Setting up a commissary for a Florida food truck

Most Florida food trucks must operate from a commissary

A Florida food truck that is not self-sufficient must operate from an approved commissary. It returns there at least once a day while it is operating.

The commissary is the truck's home base. It is where you fill fresh water, dump grey water and trash, store supplies and wash utensils.

A truck with enough water, waste and warewashing capacity on board can be self-sufficient. The rule then exempts it from the commissary and the notification. Confirm your truck's status with the division during plan review.

at least dailyFlorida mobile food dispensing vehicles must operate from an approved commissary and report to it at least daily when in operation; self-sufficient vehicles are exempt. — Florida Administrative Code, Rule 61C-4.0161, retrieved 2026-09-27

What a Florida commissary kitchen has to provide

The commissary must have potable water and proper disposal for liquid and solid waste. Those are the minimum the rule sets.

You report there to store or restock supplies, clean utensils and equipment, and dump waste. So check the kitchen's hours match yours. A kitchen that closes at 9 p.m. is no use to a late-night truck.

Ask about storage space for dry goods and cold holding. Ask whether you can prep there, and on what schedule. Ask how many other trucks share the dump station.

A Florida commissary must be provided with potable water and adequate facilities for disposal of liquid and solid waste. — Florida Administrative Code, Rule 61C-4.0161, retrieved 2026-09-27

The servicing area where a Florida truck gets cleaned

If the commissary has a servicing area for trucks, the rule sets standards for it. It must be separate from other food operations.

Its surface must be smooth and non-absorbent, such as concrete or machine-laid asphalt. It must be graded to drain and kept clean. Water supply and drainage follow the local authorities.

A gravel lot behind a restaurant does not qualify. If you plan to hose down tanks there, see the pad before you sign.

A Florida commissary servicing area for mobile units must be physically separated from other food operations and surfaced with a smooth nonabsorbent material such as concrete or machine-laid asphalt. — Florida Administrative Code, Rule 61C-4.0161, retrieved 2026-09-27

Your home kitchen cannot be a Florida truck's commissary

A private residence is ruled out. The truck may not take water or dump waste there, and you may not prep, store food or wash dishes there.

That catches owners who park the truck at home overnight. Parking is one thing. Filling the tank from the garden hose is another.

You may wash the outside of the truck anywhere, as long as the runoff does not create a sanitary nuisance.

Florida mobile food dispensing vehicles may not obtain water, dispose of wastewater, prepare or store food, or wash utensils at a private residence. — Florida Administrative Code, Rule 61C-4.0161, retrieved 2026-09-27

Which Florida kitchens can serve as a commissary

The kitchen itself has to be an approved one. Confirm with the division that it will accept the kitchen you have in mind before you sign anything.

Many owners rent space from a restaurant or a shared-use kitchen that already holds its own food license. Check that license is current before you rely on it.

Put the terms in writing. Cover the monthly fee, the hours, storage, prep rights and notice to end the arrangement. The state does not set any of those, so the contract is your only protection.

FDACS requires a commissary letter of agreement for mobile vendors it permits, unless the vendor sells only prepackaged non-potentially hazardous food. — Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, retrieved 2026-09-27

File Florida form HR-7022 before using the commissary

Tell the division about each commissary before you use it. The form is DBPR HR-7022, the Commissary Services Notification.

It goes in with your plan review, or with your license application if no review is needed. Switching commissaries later means filing a new one first.

A missing HR-7022 is an easy way to stall an opening inspection. Have the kitchen sign it the day you agree terms.

The owner of each Florida mobile food dispensing vehicle must notify the division of each commissary it intends to use, on DBPR HR-7022, before using it. — Florida Administrative Code, Rule 61C-4.0161, retrieved 2026-09-27

Florida trucks that need a commissary must submit DBPR HR-7022 with the plan review, or with the license application if plan review is not required. — Florida Administrative Code, Rule 61C-1.002, retrieved 2026-09-27

Plan the route around the daily return to the commissary

The daily return shapes where you can sell. A commissary two hours from your best spot eats your margin in fuel.

A truck may plug into an approved utility hookup for a single day's operation. It must still go back to its commissary afterward. That helps at a one-day festival, not a week-long fair.

Pick the commissary after you know your main selling area. Where you can operate covers local location rules, and the licensing sequence shows where the HR-7022 fits in the order.

one dayA Florida mobile food dispensing vehicle may temporarily connect to an approved utility system for no more than one day's operation, and must then return to its base commissary. — Florida Administrative Code, Rule 61C-4.0161, retrieved 2026-09-27

Questions