Food truck licence, with a kitchen behind it
DET licenses the company, and Dubai Municipality permits the truck for each event or for one site all year.
- Usual route
- Mainland (DET)
- Extra approval
- Municipality permit
- Timeline
- Weeks
- AML
- Not a DNFBP activity
A food truck licence in Dubai starts with a licensed food business behind the truck. Dubai Municipality then permits the truck in one of two ways: event by event, or at one fixed site for up to a year. Only food establishments graded A, B or C can run one, and trucks trade only where a permit allows.
- Covers
- Prepared food and drinks sold from a truck
- Not covered
- A seated cafe, delivery-only cooking and off-site event catering
- Premises
- A graded food establishment, plus an approved site for fixed trucks
- Timeline
- Weeks; the base kitchen's grade comes first
What a food truck business covers
The truck sells food that a licensed establishment stands behind. The edges are seating, delivery apps and cooking for someone else's event.
Covered
Not covered
- Covered by Cafe or cafeteria
- Covered by Cloud kitchen
- Covered by Catering services
Tick what you plan to do. The result shows here.
We fix the wording before you apply. Send us your list on WhatsApp
Many trucks also cater private events, so we decide early whether catering goes on the licence or waits for a second activity.
Why most food trucks go mainland
The truck needs a licensed food establishment in Dubai behind it, and most events and sites sit on the mainland.
| If most of your clients are | Likely route | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Festival and event crowds across Dubai | Mainland (DET) | Event permits go to licensed Dubai food establishments, usually on a DET licence |
| Office or community regulars at one spot | Mainland (DET) | A fixed truck needs a trade licence for that location |
| An existing restaurant adding a truck | Mainland (DET) | A branch licence can extend the restaurant's licence to the site |
A free zone company trading on the mainland needs a DET branch licence or permit (Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025). Mainland sales can affect QFZP status.
Three questions. The closest row is marked in the table above.
Your likely route shows here.
Food truck permit approvals in order
The trade licence comes quickly. Dubai Municipality then looks at the kitchen behind the truck before it looks at the truck, and a fixed site adds its own planning checks.
The licence
- Trade licence with food activityDET
After the licence
- Base kitchen inspected and gradedDubai Municipality
- Truck fitted to Food CodeDubai Municipality
- Site contract and landlord consentSite owner
- Planning and drainage approvalDubai Municipality
- Food truck permitDubai Municipality
- Organiser's permit for each eventThe event organiser
We match the truck's fit-out to the permit before you spend.
Event trucks, site trucks and the kitchen behind them
Dubai Municipality asks two questions of every truck: where it trades, and which licensed kitchen stands behind the food.
An event permit is refused when the organiser lacks its own permit, so we ask for it before you book the pitch.
| Events and festivals | One site, all year | |
|---|---|---|
| Your own licensed kitchen | A permit per event Filed days ahead of each event, valid only while it runs, never renewed. | An annual site permit A licence for the location, landlord consent, and municipality planning and drainage approval. |
| A partner's licensed kitchen | Two names registered The supplier and the truck are registered separately, and the supplier's grade must hold. | Site permit plus supplier The yearly permit, with a supplier graded A, B or C and no major violations. |
Answer both to highlight your square.
What banks ask about a food truck
Bank viewStandard; card sales, event fees and a vehicle purchase
Banks see a food truck as a standard food business. Most sales are small card payments, with pitch fees paid to event organisers and one large vehicle purchase early on. The vehicle draws the questions, especially when it is bought before the company has a kitchen or a site on file. We put the kitchen arrangement, the vehicle invoice and the first event or site contract into the account file together.
AMLNot a DNFBP activity; the bank's own customer checks still apply.
Where food truck plans stall
Buying the truck before the kitchen
Dubai Municipality permits trucks only for licensed food establishments with a passing grade. A truck bought first can sit parked for weeks while the kitchen behind it is found, fitted out and inspected.
Parking on a street and selling
Trucks trade at a permitted event or an approved site. A good kerbside spot with no landlord consent and no municipality approval sits outside the permit, and the truck can be moved on.
An event with no organiser permit
The truck's event permit depends on the organiser holding its own. Small markets sometimes skip that paperwork. The application is then refused, often days before the event.
Questions about a food truck licence
A question about your plan? Describe your food truck plan and an advisor replies on WhatsApp.
Ask on WhatsAppHow to start a food truck business in Dubai?
Do food trucks need a Dubai Municipality permit?
Can a food truck park anywhere in Dubai?
Can a restaurant add a food truck to its licence?
How long does a food truck permit take in Dubai?
Related pages
IndustryRestaurant and F&B business setupA restaurant license in Dubai follows the four walls: the premises, the Dubai Municipality food permit, civil defence and the trade licence, in order.
ActivityCloud kitchen licence in DubaiThe kitchen is licensed as food service, with no dining room, and Dubai Municipality approves it before the first order goes out.
JurisdictionDubai mainland company setupSuits businesses that sell to UAE customers or bid for Dubai tenders.
Events, one site, or both? Decide it before you buy the truck
Thirty minutes on your menu, your kitchen and where you want to trade. You leave with the activity wording, the permit that fits and the order of the DET and municipality steps.
On the call
- The activity wording that fits your plan
- The route, and the approvals in order
- A written scope, agreed before any work starts
