Business and Licensing - Register a food business

You can use the Gov UK online service to register a new food business.

When you start a new food business or take over an existing business, you must register with your local authority. You should do this at least 28 days before trading or before food operations start.

During the registration process, you may come across a few specialist terms, which we have described below:

Food business operator

The operator is the person, charity or company who makes the decisions about the food business. They decide what it serves and how it operates.

Establishment

The establishment is the location or site of your food business. If it is a mobile food business, please use the location where it is normally stored overnight.
 

Before you start

To use this service you will need:

  • Address of business
  • Full name of food business operator(s) (or limited company where relevant) 
  • Trading name of food business
  • Head office address of food business operator
  • Type of food business
  • Date you intend to open

Begin registration >