Before you buy a vehicle, you need a licence — or, in many cases, simply a notification. The right procedure mainly depends on whether the food trailer will operate on private or public land. See which procedure applies to each case, which documents are needed, and what the law actually says about size.
In Greek legislation, the term "mobile food trailer" ("κινητή καντίνα") is used interchangeably with "towable food trailer" ("τροχήλατη καντίνα") — both describe the same thing.
This article was written based on official legislation, Government Gazette (ΦΕΚ) publications and circulars, as they stood in August 2026, with the sole purpose of helping you understand the general picture before contacting the competent authorities. It does not constitute legal advice, and e-kantina.gr is not liable for decisions made based solely on this text. Legislation changes frequently and terms may vary by Municipality and Region — before taking any action, always confirm the current requirements with the competent Municipality, Region, or a lawyer/accountant of your choice.
Answer 1-2 questions and see your personalized checklist of documents.
Where will your food trailer operate?
Street vending or a fixed pitch?
Want help getting these ready?
If you plan to place the food trailer on private land (your own plot or land, or land granted by a third party — e.g. a fuel station, an event venue), you do not fall under the street-vending regime at all. You don't need a street-vending or fixed-pitch permit, and you don't take part in any pitch lottery.
Instead, the notification procedure applies, under Article 32A of Law 4442/2016. The exact procedure, the required documents and the fee were recently set out by Joint Ministerial Decision (ΚΥΑ) 61788/2026 (Government Gazette Β' 4549/23-7-2026), which formally establishes the administrative procedure "Operating a Food Trailer on Private Land."
Before submitting the notification, you need confirmation from the Municipality that the specific location is permitted (land use). After that, the basic documents to be kept on site at the food trailer are:
Clarification: the criterion for needing a building permit is not whether the food trailer is self-propelled or towed, but whether there are permanent structures on the plot. Legal basis: Article 197 (item 16) of the "Nikolaos Tagaras" Spatial Planning and Urban Development Code (Law 5306/2024, Government Gazette Α' 88/08.06.2026) defines a "building work" — and therefore something that needs a building permit — only as what is "permanently attached to the ground, cannot move under its own power, and cannot be towed." A vehicle that keeps its plates, wheels and the ability to be towed does not fall under this definition. If there are no permanent structures, no building permit is needed. If there are, a small-scale works approval is needed. Practice may vary by area — it's a good idea to confirm this with your own Building Permits Department before proceeding.
Important: we carefully read the entire text of ΚΥΑ 61788/2026 — nowhere does it mention a floor-area limit for the food trailer. The notification checks land use, distances, vehicle documents and safety — not the size of the structure.
If you already have a food trailer operating under a general food-business notification (the general regime for health-regulated businesses, used before the specific framework for food trailers existed), a transition deadline applies. Under Article 38A of Law 4442/2016, as added by Article 100 of Law 5297/2026 (Government Gazette Α' 64), existing food trailers have one (1) year from July 23, 2026 to submit a new notification under the specific framework of ΚΥΑ 61788/2026. In addition, once the relevant feature is activated on the Integrated Information System for Business Activities and Inspections (ΟΠΣ-ΑΔΕ / OpenBusiness), a separate six (6)-month deadline is expected for registering and amending the notification.
If you're starting from scratch now, you don't need to worry about this transition procedure — simply follow the new framework described above directly.
This is the route most often chosen by businesses that place their food trailer on their own or a granted plot, in front of a shop, or at an event venue — less bureaucracy, with no lottery uncertainty.
If instead the food trailer will operate on shared (public) land, you fall under the street-vending regime of Law 4849/2021, which is split into two main categories with different conditions:
The more detailed framework for operating mobile food trailers in these two cases is set out by Presidential Decree 254/2005. If you intend to move between locations (e.g. events, festivals, different neighborhoods), a street-vending permit fits better. If you're aiming for one fixed, designated spot for the whole operating period, you need a fixed-pitch permit, which is granted by the relevant Municipality for a specific location.
The permit is granted to individuals, with the following basic conditions coming up repeatedly in the relevant procedures:
Note: depending on the permit category, additional criteria may apply (e.g. income, unemployment status). These vary by announcement — confirm the applicable criteria with your Municipality before submitting an application.
Depending on the Municipality, you're usually asked for:
Presidential Decree 254/2005 states that the usable space of a mobile food trailer engaged in street vending or fixed-pitch trading on public land must be at least 5 sq.m and not exceed 10 sq.m. This limit comes from the older street-vending law (Law 4849/2021) and applies specifically to these two cases.
For a food trailer on private land, we did not find an equivalent limit within the new ΚΥΑ 61788/2026. We also checked the health regulations themselves: Article 14 of the basic health decision (Υ1γ/Γ.Π/οικ.47829/2017) sets no floor-area limit — it refers the vehicle's technical specifications to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport & Networks, and only requires compliance with the hygiene rules of Regulation (EC) 852/2004. The more recent Ministerial Decision 10646/2026 of the Ministry of Tourism (for food trailers at tourist facilities) appears to follow the same approach, referring to a vehicle "whose dimensions are set by the manufacturer."
The legal landscape around mobile food trailers changes frequently — ΚΥΑ 61788/2026 was only published in the summer of 2026. The above reflects our own reading of the available texts at the time of writing and is not a guarantee. Before choosing a food trailer size, confirm with your competent Building Permits Department or Municipality that no additional local restriction applies to your specific location.
Once you've clarified the location and the operating procedure, see the options for a coffee food trailer, street food trailer or ice cream food trailer, depending on your concept.
See the technical specifications of every e-kantina.gr model (3 to 6 meters) and find the one that fits your space and your activity.
See the CatalogThis article is published by e-kantina.gr for informational purposes only, based on publicly available legislation, Government Gazette (ΦΕΚ) publications and circulars as they stood at the time of writing (August 2026). It does not constitute, and does not replace, legal, accounting or other professional advice. Legislation on street vending, licensing and mobile food trailers changes frequently, and the terms of application may vary by Municipality, Region or local regulatory decision. e-kantina.gr makes a reasonable effort to keep this information accurate at the time of publication, but does not guarantee its completeness, accuracy or currency, and is not liable for any actions, decisions or losses arising from the use of, or reliance on, the content of this article. Before taking any action, we strongly recommend confirming the current requirements with the competent public authority and, where necessary, consulting a lawyer or accountant of your choice.