Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) will allow the licensing of food trucks in the emirate.
Licenses will be subject to an existing restaurant or foodstuff catering license either owned by a UAE citizen or with a local partner.
Mohamed Munif Al Mansouri, executive director of ADDED’s Abu Dhabi Business Centre commented: “The ADDED’s Directorate of Commercial Protection will be mandated to decide on the locations where vehicles or trucks can practice this activity and to stop such a permit if it detects any violation by the licensee.
“Moreover, there are certain specifications to be observed by vehicles’ manufacturers as they should be exclusively designed to practice such an activity.”
Licensing will be subject to several conditions and the applicant must review these on the inquiry page on the ADDED website.
To obtain a license, food truck operators must agree to refrain from parking in unpermitted locations, selling unpermitted items or using a vehicle that is not compliant with the specifications.
They must adhere to set opening times, and refrain from leaving waste behind, producing noise or loud music, or putting chairs and tables outside of dedicated parametres.
Also forbidden will be the use of unpermitted advertisements, or operating on public roads and obstructing traffic.
Operators must first obtain approval from ADDED’s Commercial Protection Directorate, however they cannot start practicing until the final permit is issued by the ADDED’s Permits and Advertising Section.
Applications for mobile restaurant permits will be received by ADDED branches and sent to the ADDED headquarters for initial approval.
The Directorate of Commercial Protection will review clients’ applications to decide approval or refusal as per the terms and conditions.
Once approved, the application is referred to the Permits and Advertisements Section which will issue letters to external bodies for their approvals, followed by the final permit from the Permits and Advertisements Section.
ADDED is currently developing a comprehensive software that covers all the procedures for issuing a permit for mobile restaurant activity as part of the e-services package provided to clients on practicing commercial activities across the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The decision to offer licenses to food truck operators was taken by ADDED in alignment with several government bodies including the Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA), The Civil Defense General Directorate and Abu Dhabi Traffic Department.
