FSSAI licence for packaged drinking water.
Every packaged drinking water or mineral water plant needs an FSSAI licence or registration, and the tier depends only on your annual turnover. Since 1 January 2026 you no longer need the BIS certification mark, but FSSAI’s own testing scheme now applies to your whole production.
A water plant turning over up to ₹1.5 crore a year files for Registration (₹100 a year). From ₹1.5 crore to ₹50 crore it needs a State Licence (₹5,000 a year); above ₹50 crore, a Central Licence (₹7,500 a year). Packaged water is a high-risk category, so Central-licensed plants also face a yearly third-party audit.
Which FSSAI licence a packaged drinking water plant 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
- Manufacturing — pick the manufacturer kind of business on FoSCoS and select the Waters food category (14.1.1, which covers mineral and source waters, as listed in FoSCoS's food product categories)
- Add distribution or wholesale as a separate kind of business if you also trade other brands' water, as listed on FoSCoS
2026 tablePer FSSAI’s table updated 01.04.2026. We confirm your kind of business before filing.
What a packaged drinking water plant 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.
No BIS mark from 1 January 2026 — FSSAI testing instead
FSSAI's order of 17 December 2025 ended the requirement for the BIS certification mark on packaged drinking water and mineral water from 01.01.2026. In its place is a scheme of testing that covers the whole production of the factory, through FSSAI-notified NABL-accredited laboratories, with some parameters tested monthly and others at longer intervals.
FSSAI order RCD-15001/19/2025-Regulatory-FSSAI, 17.12.2025A microbiological failure stops dispatch
Under the same scheme, after a failed microbiological test you restart production and dispatch only after corrective action and satisfactory results for five consecutive batches. Test records have to be kept for FSSAI's review for at least five years.
FSSAI order RCD-15001/19/2025-Regulatory-FSSAI, 17.12.2025Your product has a named standard
Packaged drinking water (other than mineral water) is standardised under 2.10.8, which lists the treatments allowed — decantation, filtration, activated carbon, demineralisation, remineralisation, reverse osmosis and so on — and requires the water to be packed after disinfecting. Natural mineral water is a separate standard, 2.10.7, for water from natural or drilled underground sources protected against pollution.
FSS (Food Products Standards & Food Additives) Regulations 2011, Chapter 2.10 (Version 4, 01.08.2025), 2.10.7 and 2.10.8High-risk category: yearly audit if you are Central
Packaged drinking water was added to FSSAI's high-risk food categories on 29.11.2024. Central-licensed manufacturers in high-risk 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, 02.05.2022Only listed packaging materials
The Packaging Regulations give a closed list of materials that packaged drinking water and mineral water may be packed in. The product standard allows a blue tint only in polycarbonate or PET containers of five litres and above. Check your jar and bottle supplier's material against the list before you print labels.
FSS (Packaging) Regulations 2018, reg. 4(4)(a) proviso; Chapter 2.10, 2.10.8Annual return and six-monthly tests
As a licensed manufacturer you file Form D-1 by 31 May for the previous financial year, one return per licence; a delay beyond 31 May costs ₹100 a day, and an unfiled return means deemed suspension. Product testing at least once in six months at an FSSAI-notified or NABL lab is also a condition of your licence.
Reg. 2.1.13, FSS (Licensing & Registration) Regulations 2011; Schedule 2, Annexure 3, condition 12Legal Metrology for every sealed jar and bottle
Net quantity, MRP and dates are also governed by the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011, a separate law. A packer must register within 90 days of starting to pre-pack (₹500, one-time).
Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011, rule 27What 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- Layout plan of the plant showing the treatment, filling and storage areas with dimensions
- List of equipment and machinery (RO or other treatment units, filling and capping lines) with installed capacity
- Chemical and bacteriological analysis report of the source water from a recognised or public health laboratory
- Pesticide residues report of the water — asked for from units making packaged drinking water, mineral water or carbonated water
- Food Safety Management System (FSMS) plan for the plant
- Recall plan, with details of whom the product is distributed to
- Proof of possession of the premises and of the source (borewell or supply) you will draw from
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 Board
Bureau of Indian StandardsCommon mistakes with packaged drinking water plant licences.
Many plant-setup guides still price an ISI/BIS licence. From 01.01.2026 FSSAI no longer requires the mark — budget instead for monthly and periodic testing at an FSSAI-notified NABL lab under the scheme of testing.
Tier now follows turnover only. The old litres-per-day bands and the ₹2,000/₹3,000 State fees belong to the pre-2026 table. A small RO jar plant under ₹1.5 crore is a Registration, not a State Licence.
Under the scheme a microbiological failure means no dispatch until corrective action and five consecutive satisfactory batches. Plan a hold area and a way to trace each batch before you start filling.
The annual return and the six-monthly testing condition bind licensed manufacturers. The testing scheme itself speaks of the whole production of the factory and we saw no small-plant carve-out in it, so confirm your position with the licensing authority rather than skip it.
Your packaged drinking water plant 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 packaged drinking water plant: questions
Is FSSAI license mandatory for packaged drinking water?
Yes. The FSS Act defines food to include packaged drinking water, so any business that treats, fills and sells it needs an FSSAI registration or licence before it starts. Operating without one can bring up to six months' imprisonment and a fine of up to ₹5 lakh under section 63. Mineral water is covered the same way.
What is the FSSAI license cost for a packaged drinking water plant?
The government fee depends on turnover only: ₹100 a year for Registration (up to ₹1.5 crore), ₹5,000 a year for a State Licence (₹1.5–50 crore) and ₹7,500 a year for a Central Licence (above ₹50 crore). Licences no longer expire, so there is no renewal fee — but the annual fee must be paid. Our filing fee is separate: ₹4,500, ₹12,500 or ₹19,500 plus GST.
What is the FSSAI license category for a water plant?
On FoSCoS a water plant applies as a manufacturer and selects the Waters food category (14.1.1), which FoSCoS lists as including mineral and source waters. The licence covers only the kinds of business written on it, so if you also distribute other brands' water, add that activity too. Our free licence finder shows the tier for your turnover.
Is ISI/BIS license still required for a mineral water plant?
Not for FSSAI purposes since 1 January 2026. FSSAI's order of 17 December 2025 says the BIS certification mark is no longer required for packaged drinking water and mineral water, and replaces it with a testing scheme through FSSAI-notified NABL-accredited labs covering the whole production. Your FSSAI licence and the testing records are now the core of compliance.
What are the FSSAI new rules for packaged drinking water?
Three changes matter. Packaged water became a high-risk category on 29.11.2024, so Central-licensed plants need a yearly third-party audit. The BIS mark stopped being required from 01.01.2026 and FSSAI's scheme of testing took over. And since 10 March 2026 licences are perpetual: no renewal, but an unpaid annual fee or unfiled return means deemed suspension.
How to get FSSAI license for packaged drinking water online?
Apply on FoSCoS (foscos.fssai.gov.in) under your own login: pick the tier by turnover, choose the manufacturer kind of business and the Waters category, upload the plant layout, equipment list, water analysis and pesticide residues reports and your FSMS plan, and pay the fee. A State or Central application may be followed by an inspection. We file it for you on your login.
Does a water distributor or a water supply business need an FSSAI license?
Yes, if you buy and sell packaged water you are a food business. A distributor or wholesaler registers or licenses by turnover like any trader, under its own kind of business, and wholesale suppliers also need a recall plan under the Recall Regulations 2017. The treatment and filling rules above apply to whoever manufactures the water.
Get your packaged drinking water plant 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.