Mobile bars and food trucks: your Gauteng liquor permit guide

Howzit, bar crews and food truck owners. Corporate season means year-ends, family days, launches and January kick-offs, and lots of them want a gin bar, a beer trailer or a cocktail station. The gig is lekker. The admin is where vendors slip up: a missed deadline, a permit in the wrong name, or no permit at all. Here's the plain-English version of how it works in Jozi, Pretoria and the rest of Gauteng.

Why a mobile bar needs a permit for every event

A licensing consultancy puts it bluntly: a permanent liquor licence for a mobile bar "cannot be issued because there is no permanent premises." Instead, for a special event, a mobile bar applies for an occasional permit, and "a new application must be made for each and every event." The Gauteng Liquor Act backs up the idea that a bar on wheels counts: its definition of "premises" includes a vehicle.

The official name matters when you fill in forms. Gauteng's Act has no "special event licence" or "temporary licence". It's a catering or occasional permit under section 31, and it:

• lasts no longer than seven consecutive days
• is granted by a local committee of the Liquor Board
• requires selling liquor to be incidental to the occasion, not the applicant's main business
• comes with an approved plan: the committee can rule out areas and decide which kinds of liquor you may sell

Who applies: you or the client?

This is where it gets fuzzy. The consultancy treats the mobile bar operator as the applicant. The Act says sales must be incidental to "the occasion held by the applicant", which points to the host of the event. No primary source settles it. So put it in your quote: who applies, who pays the fee, and what happens to your booking if the permit is refused.

If the event is at a licensed hotel or venue, a different question comes first: will the venue let you trade under its licence, or does it want its own bar team? A venue's licence covers business by the licensee on its licensed premises, so don't assume it stretches to you. Ask the venue and get confirmation from the Board if anything's unclear.

Rule of thumb: if you're the one pouring at a site with no licence, plan for a permit.

The paperwork, event by event

A Gauteng liquor-office brochure (reproduced by the Restaurant Association of SA) says: lodge 14 days before the event, at the regional office for the area where it's happening. The Act gives the local committee 21 days from receipt to consider applications, so lodging on day 14 is cutting it fine. Build the pack once, then reuse it:

On money: the 2016 fee schedule says R2,000 for catering or occasional permits. Older guides still say R1,000, which is out of date. New fee regulations took effect on 24 June 2026, and we couldn't confirm the new figure, so check with the Gauteng Liquor Board before you quote the client. Build the fee into your price, per event.

What corporate clients will ask for

Corporate buyers aren't booking your cocktails. They're booking zero drama. Expect their event manager or procurement team to ask for:

• Your permit, or the venue's written confirmation that you're covered
• Public liability insurance
• A responsible-service plan: ID checks, no service to under-18s or drunk guests
• Crew details and food-handler certificates
• An electrical CoC if you plug into temporary power. Our safety documents guide for vendors covers the rest.

If you want the client-side view, this corporate host's guide to liquor permits is what event planners are reading.

The under-18 rule (it's 18, not 21)

Here's one that trips people up. The Gauteng Liquor Act defines a "minor" as under 21, but the rule that matters behind the bar is section 46: a licensee may not sell or supply liquor to anyone under 18. Supplying an under-18 or an intoxicated person is an offence, and the Act's penalty goes up to a R100,000 fine, 10 years' imprisonment, or both. At family days, card anyone who looks young and work with the organiser's wristband system.

Food trucks: the liquor bit and the rest

We didn't find a liquor rule specific to food trucks. If your truck sells drinks, the same occasional-permit logic as a mobile bar applies. Food trading and health permits are run by municipalities, and they differ between Joburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and the rest, so check with your municipality before you take a booking. Corporate clients will also want food-handler certificates and gas and fire safety sorted.

Video: Mobile bartending: setting up for an event (YouTube)

Working gigs through HowzitLive

HowzitLive is free to list, you set your own rates, and payouts land the Friday after the event. The marketplace opens to corporate clients in January 2027, and we run it with the B&W Productions crew, who run bars at stadium beer gardens and activations. See how they handle bar operations and liquor compliance at scale. Plan your season with our 2027 vendor calendar.

Frequently asked questions

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Heads up: this is general info, not legal advice. Liquor laws, fees and municipal rules change, so check with the Gauteng Liquor Board, your municipality or a qualified attorney before the gig.