Do food trucks need a commissary kitchen?

Usually, yes. Health departments commonly require a mobile food unit to work from a commissary, a permitted kitchen where it fills water, dumps wastewater, cleans equipment and stores food. Some let a fully self-contained unit skip it. The rule depends on your state and county.

The NACCHO best-practices factsheet describes the commissary as a place the unit returns to daily, and asks for a written agreement signed by both operators with a copy for the health department. Maricopa County, Arizona asks for a commissary agreement before it issues a permit.

NACCHO's self-contained exception covers a unit with refrigeration, cooking, ventilation, pressurized hot and cold water, both tanks, a hand sink, a three-compartment sink and a mop sink. Read more under commissary and mobile food unit.