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Where Can I Get a Street Trading Licence for Oxford Street in London?

by Nabeel
(London)

Black street food van with a side serving hatch and customers on a busy London West End street

Black street food van with a side serving hatch and customers on a busy London West End street

where can i get license for mobile trading at oxford street

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Sep 28, 2026
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by: MobCater

Oxford Street is honestly one of the hardest places in the whole country to get a trading pitch, so it's worth knowing what you're up against before you spend weeks chasing it.

The first thing to get straight is who you actually apply to. Oxford Street sits in the City of Westminster, and Westminster runs its own street trading system under the City of Westminster Act 1999. That is separate from the rest of England, where street trading falls under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, and separate again from most other London boroughs, which use the London Local Authorities Act 1990. So there is no single London licence. You go to Westminster City Council's licensing team, not to a general city hall.

The way it works is pitch by pitch. Westminster licenses specific designated pitches, and you apply for a licence tied to one exact spot, not a roaming permit to trade wherever you like. On a street as busy as Oxford Street the number of pitches is tiny, tightly controlled, and they very rarely come free, so in all honesty a newcomer is not going to walk straight into a pitch there.

What I would do first is contact Westminster's licensing team and ask two plain questions. Are any street trading pitches currently available in the area you want, and are they even taking new applications. If Oxford Street itself is closed, and it usually is, ask what other Westminster pitches might come up.

For a beginner I would put most of your energy elsewhere. Private land with the owner's written permission, an office plaza, a forecourt or a car park, gets you trading legally without the near impossible fight for a prime pavement. The organised street food markets and operators around the West End and across London are another strong route, and plenty of well known London traders started on those markets rather than on the highway. Events and festivals give you the same busy footfall too.

Whichever way you go, the basics stay the same. Register as a food business with your local council at least 28 days before you start, which is free, get a Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate, take out public liability insurance, and if you cook on propane get an annual gas safety certificate from a Gas Safe registered engineer. Market organisers and landlords tend to care about your hygiene rating and insurance as much as any council does, so sort those first and far more doors open to you.

Hope that helps

David

Disclaimer: This is general advice for UK mobile catering. Street trading rules differ from council to council, and Westminster in particular runs its own scheme, so always check directly with the relevant local authority licensing team before you commit.

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