FSSAI licence for warehouses and cold storage.
A food warehouse or cold store needs FSSAI under one of three Storage kinds of business (cold or refrigerated, controlled atmosphere with cold, or ordinary storage), and turnover sets the tier. Once the licence is granted, the business is judged on temperature logs, pest control and stock condition.
Food storage is licensed by turnover under whichever of the three Storage rows fits: cold/refrigerated, controlled atmosphere + cold, or storage without either. Up to ₹1.5 crore it’s a Registration at ₹100 a year, ₹1.5–50 crore a State Licence at ₹5,000, and above ₹50 crore Central at ₹7,500. Each warehouse premises needs its own.
Which FSSAI licence a warehouse or cold storage 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
- Storage (Cold / Refrigerated) — as listed on FoSCoS: refrigerated or frozen food, packed or unpacked
- Storage (Controlled Atmosphere + Cold): food held under controlled atmosphere as well as cold
- Storage (except Controlled Atmosphere and Cold): ordinary dry warehousing of packed or unpacked food for further distribution
- Wholesaler or Distributor as well, if you buy and sell the stock rather than only storing it for others
2026 tablePer FSSAI’s table updated 01.04.2026. We confirm your kind of business before filing.
What a warehouse or cold storage 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.
Choose the right storage row
FoSCoS splits storage into three rows: cold/refrigerated, controlled atmosphere plus cold, and everything else. All three are tiered by turnover alone (₹100, ₹5,000 or ₹7,500 a year). The old capacity-in-tonnes tests are gone from the table.
KOB table 01.04.2026, Storage rowsWater tested yearly
Schedule 4 asks for water to be tested at 'regular intervals' without fixing a period. FSSAI's GHP/GMP guidance for warehousing sets once a year, where other sectors' guidance says every six months.
Schedule 4, Part II 4.1; GHP/GMP guidance for warehousing, 3(a)Pest control on contract, with records
Licensed premises must have a pest control system. FSSAI's storage guidance expects either a contract with a qualified pest control vendor or certification for regular inspection and treatment of the site, with records kept.
Schedule 4, Part II 9.2; FSSAI storage & transport handbookTemperatures read and written daily
Cold rooms need thermometers and gauges checked daily, with the readings recorded. For frozen stock the guidance sets −18°C or colder, and for chilled 0°C to +5°C.
FSSAI storage & transport handbook (GHP/GMP)Off the floor, off the wall, damaged stock apart
Stored food sits on pallets or racks above the floor and away from walls, with an 18-inch sanitation strip between wall and product. Damaged cases go to a marked location away from saleable stock.
FSSAI storage & transport handbook (GHP/GMP)Stock rotation after the June 2026 change
FSSAI's storage guidance expects FIFO/FEFO rotation, with an identification system that tallies with a FIFO register. The June 2026 amendment took retailers out of the Schedule 4 rotation rule, and FSSAI's publicity described FIFO/FEFO record-keeping as confined to manufacturers. Whether the register still binds a warehouse isn't settled in what we hold, so we keep it.
FSSAI storage & transport handbook; Second Amendment Regulations 2026; PIB 26.06.2026People, records, board and inspection
Licensed stores follow Schedule 4 Part II, which includes yearly medical fitness for handlers and one FoSTaC supervisor per 25 handlers. Storage records are kept for one year or shelf life, whichever is longer. The storage board goes on the wall. FSSAI's risk order expects cold stores to be inspected every two years.
Schedule 4, Part II 8.2 and 10.1.2; FSSAI orders 02.11.2017, 19.09.2018, 02.05.2022What 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- Form A or Form B on FoSCoS, with the correct Storage kind of business ticked
- Proof of possession of the warehouse or cold store premises
- List of food categories stored, such as frozen, chilled, dry or grain
- Water test report from an FSSAI-notified or NABL lab, renewed yearly
- Pest control contract and treatment records
- Daily temperature logs for every cold room and freezer
- FSMS plan, for a State or Central Licence
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 warehouse or cold storage licences.
Refrigerated and controlled-atmosphere storage are separate rows. A cold store licensed under 'storage except CA and cold' has the wrong kind of business on the certificate, which needs a modification to fix.
A licence covers one premises. A second warehouse or a satellite cold room at another address needs its own application.
Guidance expects daily readings, recorded. A digital display nobody writes down leaves you with no record to show an inspector or a client whose stock was lost.
The June 2026 exemption was written for retailers. A warehouse that stops rotating stock still ends up holding expired goods, and the guidance for storage still expects rotation.
Your warehouse or cold storage 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 warehouse or cold storage: questions
Which FSSAI license is needed for a warehouse?
A warehouse storing food takes the Storage (except Controlled Atmosphere and Cold) kind of business on FoSCoS, tiered by turnover: Registration up to ₹1.5 crore (₹100 a year), State Licence to ₹50 crore (₹5,000), Central above (₹7,500). If you also buy and sell the stock, add Wholesaler or Distributor to the same application.
What FSSAI license does a cold storage need?
Storage (Cold/Refrigerated), for refrigerated or frozen food packed or unpacked, or Storage (Controlled Atmosphere + Cold) if you control the atmosphere too. Both are tiered by turnover like any other storage row. Expect temperature records and a two-yearly inspection, which FSSAI's risk order sets as its expectation for cold storage.
What is the FSSAI license fee for storage?
Government fees follow turnover: ₹100 a year up to ₹1.5 crore, ₹5,000 from ₹1.5 crore to ₹50 crore, and ₹7,500 above ₹50 crore. The same fees apply to all three storage rows. Where one application covers storage plus other activities, FSSAI hasn't said how the fees combine, so confirm with the licensing authority.
How often must a food warehouse test its water?
FSSAI's GHP/GMP guidance for warehousing says once a year, at an FSSAI-notified or NABL-accredited lab. Schedule 4 itself only says 'regular intervals'. Kitchens and factories are held to six months under their own sector guidance, but warehousing guidance sets yearly. Keep each report with your records.
Does a warehouse need a recall plan?
Regulation 7(1) of the Recall Regulations 2017 names manufacturers, importers and wholesale suppliers. A storage-only business holding goods for others isn't named. If you own and sell the stock, you are a wholesale supplier and need a plan. Either way, you will be asked to trace and hold stock when a client recalls a batch.
Does each warehouse need a separate FSSAI license?
Yes. A licence or registration covers one premises, so every warehouse or cold store at a different address is its own application. If your food business premises span two or more States/UTs, you also declare a head office, which takes a Central Licence at ₹7,500 a year.
Get your warehouse or cold storage 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.