The City of Pittsburgh issues licenses and permits for mobile vending. Vending includes the sale of goods, services, and merchandise from a non-permanent structure such as a cart, truck trailer, kiosk, or tent. Vendors are regulated by Chapter 719 of the Pittsburgh City Code and under the Outdoor Retail Sales & Services Primary and Accessory Uses in the Zoning Code. PLI issues full Rules & Regulations that apply to all vendors operating in the City.

For many years, vendors have been required to navigate complex restrictions and to limit operations to few allowable locations. To address these challenges, the City collected feedback through focus groups, online surveys, and conversations with peer cities to recommend changes to the program.

This resulted in two pieces of legislation, Ordinances 34 and 35 of 2025, which were passed by City Council and signed into law by Mayor Ed Gainey in November 2025. These updates reduced zoning restrictions for vending, streamlined licenses, and standardized the requirements for vending locations.

Working cross-departmentally and through extensive research and conversations with stakeholder groups, our team developed a set of recommendations to guide mobile vending throughout the City. Feedback on these recommendations informed the legislation passed by City Council in November 2025.

The program team focused on the following goals:

• Develop a clear, transparent, and efficient process for matching vendors with appropriate locations in the right-of-way
• Expand opportunities for vending in the right-of-way and on public and private property
• Prevent forced movement of vendors, and have a clear process in place for when this is unavoidable
• Promote equity between stationary and mobile vendors
• Become a national leader in supporting vending as a means of economic mobility and incubation opportunity
• Develop a strategic and equitable fee structure that addresses licensing, inspection, maintenance, vacant lot use, trash collection, use of parking, and/or other considerations

New Rules & Regulations

As part of the City's new and improved vending program that was passed by City Council in November 2025, the City is required to establish rules and regulations to guide residents and business owners through the new permitting process, outlining the requirements for successful operation.

While the updated program policies have already been passed, the project team is seeking additional feedback to ensure the new rules and regulations are clear, accessible, and comprehensive. In addition to feedback on the new rules and regulations, the project team is working to develop supporting resources to ensure vendors and business are receiving the most assistance we can offer.

Once the project team publishes the new rules and regulations, the vending program will fully go into effect. We anticipate the final rules and regulations to be published on March 12, 2026

To review the new Rules & Regulations, go to the DOCUMENT LIBRARY on this page.