Mobile catering

Mobile caterers include any food business that uses a vehicle for preparation and for serving food. These also include temporary premises such as stalls or trailers.

Mobile food vendors can include fish and chip vans, ice cream vans, mobile fishmongers and butchers and market stalls at street events.

This type of food business must be registered with Plymouth City Council if the vehicle is kept in Plymouth or the business is based here. This is so that a current list of traders is maintained and checks can be carried out for health and safety and food hygiene purposes. To register a food business you can download a form from our information for food businesses page.

People running mobile or temporary food businesses need to be aware of the same food hygiene issues as other businesses but as space is limited the requirements are more flexible. There are also restrictions where a mobile trader can and cannot trade in the city.

Further information on food hygiene and health and safety specific to mobile caterers can be found in the food hygiene for mobile caterers and health and safety for mobile caterers leaflets, which can be downloaded from the file attachments table below.