Ice cream truck vendors FAQs

If you sell or operate an ice cream truck, you must get a permit from the local permitting authority in the city or town where you live or plan to operate.

Anyone who wants to sell from an ice cream truck must have a valid permit from the local permitting authority.  Ice cream truck vending means selling, displaying, or offering to sell ice cream or other prepackaged food from the truck. 

The regulation requires anyone who sells from an ice cream truck to get a permit. An ice cream truck is any motor vehicle used to sell, display, or offer ice cream. If your truck does not carry ice cream products, you do not need a permit. 

How to Get a Permit 
You can apply for a permit in one of two ways: 

1. Apply where you live – If you get a permit in your home city or town, you can operate in any municipality.
2. Apply where you plan to operate – If you get a permit only in the city or town where you want to sell, you can operate only in that municipality. 

Applicants may obtain a Office of Public Safety and Inspections (OPSI)-approved permit application from their local Permitting Authority.

Permitting and enforcement will all be done by the local permitting authority and not OPSI.  Please direct all inquires to your local permitting authority.

The permitting authority is usually the chief of police or the board/officer in charge of the police in a city or town. The chief of police (or board/officer) may also authorize another person to issue permits. 

By law, every permit applicant must go through a criminal background check. The permitting authority uses this check to decide if the applicant is eligible for a permit. 

The Permitting Authority of the municipality where the applicant applies will determine whether to require a fee for conducting the requisite criminal background check.

Based on the results of the investigation into the applicant’s criminal history, the Permitting Authority will determine the applicant’s eligibility. However, in no case will a permit be issued to a person who is a sex offender as defined by M.G.L. c. 6 § 178C.

No, the information contained in an applicant’s criminal record will be used solely for the purpose of determining the applicant’s eligibility for a permit.

Yes, every person who intends to engage in ice cream truck vending is required to obtain a permit by submitting an application for permit to engage in ice cream truck vending.  However, you may list all operators on one permit for your business to be displayed on the truck itself.

The address listed on your permit should be the business address for the Ice Cream Truck vendor.

Yes, a validly issued permit must be conspicuously displayed and clearly visible on the windshield of the Ice Cream Truck.