A kitchen on wheels needs both kinds of cover.
Commercial auto for the truck, general liability for the window, and coverage for cooking equipment and food, with certificates for events and commissaries.
By Sam Alishahi · CA Insurance License #4348151 · Reviewed November 2026 · En español · How this page is researched
A truck and a restaurant
A food truck is a commercial vehicle and a restaurant at once. A personal auto policy won't cover it, and a restaurant policy doesn't cover the road.
I put together commercial auto, general liability, equipment and spoilage coverage, and workers' comp if you have staff, so you can hand festivals and commissaries the certificate they ask for.
- Commercial autoThe truck on the road.
- General liabilityCustomer injuries and foodborne illness claims.
- EquipmentGrills, fryers, generators and refrigeration.
- SpoilageFood lost to equipment breakdown.
What underwriters will ask
Having these ready means I can go to market on the first call. The quote form asks for the same things, and anything you don’t know yet can wait.
- Truck: year, make, model, VIN and value.
- Equipment: cooking equipment and its value.
- Cooking: fryers or open flame on board.
- Where you sell: streets, events or private catering.
- Revenue and staff: sales and payroll.
- History: current policies and claims.
What the Retail Food Code asks of a truck
In California a food truck is a mobile food facility under the California Retail Food Code (Health and Safety Code 113831), and the local enforcement agency, usually county environmental health, has to approve the unit before it operates (114294). What comes up most:
- Plans first. Plans drawn to scale go to the enforcement agency, and you need plan approval before building or remodeling. Plans neither approved nor rejected within 20 working days are deemed approved (114380).
- Commissary. The truck operates in conjunction with a commissary, mobile support unit or other approved facility, is stored at the commissary or another approved location (114295), and is cleaned and serviced at least once each operating day (114297).
- Safety gear. A first-aid kit; a mounted, minimum 10 BC-rated extinguisher for grease fires on any unit with heating elements or cooking equipment; and, on trucks that work more than one location in a calendar day, latching lids on fryers, coffee urns and steam tables. Liquefied petroleum gas equipment is installed to fire authority standards and approved by the fire authority (114323).
- The permit. It is nontransferable and valid only for the person, location, type of food sales or distribution activity, and time period on it (114381).
Before I submit a truck, I check that the permit holder matches the named insured and that where the truck is stored matches the garaging address on the commercial auto application. Outside California, mobile vending rules vary by state and city, so start with your local health department.
Propane, hoods and the fire code
The 2024 International Fire Code moved its mobile food preparation vehicle rules from Section 319 to Section 4106. In the 2025 California Fire Code, Section 4106 is marked "Reserved" and Section 319 covers additive manufacturing (3D printing). Section 105.5.34 lists an operational permit for mobile food preparation vehicles equipped with appliances that produce smoke or grease-laden vapors, so ask your local fire department whether it issues one. Chapter 41, on mobile and portable equipment used for temporary heating and cooking, matters when you cook outside the truck at an event:
- Equipment constantly attended while in use and until it cools to a safe temperature (4101.4.2).
- At least one portable extinguisher with a minimum 4-A rating, or other approved on-site equipment, available (4101.4.3).
- LP-gas containers, piping, hoses, valves and related parts approved and in line with Chapter 61 and the International Fuel Gas Code (4101.6.1).
- For portable equipment cooking with combustible oils or solids: a noncombustible lid sized to cover the well, a noncombustible surface, and an extinguisher suited to the cooking media (4101.9).
Outside California, the rules depend on which fire code edition your state or city adopted and how it amended it. If your truck has a hood suppression system or a propane inspection, keep the latest service tags where you can photograph them for the application.
Food truck insurance, answered
Does personal auto insurance cover a food truck?
No. A vehicle used for business needs commercial auto coverage.
Why do events ask for a certificate?
Festivals and venues want your liability policy to respond if a customer is hurt, and ask to be named as additional insured.
Is my cooking equipment covered in a crash?
Auto physical damage covers the truck. Equipment coverage protects the kitchen equipment, including outside an accident.
Do I need workers' comp?
Yes, if you have employees. California requires it.
How close does a food truck have to be to a restroom in California?
Under Health and Safety Code 114315, a truck stopped to do business for more than one hour must be within 200 feet travel distance of an approved, readily available toilet and handwashing facility, unless the enforcement agency approves otherwise. Cities and counties can add reasonable time, place and manner rules.
Does a food truck have to go back to the commissary every day in California?
Generally, yes. Section 114297 requires a truck to report to its commissary or other approved facility daily; a truck serviced by a mobile support unit may instead be stored so it is protected from contamination, with all food stored at the commissary or approved facility at the end of the operating day.
Do you offer food truck insurance outside California?
Yes. Clients across the country send the same quote form. Sam Alishahi is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, DC and places policies there directly. The shopping across carriers works the same way. Rules, minimums and markets differ by state — see insurance requirements by state.
Official sources
- California Health and Safety Code, Retail Food Code Chapter 10, Mobile Food Facilities (114294-114327)
- California Health and Safety Code, Retail Food Code Chapter 13, Article 1, Plan Review and Permits (114380-114387)
- California Health and Safety Code, Retail Food Code Chapter 11.7, Compact Mobile Food Operation (114368-114368.8)
- California Health and Safety Code 113831 (mobile food facility; compact mobile food operation)
- LA County Public Health, Mobile Food Facility Checklist: New Construction
- 2025 California Fire Code, Chapter 1 (UpCodes)
- 2025 California Fire Code, Chapter 41 Temporary Heating and Cooking Operations (UpCodes)
- Washington State Building Code Council, proposal 24-GP1-059 (2024 IFC relocated mobile food preparation vehicles from 319 to 4106)
- IRMI, The Auto Exclusion in the CGL Policy
- IRMI, Equipment Breakdown: More Than Just Boiler and Machinery
Send the truck details. I'll shop it.
The truck, equipment value and where you sell are enough to start.
Alishahi Insurance · Saman Alishahi, independent insurance broker, California License #4348151. General information, not a quote or a promise of coverage; coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued. Some policies may be placed with nonadmitted (surplus lines) insurers, which are not members of the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA).
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