Food Truck Legal Toolkit

Bostonians are turning to food trucks as another way to experience the city’s culinary scene. While this fast-growing industry offers a great opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to break into the food service industry, actually getting a food truck up and running can be overwhelming -- even for an experienced restaurant owner. With that in mind, the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic and the Community Enterprise Project of the Harvard Transactional Law Clinics joined forces with the Boston Mayor’s Office of Food Initiatives in 2014 to create this Food Truck Legal Toolkit.

 

This toolkit is intended to provide a step-by-step checklist outlining the process of starting a food truck in Boston from idea to reality and includes links and forms (where practical) for required permit and license applications, sample contracts, explanations of the legal and practical considerations pertinent to starting a new food truck business, and much more.

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Note this toolkit is not designed to comprehensively address all of the legal issues that may arise for a prospective food truck owner in Boston. Rather, its purpose is to inform you of the steps required to get your food truck off the ground and provide an overview of some of the main practical and legal issues you may face in doing so. When using this toolkit, please be aware it is not legal advice and is not meant to take the place of an attorney. Laws may change and it's important you make sure that the laws and regulations discussed in this toolkit are still applicable and current before acting on them.​