For caterers
Registering a Food Business: Free, 28 Days Before Trading
Every food business, home kitchens and vans included, must register with its council at least 28 days before trading. It is free and cannot be refused.
When and how do you register a food business?
Register with your local council at least 28 days before you start trading. It is free, it is done online through the GOV.UK food business registration service or directly with the council, and registration cannot be refused. It applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to anyone who sells, cooks, stores, handles, prepares or distributes food, including home-based caterers, vans, trailers, stalls and hog roast units. Scotland has an equivalent registration process with its councils.
If you are already trading and have not registered, register now; it is better late than not at all.
Which council do you register with?
The council for the place where the business is run from. For a home-based caterer that is your home address. For a mobile unit it is the council where the van or trailer is normally kept, not the council where you trade, which is why a burger van from one county can trade across several. If you run several premises, each is registered with its own council.
What happens after you register?
The council adds you to its list for inspection and may contact you with guidance. A food safety officer will inspect, usually unannounced for established premises, and give you a food hygiene rating from 0 to 5 (Pass or Improvement Required in Scotland). The rating is published on the Food Standards Agency's ratings site. For a home-based business, the published record shows only the first half of your postcode, not your full address.
Can you cater from a home kitchen?
Yes, and many caterers do. The kitchen must meet the same hygiene standards as any other food business: surfaces that can be kept hygienic, hand-washing facilities, adequate fridge space, pets kept out, and domestic and business food kept apart. Check three other things before you start: whether your mortgage lender or landlord allows a business at the property, whether your home insurance covers it, and whether the scale of the work needs planning permission, which your council's planning team can tell you.
Do you need approval as well as registration?
Most caterers need registration only. Approval is a separate, stricter process for businesses that make products of animal origin, such as meat, fish, dairy or egg products, and supply them to other businesses rather than direct to consumers. A caterer serving food at events is supplying the final consumer and normally just registers. If you plan to sell to shops or other caterers, ask your council whether approval applies.
What must you tell the council later?
Changes to the business: a new address, a new operator, a significant change in the type of food, or stopping trading. A change of operator is a new registration. Keep the registration in the business's trading name, because that is the name customers will search on the ratings site.
Common questions
How much does it cost to register a food business?
Nothing. Registration is free.
Can a council refuse my registration?
No. Registration cannot be refused. The council inspects later and can take action if standards are not met.
Do I need to register if I only do a few events a year?
If you are operating as a food business, yes. Occasional, small-scale activity such as a one-off charity event may not count as a business; your council can advise.
I have a food van. Where do I register?
With the council where the van is normally kept overnight, not where it trades.
How long until I get a hygiene rating?
It depends on the council's workload. New businesses are usually inspected within weeks to a few months. The record shows as awaiting inspection until then.