FSSAI licence for dairy, milk, ghee and paneer.
Anyone who collects, chills, processes, packs or sells milk and milk products needs an FSSAI registration or licence, with the tier set by annual turnover. Dairy carries more than most sectors after the licence: a half-yearly return, its own hygiene schedule and, for Central licensees, a yearly third-party audit.
A dairy turning over up to ₹1.5 crore a year needs Registration (₹100 a year); ₹1.5–50 crore needs a State Licence (₹5,000 a year); above ₹50 crore, a Central Licence (₹7,500 a year). Licensed milk-product manufacturers file Form D-2 half-yearly, and Central-licensed dairy manufacturers need a yearly third-party audit.
Which FSSAI licence a dairy business needs.
| Annual turnover | You need | Government fee (to FSSAI) | Our filing fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to ₹1.5 crore | Registration | ₹100 a year | ₹4,500 |
| ₹1.5 crore – ₹50 crore | State Licence | ₹5,000 a year | ₹12,500 |
| Above ₹50 crore | Central Licence | ₹7,500 a year | ₹19,500 |
Per FSSAI’s kind-of-business table updated 01.04.2026. Our fee is one-time plus GST. Operating in two or more States/UTs adds a head-office Central Licence (₹7,500 a year).
What to choose on FoSCoS
- Dairy units, including milk chilling — the dairy kind of business on FoSCoS, which covers handling and processing of milk including milk producers and milk vendors
- Retail or distribution as separate kinds of business if you also sell other brands' products, as listed on FoSCoS
2026 tablePer FSSAI’s table updated 01.04.2026. We confirm your kind of business before filing.
What a dairy business has to get right.
Each point comes with the regulation, order or FSSAI document behind it. Where FSSAI hasn’t spelt something out, we say it’s our reading.
Half-yearly return on Form D-2
A licensee manufacturing milk or milk products files Form D-2 for each half year (1 April–30 September and 1 October–31 March). The regulation says within a month from the end of the period; the Conditions of Licence give a different date, so confirm the deadline with your licensing authority. An unfiled required return now means deemed suspension.
Reg. 2.1.13(1) proviso, FSS (Licensing & Registration) Regulations 2011; 2026 amendmentSchedule 4 Part III — dairy's own hygiene rules
Milk and milk-product businesses follow Part III of Schedule 4 on top of the general hygiene rules. One difference worth planning for: Part III asks for medical examination of workers on recruitment, and the general yearly medical fitness requirement still runs.
Schedule 4, Part III, II(1); Part II 10.1.2High-risk category: yearly third-party audit
Dairy is one of FSSAI's high-risk food categories. Central-licensed manufacturers in these categories must have a third-party food safety audit every year, and FSSAI expects high-risk manufacturers to be inspected yearly.
FSS (Food Safety Auditing) Regulations 2018, reg. 8; FSSAI order RCD-02001/9/2021, 02.05.2022Ghee must be only milk fat
Ghee is standardised as a milk fat product derived exclusively from milk. Selling ghee containing any added matter not exclusively derived from milk fat is a prohibited admixture, and so is a mixture of ghee or butter with any oil or fat that does not meet the definition of ghee.
FPS&FA Regulations 2011, 2.1.8; Prohibition & Restrictions on Sales Regulations, 2.1.1(3) and 2.3.7Paneer has three fat grades
Chhana and paneer are standardised together. Paneer is made by precipitating milk with permitted acidulants and heating, and comes in full-fat, medium-fat and low-fat grades, each with its own moisture and milk-fat limits — full-fat paneer, for example, may hold no more than 60% moisture.
FPS&FA Regulations 2011, Chapter 2.1 (Version 1, 01.09.2023), 2.1.16Dairy words are reserved for dairy
A product that is not milk, a milk product or a composite milk product may not use a label, commercial document, publicity or point-of-sale presentation that claims, implies or suggests it is one. Analogues made with vegetable fat or protein are not milk products. Milk with any added water is a prohibited admixture.
FPS&FA Regulations 2011, 2.1.1 (General Standards for Milk and Milk Products); Prohibition & Restrictions Regulations, 2.1.1(2)Large plants: an unresolved capacity rule
Schedule 1 of the Licensing Regulations still lists dairy units handling more than 50,000 litres of liquid milk a day as Central, while the 2026 eligibility table uses turnover alone. We found no notification amending Schedule 1. If your plant is that large but under ₹50 crore, confirm the tier with the licensing authority before filing.
FSS (Licensing & Registration) Regulations 2011, Schedule 1; FSSAI eligibility table updated 01.04.2026What you’ll be asked for.
On top of the owner’s photo ID and address proof. FoSCoS asks per kind of business, so we send you the exact list for yours before you gather anything.
Full documents checklist- Source of milk or procurement plan, including the location of milk collection centres
- Layout plan of the processing area — reception, chilling, processing, packing and cold storage — with dimensions
- List of equipment with installed capacity (bulk milk coolers, pasteuriser, separator, packing machine)
- Chemical and bacteriological analysis report of water used as an ingredient or for cleaning, from a recognised lab
- Food Safety Management System (FSMS) plan covering the cold chain
- Medical fitness certificates of workers taken at recruitment
- Recall plan, with details of whom the product is distributed to
The authorities around this business.
