Which FSSAI licence do I need, and what does it cost?

Which FSSAI licence do I need?

It depends on annual turnover (total yearly sales) and what you do. Up to ₹1.5 crore is Registration. ₹1.5–50 crore is a State Licence. Above ₹50 crore is a Central Licence — as are importers, exporters, e-commerce food businesses and multi-state head offices, at any turnover.

Since 1 April 2026 the tier turns on turnover, not production capacity.

What are the government fees for an FSSAI licence?

Registration is ₹100 a year. A State Licence is ₹5,000 a year. A Central Licence is ₹7,500 a year. Street vendors and Anganwadi units pay nil. Two kinds of business (the category you register under) — Central Government catering and Railways — pay ₹2,000.

Government fees are paid by you on FoSCoS (FSSAI’s licensing website), directly to FSSAI. They never come to us.

What is a basic FSSAI licence?

“Basic” is the old name for FSSAI Registration — the smallest tier, for turnover up to ₹1.5 crore, granted on Form A by the Registering Authority of your area. The certificate carries a 14-digit number you must display at the premises and on packs.

What is the FSSAI licence number on a pack?

It is the 14-digit number FSSAI issues with your certificate. The first digit shows whether the unit is registered or licensed, the next two the state code, and the rest the year and the unit’s serial. Every pack must carry the number of the unit that made it.

You can verify any number on FoSCoS — our licence-check guide shows how.

Do I need a separate licence for each outlet?

Yes. A licence covers one premises. Three outlets means three licences, and if you also run a central production kitchen, that is a fourth. Businesses operating in two or more states also need a head-office Central Licence.

This is where multi-outlet operators are most often under-licensed.

Is a caterer treated differently?

Yes. Caterers cannot take Registration at any turnover — the smallest licence available to a caterer is a State Licence at ₹5,000 a year, and above ₹50 crore it becomes Central.

Event caterers working across state lines usually need the multi-state Central Licence too.

What do you charge on top of the government fee?

The government fee is fixed by FSSAI and published on every page — ₹100, ₹5,000 or ₹7,500 a year by tier — and you pay it directly on FoSCoS. Our professional fee depends on what the file actually involves: how many premises, how many states, whether you manufacture, how many SKUs need a label review. We put one number in writing after the free 10-minute check, before anything starts, and it does not change after that.

Is there still a fee for renewal?

There is no renewal any more. Since 10 March 2026 a licence stays valid unless it is suspended, cancelled or surrendered. What replaced renewal is an annual fee, counted from the date of grant — miss it and the licence can be deemed suspended (it stops being valid automatically).