Reading the 14-digit number
FSSAI's FAQ is precise: a licence number has 14 digits and starts with 1; a registration number also has 14 digits and starts with 2. So a number that isn't 14 digits, or starts with anything else, is worth a second look.
You'll find the number on:
- The certificate itself, which FSSAI emails to you with a QR code once it's issued.
- The Food Safety Display Board at the premises.
- The label of every packaged product, beside the FSSAI logo.
- Bills and cash memos. FSSAI's FAQ says the number must be declared on receipts, invoices and bills.
How to verify a licence number
FSSAI gives three official ways to check a food business:
- FBO Search on FoSCoS. Go to foscos.fssai.gov.in and use the FBO Search facility. The licence number is the most reliable thing to search by.
- The Food Safety Connect app, FSSAI's own app for consumers and businesses.
- The QR code on the certificate. FSSAI says scanning it shows the licence or registration details held in its database.
When the result comes back, check three things: the name matches the business, the address matches the premises, and the kind of business matches what they actually do. A bakery licensed only as a retailer isn't licensed to bake.
Avoid third-party "FSSAI check" sites that ask for your mobile or Aadhaar number. They aren't FSSAI.
Check your own licence first
Most of the wrong licences we're handed look perfectly valid. The number verifies. The problem is that the kind of business on it stopped describing the business: a new product line, online sales, a second State, or turnover past ₹1.5 crore.
And since 10 March 2026, a licence can be deemed suspended for an unpaid annual fee or an unfiled return, with no notice. The certificate won't show that. Our free licence health check asks seven questions and tells you where you stand, and the licence finder shows the kind of business you should hold.
Tracking your application status
After you apply, FSSAI sends SMS and email alerts at several stages. You can also use Track Application Status on FoSCoS with your application reference number, or log in and see it on your dashboard.
If the status shows the application was sent back for modification or editing, the authority has raised a query. You have 30 days to reply. FSSAI's FAQ says an application with no reply in time is auto-rejected. See how to apply for what happens at each stage.
Downloading your certificate
FSSAI's FAQ describes two routes:
- The certificate, with its QR code, is emailed to the address on the application once it's issued. Search your inbox first.
- You can download it at any time by logging in to your FoSCoS account.
To log in you can use your licence or registration number, or your application reference number, with your existing password. FSSAI introduced number-based user IDs by order of 25 November 2021.
FSSAI's FAQs don't describe a way to download a certificate without logging in, or by mobile or Aadhaar number. Sites that offer one aren't FSSAI's.
Lost your licence or your login?
- Lost the paper certificate? You don't need a new licence. Download it again from your account.
- Can't get into the account? FSSAI's FAQ says login details can be updated by applying to your area officer, under the procedure in its order of 25 November 2021.
- Details wrong on the certificate? A change of name, address or activity is a modification, not a duplicate. See licence modification.
- Two licences for one premises? FSSAI's FAQ says no business may hold more than one for a single premises. Surrender the lower one and modify the higher.
We handle the paperwork for all of these under duplicate and corrected certificates.