How to Register a Food Business with Your Local Council (UK Step-by-Step)

To register a food business in the UK, complete the food business registration form on food.gov.uk at least 28 days before you start trading. Registration is free, takes about 15 minutes online, and applies to anyone preparing, storing, handling, or selling food on a recurring basis — including from a domestic kitchen. The form routes automatically to the council that covers your address.

This guide walks through who needs to register, what to have ready before you start, every section of the form itself, and what happens after you submit.

Who needs to register

Every food business operator in the UK must register. The official definition is broad — it covers anyone preparing, storing, handling, distributing, or selling food on a recurring basis. In practice, that means:

• Home cooks selling meals for collection
• Side-hustle bakers, cooks, and dessert makers
• Supper club hosts
• Caterers operating from a home kitchen
• Sellers at markets, pop-ups, or street food events
• Cottage businesses (jams, sauces, baked goods sold online)

The income threshold isn't relevant — what matters is whether you're operating as a business. "Just selling to friends" still counts if it's recurring and money changes hands. A one-off bake sale for charity or a single dinner party doesn't need registration; a weekly cookie order from a regular customer does.

For a fuller treatment of what's legal to sell from home, see Is it legal to sell food from home in the UK?

Before you start the form

Have these to hand to make the form quick:

• Your trading name — what your customers will see. Can be your own name or a brand name.
• The address where food will be prepared (your home).
• Your contact details — phone and email.
• Your start date — must be at least 28 days from the day you submit.
• A rough idea of the type of food you'll handle (cooked meals, baked goods, etc.) and whether any of it is "high risk" — meaning it contains cooked meat, fish, dairy, eggs, or rice. Most home-cooked food does.

If you don't have a trading name yet, registering under your own name is fine. You can change it later by notifying your council.

Step-by-step: filling in the form

Step 1 — Go to the FSA portal

Visit food.gov.uk/business-guidance/register-a-food-business. There's a clear "Register your food business" button at the top of the page.

Step 2 — Enter your postcode

The portal uses your postcode to identify the council that covers your address and routes you to their version of the registration form. In a few areas the council uses a separate council-hosted form rather than the FSA's standard one — both are free and contain the same information.

Step 3 — Fill in business details

You'll be asked for:

• Type of business: select Caterer for most home food businesses. Other options include Manufacturer, Retailer, and Importer — these don't usually apply to a home cook.
• Legal status: Sole trader for most home cooks starting out. Partnership if you're running it with someone else; Limited company if you've already incorporated.
• Trading name and your name: trading name is what customers see; your name is yours as the business owner.
• Contact details: phone and email.

Step 4 — Premises details

This is where you declare your home kitchen as the food preparation premises:

• Address of premises: your home address.
• Type of premises: Domestic premises or Private dwelling (the wording varies by council). Don't tick "Mobile food unit" unless you've actually got a van or stall — that's a different regulatory track.
• Will food be prepared at this address? Yes.
• Will food be stored at this address? Yes (your fridge, freezer, cupboards).

Step 5 — Food activities

You'll be asked what kind of food activities you carry out. For most home cooks the relevant ticks are:

• Cooking food on premises
• Selling direct to consumers (B2C)
• Possibly Reheating food if you batch-cook and warm before handover

You don't usually need to tick Selling to other businesses — that's wholesale to cafés, shops, or caterers, which is a different regulatory track and brings extra rules.

Step 6 — High-risk food

Most home-cooked food is "high-risk" in regulatory terms — anything with cooked meat, fish, dairy, eggs, or rice falls into this bucket. Tick yes if relevant. It doesn't make registration harder; it just signals to the inspector what to focus on at the visit.

Step 7 — Trading start date

Pick a date at least 28 days from today. This is the legally important field. You cannot start trading before this date or before 28 days have passed since registration submission, whichever is later.

Step 8 — Submit

Review the form, submit. You'll get an on-screen confirmation. Most councils also email you within 1–5 working days to confirm receipt.

What happens after you submit

The sequence:

• Acknowledgement (1–5 working days): council emails or writes to confirm registration is on file.
• The 28-day window: you may not trade during this period. It gives the council the chance to act if there's an issue (rarely happens for home cooks; the wait is mostly procedural).
• Inspection scheduling: the council schedules a food hygiene inspection. Timing varies a lot — anywhere from a few weeks to several months after registration. You can start trading on your declared date even if the inspection hasn't happened yet, provided 28 days have passed.
• The inspection itself: a food safety officer visits your home, checks your kitchen against the food hygiene standards, and awards a rating from 0 to 5. Free, takes 30–90 minutes. Full preparation checklist in the pillar guide →

Common questions about the form

Do I need to register if I sell only via Instagram or WhatsApp?

Yes. Where you sell from doesn't change the rules. The trigger is operating as a food business — that includes informal channels.

What if I'm not sure of my exact start date?

Pick a conservative date that's at least 28 days out and that you're confident you can hit. Starting earlier than your declared date isn't permitted; starting later is fine. Some councils let you update your start date by emailing them.

What if I already started trading without registering?

Stop trading, register immediately, and wait the 28 days before resuming. Trading retrospectively without registering is a criminal offence with fines up to £5,000. If a customer or council has already flagged this, get registered today.

Do I need to re-register every year?

No. Registration is a one-off. You only update or re-register if your trading name, premises, or business type changes. Some councils periodically ask you to confirm your details; they'll get in touch if so.

What if I move house?

You re-register at your new address — the new council needs to know about the new premises. Same form, same 28-day rule.

What if I want to sell at a market or event in another council's area?

You don't usually need to re-register elsewhere — your home council registration covers food prepared at home and sold elsewhere. But if you'll be cooking on-site at the market or event, the host venue or organiser will usually need its own registration in place.

Use the 28 days well

The waiting period isn't downtime — it's exactly the right amount of time to get the rest of the business ready to trade:

• Complete a Level 2 Food Hygiene course (£15–25, 2 hours online)
• Get insurance quotes and pick a policy (£60–150 / year)
• Set up your kitchen for the inspection
• Build out your menu and photograph your dishes
• Set up your online ordering store
• Soft-launch to friends and family for early feedback

Done in parallel, all of this fits comfortably inside the four weeks. See the full timeline in the home food business pillar guide.