FSSAI licence for a home kitchen or tiffin service.
Selling homemade food — tiffins, meals, a mess or jars of pickle — needs an FSSAI Registration at ₹100 a year while turnover stays under ₹1.5 crore. FSSAI’s table names this business directly: home-based canteens and dabba wallas.
A tiffin service or home kitchen applies under Food Vending Establishment, which FSSAI’s 2026 table says includes home-based canteens and dabba wallas. Up to ₹1.5 crore turnover: Registration at ₹100 a year. Above that: State Licence at ₹5,000. Packed homemade products such as pickles need a manufacturing kind of business instead.
Which FSSAI licence a home kitchen 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
- Food Vending Establishment — the row that names Home-Based Canteens / Dabba Wallas and boarding houses, as listed on FoSCoS
- Manufacturer (the manufacturing rows) — for homemade products you pack and sell, such as pickles, chocolates or snacks
- Hotel — for a homestay that provides lodging with meals (Registration up to ₹1.5 crore turnover)
2026 tablePer FSSAI’s table updated 01.04.2026. We confirm your kind of business before filing.
What a home kitchen 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.
Tiffin services have their own row
The 01.04.2026 table lists Home-Based Canteens / Dabba Wallas inside Food Vending Establishment: Registration up to ₹1.5 crore, State Licence above. That row has no Central cell.
KoB table 01.04.2026, Food Vending Establishment rowPart I hygiene, in your own kitchen
A sanitary place free of filthy surroundings, a continuous supply of potable water, efficient drainage and refuse disposal, and handwashing with soap before work. Eating, chewing, smoking and spitting are barred while handling food.
Schedule 4, Part I cl. 1, 6, 11, 14, 16No one unwell in the cooking
Anyone suffering from an infectious disease must not work in preparation. In a family kitchen this includes relatives who help out.
Schedule 4, Part I cl. 13Delivery containers and vehicles count too
Part I extends to transport: vehicles that carry food must be kept clean, and packaged food must be held at the temperature it needs. For a tiffin service, the delivery bag is part of the kitchen.
Schedule 4, Part I cl. 18–19Pickles, chocolates and snacks in jars are manufacturing
Packing a homemade product for sale moves you onto a manufacturing row, and the jar needs a full label: ingredients, allergens, veg or non-veg mark, net quantity, date marking, MRP and your FSSAI number. Selling by weight also brings in Legal Metrology packer registration, ₹500 one-time.
Labelling & Display Regulations 2020, reg. 5; Legal Metrology (PC) Rules 2011, rule 27Self-help group members may be covered already
If you cook as a registered member of a cooperative, Mahila Udyog, self-help group or similar society that holds its own FSSAI licence or registration, FSSAI's FAQ says you need no separate registration.
FSSAI Licensing FAQ Q12 (21.06.2021)The annual fee keeps it alive
Registrations are perpetual since March 2026, with no renewal. An unpaid annual fee means deemed suspension, with no notice, and no trading until it is paid.
Reg. 2.1.7(2), as substituted 10.03.2026What 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- Proof you can use the home premises — ownership papers, rent agreement, or the owner's NOC
- List of the dishes or products you sell (a tiffin menu is enough to start from)
- Photograph of the proprietor
- Proof of membership of a registered SHG or society holding its own FSSAI registration, if you rely on the FAQ Q12 exemption
- A label specimen for each packed product such as pickle or chocolate, checked against reg. 5
- Legal Metrology packer registration, if you sell packed products by weight
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
Common mistakes with home kitchen licences.
Cooking in your own kitchen doesn't change the law. If you sell food regularly, you are a food business and need at least a Registration.
A tiffin service and a packed-product business are different kinds of business. A registration covers only what is written on it, so adding pickles for sale means modifying it.
A registration is for one premises. If a relative's kitchen starts cooking part of the orders, that kitchen needs its own registration.
Your home kitchen 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 home kitchen: questions
Does homemade food require an FSSAI licence?
Yes, if you sell it as a business. FSSAI's table names home-based canteens and dabba wallas as a kind of business, and at under ₹1.5 crore turnover the requirement is a Registration at ₹100 a year, not a full licence. Selling food without the registration or licence your business needs can draw up to six months' imprisonment and a ₹5 lakh fine (FSS Act s.63).
Which FSSAI license is required for a home food business?
For cooked meals, tiffins or a mess: a Registration under Food Vending Establishment while turnover is up to ₹1.5 crore, and a State Licence above that. For packed products such as pickles, papad or chocolate: a Registration under the manufacturing rows, with a full label on every jar. If you do both, one registration can list both kinds of business.
What is the FSSAI license cost for a home kitchen?
The government fee is ₹100 a year for a Registration, paid directly to FSSAI. It is the same in every state. If turnover goes past ₹1.5 crore, a State Licence costs ₹5,000 a year. Our filing fee for a Registration is ₹4,500, one-time plus GST, and we file on your own FoSCoS login.
What documents are required for an FSSAI license for a home kitchen?
A photograph, photo ID such as Aadhaar, PAN or voter ID, proof that you can use the home as premises (ownership papers, a rent agreement or the owner's NOC), and a list of the food you sell. Packed products need a compliant label, and selling by weight brings in a separate Legal Metrology registration.
What is the FSSAI category for a tiffin service?
Food Vending Establishment. The 01.04.2026 table groups Dhaba, boarding houses, banquet halls, home-based canteens / dabba wallas and stall holders together, describing the row as preparing freshly prepared food with temporary or no seating. Registration up to ₹1.5 crore turnover, State Licence above. A mess serving boarders fits the same row, in our reading.
How do I apply for an FSSAI license for my home kitchen online?
Apply at foscos.fssai.gov.in, FSSAI's official portal. There is nothing to apply for in person, so you don't need to find anyone near you. Choose Registration, pick the kind of business and food categories, upload the documents and pay ₹100. The 2026 amendment provides for instant registration where the application is complete. Beware of look-alike websites charging for the same form.
Do I need FSSAI registration for a homestay that serves food?
If you serve meals to paying guests, yes. The Hotel row describes an establishment providing lodging, meals and other guest services. At up to ₹1.5 crore turnover it lists a Registration at ₹100 a year. Homestay permissions under tourism or local law are separate from FSSAI and vary by state.
Get your home kitchen 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.