Commissary agreement — mobile units
The document that is often the last thing between a truck and its permit
A mobile unit cannot fill its own water, dispose of its own waste water, or store a week of stock overnight. Where those happen is what the commissary agreement records — and why an informal arrangement is usually the thing holding up a licence.
Free to build. You see the whole thing before anything is asked of you.
01Why it exists
A truck cannot do everything on board.
Potable water filling. Waste water disposal. Overnight refrigerated storage. Warewashing at any real scale. Usually prep.
None of those fit properly in a mobile unit, so they happen at a licensed fixed base. The agreement is what turns “my mate lets me use his kitchen” into something an inspector can verify.
02The trap
Prepping at home is the one that costs you food.
Food prepared or stored anywhere other than the named commissary or the unit is discarded.
Why the agreement names specific tasks
Not because anyone doubts your kitchen at home. Because it cannot be verified, and it sits outside the licensed operation completely.
It is the most common informal arrangement in mobile food, and it is the one that turns a busy Saturday into a discard.
03What it has to say
Specific tasks, not general support.
| Commissary | Permit no. | Signed | Reviewed | What is done there | Servicing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastside Commissary Kitchen, 14 Mill Rd | FE-30918 | 2 Mar | 12 Sep | Potable water fill · waste water disposal · overnight cold storage · warewashing · prep | Daily, open days |
04Keeping it live
A lapsed agreement stops service.
- 1
Both parties sign it, with the permit number on it
The commissary's permit is what makes it a licensed base rather than a friendly arrangement.
- 2
Name every task you actually do there
Water, waste, storage, warewashing, prep. If you do it there, it goes on the list.
- 3
Put the review date in the calendar, not just on the form
This is the failure mode: signed once, filed, forgotten, expired.
- 4
If it lapses, stop servicing until it is renewed
Your water, waste and storage arrangements all rest on it. Without it, none of them are evidenced.
05Being straight with you
Why there is no blank one here.
Why there’s no blank one to download
This is an agreement between two named parties with a real permit number on it. A blank version is a form letter, and a form letter is exactly what an inspector will not accept as evidence of an arrangement.
Building a plan for a mobile unit asks which commissary you use, what you do there and how often you service — and the three mobile-specific documents come out together, because a truck also needs a water system log and a waste disposal log that a fixed restaurant never does.
06Getting it wrong
What an inspector notices.
No permit number for the commissary
Without it there is nothing establishing the base is licensed.
'General kitchen support' as the task list
Too vague to show where water, waste or storage actually happen.
An agreement signed two years ago, never reviewed
Arrangements change and permits lapse. An unreviewed agreement may describe something that no longer exists.
Prep happening somewhere not named
The most common one, and the one that leads to discarding food rather than a note on a form.
07Questions
The things people ask.
Why does a food truck need a commissary at all?
Because a truck cannot do everything on board. Potable water filling, waste water disposal, overnight refrigerated storage, warewashing at any scale, and usually prep — those happen at a licensed fixed base. The agreement is what makes those arrangements verifiable rather than assumed.
Can I just prep at home instead?
No, and this is the most common informal arrangement there is. Food prepared or stored anywhere other than the named commissary or the unit itself gets discarded — not because anyone doubts your kitchen, but because it cannot be verified and it sits outside the licensed operation entirely.
What has to be in the agreement?
The commissary's name and address, its permit number, when it was signed and last reviewed, specifically what you do there — water, waste, storage, warewashing, prep — and how often you service. Both parties sign.
Why does 'what is done there' need to be specific?
Because a vague agreement cannot show where an activity happened. 'General support' does not establish that your waste water goes somewhere legitimate. Listing the actual tasks is what makes the document do its job.
What happens if it lapses?
Service stops until it is renewed. That sounds harsh and it is the right answer — your water, waste and storage arrangements all rest on it, so an expired agreement means those arrangements are no longer evidenced.
Is it usually a permit condition?
In most jurisdictions that license mobile units, yes — and it is frequently the item holding up a new truck's permit. Worth sorting before it becomes the thing standing between you and opening.
A truck’s plan produces the agreement alongside the water and waste logs that go with it.
The temperature logs a mobile unit needs are the same as anyone else’s and are free to print.