The questions that come in every week.
Straight answers, including the ones where the answer is "it depends on your city" or "we have not decided yet." Pick who you are.
If you run a truck, trailer, or cart · 8 questions
What does TXFVA actually do for me?
Two things, and they are separate. The TXFVA app keeps every permit, licence, and service date you carry in one place, with reminders per credential, per unit, per city. Send packages exactly what an organizer asked for into one link, in a minute, logged — so you never re-type thirty fields the night before load-in.
I work fourteen cities. Does that break the permit board?
No. Fire permits are tracked account-wide with one row per jurisdiction, each carrying its own number, issuer, expiration, and document. The board shows six rows with room past what most members use, and reminders fire per city rather than lumping them together.
Do you track hood cleaning and extinguisher tags, or just permits?
Both. Hood cleaning, suppression tags, extinguisher tags, unit health inspections, and your commissary agreement and inspection report all sit on the same board with the same reminders. Service dates run per unit, so The Big Rig being current says nothing about the box truck.
My city requires something the app does not list. Then what?
You add the row. The setup type suggests a starting list; the jurisdiction decides the real one, and it changes at the city line. Rows can be added, renamed, or turned off per unit, and anything a city adds sits on the same clock as the rest.
Which of my documents does the public see?
Your business name, city, food categories, member ID, and standing are public. Permit numbers, insurance certificates, and inspection reports are held on file and only travel in a packet you send. Home addresses and licence numbers are never published.
How long does a packet link stay open?
180 days by default, and you can stop it any time from the app.
What do I get for referring other vendors?
Five approved referrals opens a renewal credit review — the same reward at every membership level. Approved means that vendor's own membership is paid and their standing established; pending ones count for nothing until then.
Does being verified protect me at an inspection?
No, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. Verified means a person at TXFVA opened your file and the dates were good. The inspector's finding is the inspector's, and your local authority outranks anything on this site.
If you book vendors for an event · 6 questions
Can I check a vendor without an account?
Yes. Type a member ID or business name into the verify page and you will see what TXFVA has checked, what is merely on file, and what has expired. No login, no phone call, about ten seconds.
What exactly has TXFVA checked?
Four documents, reviewed by a person: food manager certificate, liability insurance, county health permit, and sales tax permit. Everything else a vendor tracks is visible to them and marked as on file rather than verified.
How do I get the paperwork instead of chasing it?
Ask the vendor to send a TXFVA packet. It arrives as one link holding exactly what you asked for, and it stays current if something renews before your event — which beats a folder of PDFs that went stale in March.
Is there a planner directory?
Yes. The directory lists the event planners and venues who are members, next to the food vendors and suppliers.
Will vendors be able to contact me directly?
Only how you choose. Some planners want an inbox full of applications, some want one booking link and nothing else. That is a setting, not a policy.
Does a listing cost anything?
Not decided, and we would rather say that than promise free forever. Anyone on the waiting list hears the number before it goes live.
If you own the ground · 4 questions
What do you want from a venue?
Answers to the six questions every food vendor asks you: power, water, grease and waste, insurance limits, load-in window, and who signs for the space. Answer them once and they become your listing.
Why does that matter more than a profile?
A venue rarely gets burned by a bad vendor. It gets burned by a vendor who assumed — assumed there was a drain, assumed the breaker held, assumed somebody else was hauling the oil out. The sheet removes the assumption.
Can I check a vendor before they set up?
Yes, same as a planner. Search by region, then confirm standing on the verify page before anyone parks.
Is the venue list the same as the planner list?
No. Venues and planners ask different questions, so they are separate directories with separate fields. If you do both, get on both.
If you sell to vendors · 4 questions
How does a company get listed?
Put a specific member rate in writing — a percentage, a flat rate, or waived fees — and honor it when a member shows their TXFVA ID, without a call to the association first. “Competitive pricing” is not a number and does not get a listing.
Can I buy exclusivity in my category?
No. Limiting suppliers does not benefit members. Four propane suppliers on the page is four rates a member can compare, and a reason for the fourth to beat the other three.
Why not just advertise?
Because these buyers do not answer cold calls. They are verified operators with permits on file, units in service, and a renewal calendar you can plan around — and they find you by category and region on a page they already trust.
What happens if we stop honoring the rate?
The listing comes down. Members report the ones that do not work at the counter, and they report fast.
"We just grill a couple things" is still Type III.
Nearly every permit question that reaches us is really a question about which unit type you are, because the type sets the paperwork and an inspector can re-tier you on the spot. The permit guide has a tool that walks you to your answer in about a minute.