, catering events across the metro area, weekend festivals outside your home county.

That said: the health permit and the business license are separate things. Even with the November 2025 streamlining, you still need an occupation tax certificate (local business license) from each city or county where you operate. Health department recognition doesn’t cover that. More on this in the next section.

The practical takeaway: get your commissary situated, get your home county permits, and then you’re in a strong position to operate broadly across Georgia.

Local Permits and Business License

Georgia doesn’t have a statewide business license. Every city and county runs its own licensing through occupation tax certificates. If you’re operating a food trailer in Atlanta one weekend, Decatur the next, and Augusta the weekend after that — you need an occupation tax certificate from each of those jurisdictions.

The application process for each local business license will require two Georgia-specific affidavits:

E-Verify Affidavit (O.C.G.A. § 36-60-6): If your business has 11 or more employees, you must be registered with E-Verify and provide your user number on the application. If you have fewer than 11 employees — which is most food trailer operations — you file an exemption affidavit instead. Either way, this is mandatory. No exceptions.

SAVE Affidavit (O.C.G.A. § 50-36-1): This verifies your lawful presence in the United States. It requires notarization and a Secure and Verifiable Document (passport, driver’s license, etc.). Every business license applicant must complete this, regardless of business size.

These aren’t optional bureaucratic add-ons. Missing either one will get your application rejected. Have them ready before you walk into any city or county licensing office.

Beyond the occupation tax certificate, some cities add their own layer. Atlanta, Savannah, and other larger municipalities sometimes have a separate mobile food vendor permit on top of the standard occupation tax certificate. Fees and requirements vary. Check the city’s business licensing website directly — don’t assume the occupation tax certificate covers everything.

Zoning is the other thing that trips people up. Not every location in every city allows food truck or trailer operation. Industrial zones often allow it; residential zones typically don’t. Some commercial zones restrict it. Before you sign any agreement to operate in a specific spot — a parking lot, a business district, an event venue — verify the zoning with the city or county planning department. Getting denied at the zoning stage after you’ve already paid for a location agreement is an expensive mistake.

Insurance Requirements

You need insurance before you operate. Full stop.

Commercial auto insurance covers the trailer while it’s being towed and in transit. Expect to pay $1,500–$3,000/year. Standard personal auto policies don’t cover commercial use — if you’re towing a food trailer and get in an accident, a personal policy may deny the claim entirely.

General liability insurance is your protection against customer injuries and property damage. A $1 million per occurrence minimum is the standard, and many event organizers and property owners will require proof of it before they let you set up. Budget $800–$2,000/year depending on your revenue and coverage level.

Product liability coverage is often bundled with general liability, but verify it’s included. This covers claims from foodborne illness. One bad batch of food and a sick customer can generate a lawsuit — product liability is what protects you there.

Workers’ compensation: Georgia requires it once you hit three employees, including officers and part-time workers. The Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation oversees this at sbwc.georgia.gov. If it’s just you operating solo, you’re not required to carry it — but once you bring on even part-time help and hit that threshold, you must.

Get quotes from insurers who specialize in food truck or mobile food businesses. General commercial policies sometimes exclude mobile food operations. Specialty carriers understand the risks and write appropriate coverage.

Startup Costs at a Glance

Food trailers can be a lean startup — or a significant capital investment, depending on your choices. Here’s an honest breakdown:

Business formation

Permitting

  • County health permit (unit + commissary): $200–$2,000+, depending on county
  • Occupation tax certificate: varies by locality — typically $50–$500 per jurisdiction

The trailer

  • New food trailer: $30,000–$80,000 depending on size and equipment
  • Used food trailer: $15,000–$40,000 — viable option if the equipment has been inspected and the unit can pass health department review

Ongoing operations

  • Commissary rental: $500–$1,500/month in metro areas
  • Insurance: $3,000–$6,000/year total (auto + liability)
  • Initial food inventory and supplies: $1,000–$3,000

Total lean startup (used trailer, smaller market): roughly $25,000–$55,000 to get to first service. Metro Atlanta or Savannah on the higher end, smaller Georgia markets on the lower end.

A few notes on these numbers: the trailer is the biggest variable. A used trailer saves $15,000–$40,000 upfront, but have a commercial kitchen equipment technician inspect it before you buy. Replacing a failing refrigeration unit or a non-compliant handwashing setup on a trailer you just bought is an unpleasant surprise.

The commissary rental is your biggest recurring cost after food. If you’re doing the math on your business model, treat it as a fixed overhead line item from day one — because it’s not optional.

The Order of Operations

Get these done in sequence, and you’ll avoid the common mistake of buying a trailer before you have a commissary, or signing an event contract before your health permit is issued.

  1. Form your LLC. File online at ecorp.sos.ga.gov for $100. Get your EIN from irs.gov/ein — free, takes 10 minutes.

  2. Find and secure your commissary. This determines your home county and anchors your entire permit application. Don’t skip ahead until this is locked in.

  3. Apply for your county health permits — both the commissary permit and the mobile unit permit — with your home county health department. Schedule your pre-opening inspection.

  4. Get your Certified Food Safety Manager certification if you don’t already have it. Book the exam early; test dates fill up.

  5. Apply for occupation tax certificates in each city or county where you plan to operate. Have your E-Verify and SAVE affidavits ready.

  6. Get insurance before your first event or service date. Bring proof of insurance to your health inspection.

  7. Verify zoning for any regular location you plan to use.

The November 2025 law changes mean your home county permit carries real statewide weight now. Build your operation around a solid home county foundation — good commissary, clean permit, certified manager — and the multi-county expansion becomes straightforward.