How many sinks does a food truck need?

Usually two: a hand-washing sink and a three-compartment sink for washing, rinsing and sanitizing utensils. Some places also want a prep sink if you wash produce on board. Trucks that sell only prepackaged food may need none, under the NACCHO risk categories. Your health department makes the final call.

What size water tank does a food truck need?

Common minimums are 5 gallons for a hand sink alone and 30 gallons when there's a three-compartment sink, with 20 more gallons for a prep sink, as in Maricopa County, Arizona and the NACCHO factsheet. Other places size it differently, so check your local rules.

How big does a food truck wastewater tank need to be?

Under the FDA Food Code, at least 15 percent larger than the fresh water tank. Texas, Oregon, King County and Maricopa County use 15 percent. Los Angeles County requires 50 percent larger than the tanks supplying the hand and dish sinks, plus extra for ice bins and product water.

Food Truck Sink Requirements | Hand Sink, 3-Compartment, Tanks

Food truck sink requirements usually come down to two sinks and two tanks: a hand-washing sink, a three-compartment sink for utensils, a fresh water tank big enough to supply them, and a wastewater tank at least 15 percent larger than the fresh tank. Add hot water under pressure to every sink and you have the core of what inspectors look for.

The details change by state and county. The FDA Food Code is the model most states adopt, but each one adds or changes rules, and counties often publish their own mobile unit checklists. The numbers below come from the Food Code and from named health departments, so confirm them with yours before you build.

What does the FDA Food Code require?

The FDA Food Code 2022 sets the baseline:

At least 1 handwashing sink, placed for convenient use in food prep, dispensing and dishwashing areas, kept accessible and used for nothing else (5-203.11, 5-204.11, 5-205.11).
Handwashing water at least 85°F through a mixing valve or combination faucet. Self-closing faucets must run at least 15 seconds (5-202.12).
A sink with at least 3 compartments for manual washing, rinsing and sanitizing, with compartments large enough to submerge the largest utensils and equipment (4-301.12). A 2-compartment sink is allowed only if approved.
Water under pressure to every fixture that needs it, and enough hot water for peak demand (5-103.11, 5-103.12).
A mobile water tank inlet 3/4 inch or less inside diameter (5-303.13).
A sewage holding tank 15 percent larger than the water supply tank, sloped to a drain of at least 1 inch with a shut-off valve (5-401.11).

Many states raise the handwashing temperature. Maricopa County and King County both ask for at least 100°F.

What are the hand sink requirements for a food truck?

The Food Code doesn’t set a hand sink size, but counties often do:

Maricopa County, Arizona: 9 by 9 by 5 inches, with a mixing faucet and water at 100°F or more.
Los Angeles County, California: at least 9 by 9 by 5 inches, in a space at least 15 inches wide, at counter level on the operator side.
King County, Washington: large enough to wash both hands at once, about 10 by 10 by 6 inches, with 100 to 120°F water.

Los Angeles County also wants a 6-inch metal splash guard between the hand sink and the dish sink, unless their drainboards are at least 24 inches apart. Put the hand-washing sink where cooks can reach it from the line without walking through the service area.

What are the three-compartment sink requirements?

Each compartment has to hold the largest pan or utensil you wash. Common minimums:

NACCHO factsheet and Los Angeles County: each compartment 12 by 12 by 10 inches deep, or 10 by 14 by 10 inches deep.
Los Angeles County: two integral metal drainboards, each at least the size of one compartment.
Maricopa County: 6-gallon basin capacity, with two metal drainboards of at least 144 square inches.
King County: required on all occupied mobile food units, with space on both sides.

A sink like the Advance Tabco K7-CS-21, with three 10 by 14 by 10 inch bowls and two drainboards, measures 58 by 19-1/2 inches. That’s a lot of wall in a truck, so place the three-compartment sink early in the plan.

Not every truck needs one. The NACCHO factsheet says units selling only packaged food with no preparation don’t need a hand sink or three-compartment sink, and Texas exempts roadside vendors from sinks.

Do you need a prep sink?

It depends on the menu and the jurisdiction. Maricopa County says produce can’t be washed on the unit unless an approved prep sink is installed, and both Maricopa and NACCHO add 20 gallons of fresh water when there is one.

How big should the fresh water tank be?

Here’s how named jurisdictions size it:

Jurisdiction	Hand sink only	With three-compartment sink
NACCHO factsheet	5 gal	30 gal, plus 20 gal with a prep sink
Maricopa County, AZ	n/a	30 gal, plus 20 gal with a prep sink
Oregon	5 gal for handwashing	30 gal for dishwashing or twice the sink capacity, whichever is greater
King County, WA	5 gal	Sized for cleaning needs, plus the 5 gal for hands
Los Angeles County, CA	5 gal	5 gal for hands plus at least 25 gal for prep and dishwashing

Oregon gives a way to work out sink capacity: multiply each basin’s length, width and depth in inches, divide by 231 to get gallons, and multiply by 6. Its example, 10 by 10 by 14 inch basins, comes to 36 gallons, more than the 30-gallon floor.

Water used in the product, like coffee, ice or steam table water, comes on top of all this. Oregon asks you to list it separately, and Los Angeles County wants a separate tank for product water. The fresh water tank also has to drain completely and fill through a 3/4-inch or smaller inlet.

How big should the wastewater tank be?

Take the fresh tank and add at least 15 percent. That’s the Food Code rule, and Texas, Oregon, King County, Maricopa County and NACCHO all use it. A 30-gallon fresh tank needs at least a 34.5-gallon waste tank.

Some places go further. The Los Angeles County plan check guideline requires 50 percent more than the tanks feeding the hand and dish sinks, so 30 gallons of fresh water needs 45 gallons of waste capacity there. It also adds one-third of the ice cabinet volume and 15 percent of any product water tank.

The wastewater tank has to drain from its lowest point through a valve of at least 1 inch, and Texas wants it labeled “wastewater.” Empty it at your commissary or another approved site. King County says never on the street or the ground.

What size water heater does a food truck need?

The Food Code only asks that hot water meet peak demand. Los Angeles County is more specific: at least a 4-gallon tank or an instantaneous heater reaching 120°F on units with dishwashing, and at least a half gallon or instantaneous heater reaching 100°F on units with only a hand sink. King County wants an adjustable thermostat.

What about water pressure?

Sinks need pressurized water, not gravity feed. Oregon calls for at least 20 PSI, Maricopa County and NACCHO a flow of at least half a gallon per minute, and Los Angeles County at least 1 gallon per minute.

Putting the sinks on your plan

Sinks and tanks take a lot of floor and wall, so draw them in before the cooking line. In the food truck layout maker, the hand sink, three-compartment sink, prep sink, water heater and both tanks are separate items with editable sizes, and the requirements checklist reminds you of each one. The how to design a food truck layout and food truck equipment list guides cover the rest of the plan.