NYC Health Department Now Accepting New Mobile Food Vending Waiting List Applications for U.S. Veterans and People With Disabilities
City Expands Equitable Access to Legal Street Food Vending, Opening Applications for 300 U.S. Veterans and People With Disabilities to Join the Waiting List for a Supervisory License
March 13, 2026 — The NYC Health Department today announced the acceptance of applications to join the mobile food vending waiting list for supervisory licenses for U.S. military veterans and people with disabilities. As the first reopening of a supervisory license waiting list since the program launched in 2023, this opportunity expands access to mobile food vending permits while maintaining strong public health standards.
"Street vendor reform is long overdue in NYC, and this is a step in the right direction. The Mamdani administration is proud to support our disabled and veteran street vendors to help ensure they are given a fair shot when it comes to running their own food trucks and providing for themselves and their families," said New York City Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Dr. Helen Arteaga.
“Street food vendors are essential to New York City’s culture and small business economy,” said NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin. “Opening the supervisory license waiting list to more U.S. veterans and people with disabilities ensures that these communities have a clear pathway into the legal food vending system while we continue to uphold food safety protections for New Yorkers.”
“Veterans deserve tangible pathways to economic opportunity,” said NYC Department of Veterans’ Services Commissioner Yesenia Mata. “For veterans interested in mobile food vending, this reopening creates a clear route into a regulated industry that can support financial stability and independence, while opening the door for more veterans to pursue entrepreneurship here in New York City.”
"Street vendors are the smallest of small businesses and a defining part of New York City's economy, neighborhoods, and culture," said NYC Department of Small Business Services Commissioner Kenny Minaya. "Reopening the license waitlist for the first time since 2023 marks an important step forward, and SBS is excited to help spread the word so eligible military veterans and people with disabilities can take advantage of this opportunity. I want to thank Mayor Mamdani and Commissioner Martin and look forward to building on this progress through SBS's new Office of Street Vendor Services to ensure vendors have the support they need to succeed in every borough.
“Too often, people with disabilities face barriers to employment and entrepreneurship,” said Nisha Agarwal, Commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities. “Opening the supervisory license waiting list helps expand fair access to opportunity and supports the right of New Yorkers with disabilities to participate fully in the city’s economy. We look forward to continuing to work with our partners to ensure pathways like mobile food vending are accessible and inclusive.”
“Since 2023, DSNY has been the lead agency enforcing street vending regulations, and we have done so with a focus on cleanliness, pedestrian access, and fairness for all businesses. The recent street vending reform laws mean that more people can participate in these smallest small businesses while maintaining appropriate oversight and safety for our communities, and we look forward to working with advocates and our agency partners to get vending expanded the right way,” said Javier Lojan, Acting Commissioner, NYC Department of Sanitation.
“Veterans and people with disabilities often face unnecessary barriers to obtain legal street vending licenses,” said Council Member Lynn Schulman, Chair of the Health Committee. “Opening the waiting list for 300 additional supervisory licenses for these groups is an important step toward a more equitable system that expands opportunity for communities that have too often been left behind.”
“New York City is finally on a pathway toward a balanced street vending system,” said NYC Council Member Pierina Sanchez. “From the Council’s override of the mayoral veto on my bill, which will expand access to more than 10,000 vending licenses over the coming years—to the NYC Health Department reopening the mobile food vending waiting list for veterans and people with disabilities pursuant to Local Law 18 of 2021, we are beginning to correct decades of exclusion. For far too long, hardworking vendors were forced into the shadows by an outdated system. Expanding access to licenses is an important step toward dignity, order, and opportunity. I look forward to continuing to work with the NYC Health Department to fully implement Local Law 54 of 2026 starting this summer.”
Over 5,800 food vendors have permits to operate in New York City, including about 120 permits issued for veterans and people with disabilities. The supervisory license program was launched in 2023 to implement Local Law 18 of 2021, which changed how mobile food vendors obtain a year-round permit and increased the number of available permits. To apply for these new permits, the vendor must have a supervisory license. The supervisory license is offered only to a person on a waiting list. To join a waiting list, the vendor must have a mobile food vending license, which is a type of license allowing a person to work on any food vending unit with a permit.
Approximately 1,300 food vendors have supervisory licenses in New York City, which allows them to apply for a permit at any time, including about 100 with supervisory licenses for U.S. veterans and people with disabilities. Beginning on July 1, the NYC Health Department will issue 2,200 supervisory licenses each year for five years under recently enacted local laws. With the opening of applications today, an additional 300 veterans and people with disabilities will be able to join the waiting list for a supervisory license.
How to Apply
Applications to join the mobile food vending waiting list for supervisory licenses are now open to U.S. veterans with a service-related disability, individuals with documented disabilities who meet eligibility criteria, and U.S. veterans without a disability.
To apply to join the waiting list for a supervisory license, applicants may visit NYC Health: Mobile Food Vendors, or call 311 to request an application. To join the waiting list, the applicant must be at least 18 years old and hold a current, valid mobile food vendor license, which is different from a supervisory license.
There is no waiting list to obtain a mobile food vendor license. To get one, you must submit a license application, pay the required fee (U.S. veterans are exempt from the fee), and complete the Food Protection Course for Mobile Food Vendors.
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MEDIA CONTACT: PressOffice@health.nyc.gov