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Do I Need a Street Trading Licence If I Only Stop for Half an Hour?

by richard
(Newcastle upon Tyne)

Green mobile catering snack van parked kerbside on a UK high street

Green mobile catering snack van parked kerbside on a UK high street

If I am a mobile caterer staying for half an hour here and there do I need a trading licence

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Jul 28, 2026
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by: MobCater

Hi Richard, this one comes up a lot, and there is a common belief that if you keep moving and only stop briefly you slip under the radar. I am afraid it does not quite work like that, so let me explain how the councils actually see it.

In England and Wales, street trading on a public road or pavement is controlled by your local council under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. Most councils split their streets into three types. Consent streets are where you can trade if you get the council's street trading consent, licence streets need a full street trading licence, and prohibited streets are off limits altogether. The moment you stop and sell food on a public highway, even for half an hour, you are trading in that spot, and that is exactly what the consent covers. Newcastle City Council runs this system, so the first thing I would do is ring their licensing team and ask which of the streets you have in mind are consent streets, and what a consent costs.

Now, the idea of keeping moving usually comes from the pedlar route. A pedlar's certificate under the Pedlars Act 1871 lets someone trade while genuinely travelling on foot, going from door to door and only stopping to make a sale. A catering van parked up with a queue in front of it is not pedlaring, so that certificate will not help you, and I would not rely on it.

The good news is that plenty of councils offer occasional or daily consents for people who trade a spot here and there rather than the same pitch every day, and they are often cheaper than a full annual licence. It is worth asking about that when you call. Trading on private land, like a pub car park or a retail park, is a different matter again, because there you need the landowner's permission rather than street trading consent.

Whatever route you take, remember you still need to be registered as a food business with the council at least 28 days before you start, as that applies wherever you trade.

Best wishes

David

Disclaimer: This is general advice for UK mobile catering. Licensing rules vary between councils, so always check with your local authority before you start trading.

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