Julieta González Moreno, who runs the food cart "Antojitos Mexicanos" in East Las Vegas, earned her street vending license with Clark County more than a year ago. But she's still frequently running into trouble with law enforcement.

Moreno said it's been difficult to find a stable spot to set up her cart, and she's regularly confronted by authorities who say she needs an additional permit to operate near a park or businesses. Recently, Moreno said her friend got "locked up" after police found that she did not have a license to operate in a designated area.

"It is a little difficult because sometimes we're there selling and the police arrive and move us around," Moreno said. "I think that's unfair because even though we already have our license, now they're asking us to get another license … so yes, sometimes it's a little difficult."

Moreno is just one of the handful of licensed street vendors in Southern Nevada. Although street vending was legalized in Nevada in 2023, street vendors and advocates say that obtaining a license remains inaccessible for many — requiring vendors to go through an oft-byzantine licensing process and pay prohibitive startup costs. 

As of 2026, only 17 street vendors are licensed across the entire Las Vegas Valley and only seven of those have an additional license that lets them operate in multiple jurisdictions

Clark County told The Indy they have only approved four licenses this year, with three more pending applications in the works.

But things are different in Northern Nevada. The health district for Reno, Sparks and Washoe County residents, Northern Nevada Public Health, says that 130 people have permits under the district's Mobile and Portable Food Program that oversees any type of food establishment on wheels.

"It's more accessible than Clark County," said Elizabeth Velazquez, an organizer with the immigration advocacy nonprofit Make the Road Nevada. "They have more opportunities in Northern Nevada."

Immigrants have long embraced street vending as a form of economic advancement, using it as a launching pad to start larger businesses such as restaurants. 

Several street vendors, however, told The Indy that the Trump administration's immigration crackdown has made them more hesitant to work with local governments, given the chance they could be confronted by local authorities and be turned over to immigration enforcement. Some expressed that they have not been able to even start the licensing process as they lack a Social Security number or taxpayer identification number, a requirement to acquire a Nevada business license. 

As an example, Velazquez said that one street vendor in Las Vegas was recently detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while she was selling food with her daughter. Velazquez described the incident as nonsensical given that street vending has been legalized for years — law enforcement had no reason to approach her. 

She said the vendor's daughter was not detained.

"Immigration stopped her," Velazquez said. "All she was looking for was to provide for her family, to get ahead for them. …This administration is hitting our community very hard, both as immigrants and as workers." 

Essentially banned from the Strip 

One of the biggest hurdles facing licensed vendors is that they are severely limited in where they can operate. 

That problem is particularly acute in Clark County. A 2024 county ordinance banned street vendors from operating within 500 feet of any county park without a special permit, while another county rule blocks them from being within 150 feet of a licensed traditional restaurant or other vendors.  

By state law, vendors are also prohibited within 1,500 feet of resort hotels or major arenas — essentially banning them from the Las Vegas Strip. 

Moreno said these restrictions cut off the areas where vendors have the "best chance of selling." If they are found operating in such areas, vendors can be slammed with a $500 fine or even face up to six months of jail time. Moreno said that she sometimes risked operating in those areas to get better business. 

Moreno, who was licensed last year, described the process as arduous. The initial cost to receive a permit from the Southern Nevada Health District hovers around $1,000, on top of the hundreds of dollars vendors have to pay for insurance and other licensing fees. Vendors also have to acquire a state business license, which costs around $200 per year, as well as a county business license, which runs around $195 initially. 

Meanwhile, the cost of purchasing a cart that is in compliance with health district standards can cost upward of $10,000 and must have running running water and restaurant-grade equipment. 

Although Clark County and the health district told The Indy that the licensing approval takes about two weeks, Moreno said the whole process took her about five months. The health district added that it offers payment plans to help vendors pay for initial licensing costs and that it provides Spanish language assistance to vendors.

"If you don't have all the information — all the requirements — that's what makes it take so long," Moreno said. "Only when you gather all the requirements … can you do the whole process."

A path forward

Velazquez contended that Northern Nevada authorities are more lenient on street vendors and pointed out a recent partnership between Make the Road and Northern Nevada Health, which helped five street vendors in Washoe County acquire their licenses. 

As part of that partnership, Northern Nevada Health said it awarded Make the Road Nevada nearly $100,000 to provide "direct, hands-on support." 

"Thanks to that, we have about five street vendors who can now legally operate their businesses. They have all their paperwork in order, they have their carts," Velazquez said.

She said that Make the Road, which has long championed street vending, plans to work on the issue during the 2027 legislative session. Its program to help street vendors, she said, has largely been halted due to federal grant cuts and overall lack of funding. 

Sen. Fabian Doñate (D-Las Vegas), who has sponsored several bills related to street vending, also said that he plans on addressing the issue in the upcoming session. He is considering bringing back a bill that would exempt certain vendors selling "nonhazardous" foods such as chips or cookies from certain food establishment regulations in Clark and Washoe counties.

"Obviously we have not made the progress of making sure all of those street food vendors are transitioned to a license," Doñate said.