This permit may cost between $50.00 and $250.00 depending on the county. Check our Health Department Help section on this web site to locate and contact your local county health department.
Also keep in mind that you may be required to take a course in food handling. This is actually a good idea even if it is not a legal requirement. These food handling courses may range from 4 hours in length to a couple of full work days. Either way, it would fully inform you of all of the local county health requirements for your hot dog cart. Do plan on paying a separate fee for this course. It may be offered by the health department directly or by an authorized food service company.
The health authorities may ask you to submit details regarding your hot dog cart specifications. They want to check that the hot dog cart will meet all of their local health codes. These details, drawings and specifications can be downloaded from our web site in the Cart Selection section that shows the pictures of all the various hot dog carts.
Some county health departments will ask if the hot dog cart is NSF approved. The NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) is a quality assurance agency that certifies that food equipment meets certain standards of design, operation and materials of construction. As a leader in hot dog cart design and manufacture, this approval is not a problem for Worlds Best. Because it involves extra time and work, NSF approval is a chargeable option on our hot dog carts. If NSF certification is required by your county, you must mention this when ordering so that the proper certification paperwork and procedures will be done on your hot dog cart.
Familiarize yourself with the health code regulations for your area. This may affect the types of foods that you can supply from your hot dog cart, the options that you will need to order, and thus also the cart that you pick. The Hot Dog Cart Operations and Maintenance Manual on our web site is a good place to start for general operating procedures for conforming to most health codes.
Keep in mind though that your local health department may have slightly different specific requirements or procedures. An example of this is with regard to sinks for washing hands and for washing dishes or food preparation utensils. Some county health departments specify that a hot dog cart must have separate sinks for hand washing and dish washing. Check on these requirements first before ordering your hot dog cart.
The health department may also want to physically inspect your cart once you receive it but before you start operating. This also will involve a fee.
If you have any further questions regarding meeting health code regulations, we are happy to assist you.