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Health and Mental Hygiene, Department of
You need a permit to prepare and serve food at a temporary special event. This includes preparing and serving food from vending booths, stands, kiosks, vehicles or carts at special events. Review the following to determine if you need a Temporary Food Service Establishment permit (TFSE) and to learn how to obtain one.
Special events include events held on Department of Parks and Recreation property, as well as events held on public or private property. Examples of special events include street fairs, flea markets, carnivals, circuses, public exhibitions, advertising campaigns, business promotions, religious or fraternal organization functions, or transitory gatherings.
If you have either of these permits, issued by the NYC Health Department, you may use them to prepare and serve food at a special event:
- Food Service Establishment (restaurant) permit: A copy of the restaurant permit must be kept onsite at the temporary event and available upon inspection. A supervisor or someone who holds a food protection certificate must be present while operating at the event.
- Mobile Food Vending Permit: The mobile food vending unit must be operated by a licensed mobile food vendor. The location of the event must be within the area where that unit can legally operate.
If you don't have either of the above permits, then you must obtain a TFSE permit.
A TFSE permit can only be used at an event that meets one or more of the following criteria:
- A single event with a one-time continuous duration of 14 days or less
- Recurring events that do not exceed 3 total days per week at the same location
- Multiple events at different locations occurring in the same week that do not occur at the same location, day or time, and which do not exceed three days in a given week.
The permit fee is $70.00. if you will manufacture a frozen dessert, you must obtain an additional permit to manufacture a frozen dessert.
You must apply for a new TFSE permit each year once your permit expires. It is not a renewable permit.
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