FSSAI Registration/License

FSSAI food safety registration and licensing.

Anyone who manufactures, processes, stores, distributes or sells food in India needs an FSSAI registration or licence, and which of the three tiers applies is decided by turnover and by what the business does — basic registration up to ₹12 lakh, a State licence up to ₹20 crore, and a Central licence above that or for importers and exporters. The licence number has to appear on the packaging and on the premises, and operating without one carries a penalty of up to ₹5 lakh under the Food Safety and Standards Act.

Who this is for

Food safety
Legal permission
Customer trust
7-30 day approval

The process

What we actually do

1
We establish the right tier
Turnover decides it for most businesses, but activity overrides turnover: an importer, an exporter, an operator at more than one state, or a business at an airport or seaport needs a Central licence whatever the numbers say. Applying at the wrong tier means the application is returned after the wait.
2
We assemble the premises and process documents
The layout plan, the list of equipment, the water test report where processing is involved, the source of raw material, and the food safety management plan. This is the part that decides the application, and incomplete process documentation is the usual cause of delay.
3
We name a technically qualified person where required
Manufacturing licences require a nominated food safety supervisor with the prescribed qualification. Applying without one is an incomplete application.
4
We file and follow the inspection
State and Central licences generally involve an inspection of the premises. We file, track and deal with the queries — a food licence application left unattended does not fail, it simply stops moving.
5
We diarise renewal and display
Licences run one to five years at the applicant's choice and must be renewed before expiry — a lapsed licence means reapplying rather than renewing. The number goes on the packaging and the certificate on the wall, both of which an inspection checks.

Who this is for

Restaurants, cafés, cloud kitchens and caterers
Food manufacturers, processors and packers
Retailers, distributors and wholesalers of packaged food
Food sellers on Swiggy, Zomato and marketplace platforms, who cannot list without one
Importers and exporters of food, who need a Central licence regardless of turnover
Home-based food businesses, which are not exempt

How long it takes

Seven to ten working days for a basic registration. State and Central licences run thirty to sixty days, and the inspection is what governs the date.

If you do nothing

The business runs until an inspection, a customer complaint or a platform audit. At that point the penalty is computed, the premises can be closed while it is resolved, and for a delivery-led business the listing goes down — which costs more in a week than the licence costs in five years.

The law, in figures

Dates, thresholds and sections

Every figure below carries the provision it comes from, so it can be checked.
What	Figure	Source
Basic registration	Turnover up to ₹12,00,000	Regulation 2.1.1, FSS (Licensing and Registration) Regulations 2011
State licence	Turnover above ₹12,00,000 and up to ₹20 crore	Regulation 2.1.2, FSS (Licensing and Registration) Regulations 2011
Central licence	Turnover above ₹20 crore, and for importers, exporters and multi-state operators	Regulation 2.1.2, Schedule 1
Validity	1 to 5 years, at the applicant's option	Regulation 2.1.7, FSS (Licensing and Registration) Regulations 2011
Display of licence number	Mandatory on packaging and at the premises	Section 31(10), Food Safety and Standards Act 2006
Penalty for operating without a licence	Up to ₹5,00,000, and imprisonment up to 6 months	Section 63, Food Safety and Standards Act 2006

What usually goes wrong

Applying for a State licence as an importer or exporter, where a Central licence is required regardless of turnover
Letting the licence lapse, which means a fresh application rather than a renewal
Leaving the licence number off the packaging, which is a separate contravention from not holding one
Assuming a home-based or small online food business is exempt — it is not
Treating the FSSAI licence as covering the trade licence, or the reverse; most food businesses need both

What non-compliance costs

Up to ₹5,00,000 and imprisonment up to 6 months for operating without a licence, under section 63
₹2,00,000 for sub-standard food, and higher for misbranded or unsafe food
Suspension or cancellation of the licence for non-compliance
Delisting from delivery platforms, which require a valid licence number to keep a listing live

These are statutory amounts, not our fees. What we charge depends on your situation and is quoted before any work starts.

Not to be confused with

These come up in the same conversation and are routinely treated as the same thing. They are not.

Trade licence

A trade licence is municipal permission to operate at a premises. FSSAI is central food safety law. A restaurant needs both, and neither substitutes for the other.

ISO 22000

ISO 22000 is a voluntary food safety management certification a buyer may ask for. FSSAI is a statutory licence required by law.

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