FSSAI isn’t the only door you’ll knock on. These are the bodies that usually matter for this kind of business — each links to what it does and when you’ll meet it.
See the full regulatory map
Food Safety and Standards Authority of IndiaFoSCoSCommissioner of Food SafetyDesignated Officer and Food Safety Officers
FSSAI-notified, NABL-accredited food laboratoriesFoSTaC training partnersFSSAI-recognised auditing agenciesLegal Metrology DepartmentCPCBAdjudicating Officer and Food Safety Appellate TribunalMunicipal corporation or local bodyState Pollution Control BoardCommon mistakes with dairy business licences.
Milk-product manufacturers file half-yearly on Form D-2, not once a year. A missed half-year leaves a required return unfiled, which under the 2026 amendment deems the licence suspended.
An analogue may not be named, pictured or presented at the counter as a milk product, and ghee blended with any other fat is a prohibited admixture. Both are also misbranding exposures of up to ₹3 lakh.
Moving to a Central Licence also moves a dairy manufacturer into the yearly third-party audit for high-risk categories. Book the audit when you file the upgrade, not when the inspector asks.
The source of milk and procurement plan is part of the licence application. Keep supplier and collection-centre records current, and keep them for one year or the product's shelf life, whichever is longer.
Your dairy business licence in three steps.
Most of the work is ours. Where something needs you, it says so — and nothing is filed without your approval.
- 1
Book a free 10-minute check
Tell us what you do. We confirm the exact kind of business, the licence and the full cost — including the exceptions most people miss.
Free · no obligation - 2
We file it on your login
You get a checklist for your business, we check every document, and we file on your own FoSCoS account. The government fee goes from you to FSSAI.
Fixed fee, in writing - 3
We keep you licensed
Fees, returns, tests, medicals, labels and inspections — dated, tracked and handled, with a short status note each month.
Ready any day
Our promises, in writing
You get the fee before we start. If the scope changes, you hear it from us before it costs you.
We file on your own FoSCoS account with your approval. Nothing to hand back if you ever leave.
Straight to FSSAI on FoSCoS. It never passes through us.
Each requirement comes with the regulation behind it — and our readings are marked as ours.
FSSAI licence for dairy business: questions
Which FSSAI license is required for dairy products?
Turnover decides it: Registration up to ₹1.5 crore a year, State Licence from ₹1.5 crore to ₹50 crore, Central Licence above ₹50 crore. You also need Central at any turnover if you import or export. If you run dairy premises in two or more States, add a head-office Central Licence. Very large plants should confirm the tier, because Schedule 1 still carries an old 50,000 litres-a-day trigger.
What is the FSSAI license fee for dairy products?
The government fee is ₹100 a year for Registration, ₹5,000 a year for a State Licence and ₹7,500 a year for a Central Licence. Licences are perpetual since March 2026, so there is no renewal fee, but an unpaid annual fee means deemed suspension. Our filing fee is ₹4,500, ₹12,500 or ₹19,500 plus GST, and you pay FSSAI directly.
Is FSSAI registration required for a dairy farm or milk vendor?
If you sell milk, yes. The dairy kind of business on FoSCoS covers handling and processing of milk including milk producers and milk vendors, so a farm or vendor selling milk registers or licenses by turnover. Most small farms and vendors fall under Registration, at ₹100 a year, up to ₹1.5 crore turnover.
How to get FSSAI license for ghee?
Apply on FoSCoS under the dairy kind of business, pick the ghee product in the dairy category, and upload your layout plan, equipment list, source-of-milk plan, water report and FSMS plan. Your ghee must meet the milk fat products standard (2.1.8). Every pack then needs the full label under the Labelling & Display Regulations 2020, including your licence number.
What are the FSSAI standards for ghee?
Ghee is covered by 2.1.8, Standard for Milk Fat Products, in Chapter 2.1 of the Food Products Standards Regulations. It is defined as a fatty product derived exclusively from milk, with water and non-fat milk solids almost entirely removed. Anything added that is not derived from milk fat makes it a prohibited admixture under the Prohibition & Restrictions Regulations.
Do dairy businesses have to file annual returns?
Licensed manufacturers of milk or milk products file Form D-2 twice a year, for April–September and October–March, rather than the single D-1 by 31 May. The regulation says within a month of each period ending, but the Conditions of Licence give another date, so confirm with your licensing authority. Registration holders fall outside regulation 2.1.13.
Is third-party audit mandatory for a dairy plant?
It is mandatory every year for Central-licensed manufacturers in high-risk categories, and dairy is one of them. State commissioners may also direct audits for State licensees. The audit is carried out by an FSSAI-recognised auditing agency, and audit records are kept for five years.
Get your dairy business licensed — and keep it that way.
Book a free 10-minute check. A person — not a bot — calls you back within working hours, tells you exactly which licence you need and what it costs, before you commit to anything.
- Government fee paid by you, directly to FSSAI
- Filed under your own FoSCoS login
- Fixed fee, confirmed in writing before we start
Not ready to talk? Get the free 2026 checklist or find your licence yourself.