Food business licence (FSSAI)
You get the FSSAI registration or licence your food business needs, online on the FoSCoS portal.
About this guidePending verification
Published on 12-11-2026. Not every fact has been checked against its official source yet: confirm at the office.
For whom: Anyone in Telangana who makes, sells, stores, transports or serves food: a grocery, tiffin centre, tea stall, hotel, caterer, bakery, or someone selling home-cooked food.
Answer the questions below first. Then the documents and steps open.
1Your situation
We show only what your answers need.
- Which of these is your food business?
- Do you already have an FSSAI registration or licence?
- Which of these fits your business?
Your answers stay on this phone.
Each step below says who it is for. Confirm yours at the office, then change your answer here.
Another route for you
Under the 2026 amendment, street food vendors, hawkers, food carts, food trucks and similar businesses registered under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 are treated as registered under the Food Safety and Standards Act. You need no separate FSSAI registration and no second fee. You must still follow the hygiene rules in Schedule 4 of the licensing regulations.
→ Keep your street vending registration papers with you. If you are not registered under that Act, choose "Any other food business" in this guide and get an FSSAI registration.
Sources: 2, 1
Another route for you
A milk producer who is a registered member of a dairy cooperative society and supplies or sells all the milk to the society is exempt from FSSAI registration.
→ If you sell any of the milk to others yourself, choose "Any other food business" in this guide.
Sources: 8, 6
2Documents you need
Tick the ones you have. They are kept in this browser.
Details
What the photo must look likeNot confirmed: We found no photo size, background or file limit in FSSAI's papers; the form only has a space for the photo. Follow the limits FoSCoS shows when you upload, or ask the helpline on 1800112100.
Sources: 4, 6
Details
Such as Aadhaar, PAN or voter ID
Sources: 4
Details
Sources: 4
Details
Issued by a government authority
Sources: 5
Details
Such as a sale deed, rent agreement or electricity bill
Sources: 5
Details
Partnership deed, a self-declaration for a sole proprietorship, or the memorandum and articles of association of a company
Sources: 5
Details
For example: proof of expected yearly turnover (self-attested; traders, restaurants, caterers, hotels); for a manufacturing unit, its layout plan and list of machinery; for a manufacturing unit, caterer, restaurant or hotel, a water test report from a recognised laboratory; for a company, the list of directors; Form IX (nomination of the person responsible, with the board resolution); for import or export, the IE code from DGFT
If you don't have it: The full list is on the FoSCoS home page under "Documents Required", by kind of business.
Sources: 5, 9
Details
Sources: 2, 9
Nothing to get ready before these steps.
3Your steps
· Do them in order. Tick each one when it is done.
- Do this nowIf: No, I need a new one
On the FoSCoS website, open "Apply for License/Registration".
Choose Telangana as the state, then your kind of business. Read the eligibility rules shown: the portal tells you whether you need a registration, a state licence or a central licence. If it differs from this guide, follow the portal.
Open the official pageSources: 7, 9, 3
- Do this nowIf: None of the above, with yearly turnover (your sales from the food business) up to ₹1.5 crore
Create a login and fill in the registration form (Form A) online: your details, the premises, and the foods you sell or make.
Upload the photo and ID, and pay the fee by card or net banking.
Open the official pageSources: 7, 6, 4, 3, 2, 9, 8
- Do this nowIf: A grain, cereal or pulses mill (any turnover), or a caterer with yearly turnover up to ₹50 crore (including a mid-day meal caterer) / None of the above, with yearly turnover above ₹1.5 crore and up to ₹50 crore
Create a login and fill in the licence form (Form B) online.
Upload all the documents FoSCoS asks for your kind of business, and pay the fee online. A state licence is issued by the Designated Officer for your district, appointed by Telangana's Commissioner of Food Safety.
Open the official pageSources: 7, 5, 3, 2, 9, 8
- Do this nowIf: One of these: importer, e-commerce (running the online platform; selling on someone else's platform does not count), exporter (as a trader, or making food only for export), 100% export-oriented unit; making proprietary food, health supplements, nutraceuticals, Ayurveda aahara or non-specified food; radiation processing of food; a business at an airport or seaport; storage or sale at central government agencies' premises; the head office of a business in two or more states; a five-star or higher hotel / None of the above, with yearly turnover above ₹50 crore. (But choose the answer above this one, because yours stays a state licence, if you run: a hotel up to four-star; a club or canteen; a stall or outlet that cooks and sells fresh food with temporary or no seating; a dhaba; a boarding house serving food; a banquet hall with catering; a home-based canteen or dabba walla; a permanent or temporary food stall, including one at a religious gathering or fair; or a school's mid-day meal canteen.)
Create a login and fill in the licence form (Form B) online.
Upload all the documents FoSCoS asks for your kind of business, and pay the fee online. A central licence is issued by a Designated Officer appointed by FSSAI; Telangana comes under FSSAI's Southern Region (regional office in Chennai, branch office in Hyderabad).
Open the official pageNot confirmed
FSSAI's page does not say whether Telangana's central licences are handled by the Hyderabad branch office or the Chennai regional office.
Sources: 7, 5, 3, 2, 9, 8, 10
- Do this nowIf: No, I need a new one
The authority may send a Food Safety Officer to inspect your premises.
If you get a notice asking for changes, make them and tell the authority within 30 days (or the time allowed).
Sources: 8
- Do this nowIf: No, I need a new one
Follow the application on FoSCoS under "Track Application Status"; you also get SMS and email at each stage.
If it is sent back with queries, answer them on your dashboard within 30 days, or it is rejected automatically.
Open the official pageSources: 9
- Do this nowIf: No, I need a new one
The certificate, with a QR code, is emailed to you once issued; you can also download it from your FoSCoS login.
Display it where everyone can see it at the premises (for a registration, also on the cart or vehicle).
Sources: 9, 8
- Do this nowIf: Yes, I have one
Log in to FoSCoS and look at your registration or licence.
If the new turnover limits put you in another category (for example from a state licence to a registration), you can move on FoSCoS by self-declaration: no fee, no officer's approval, and the number stays the same. Fees already paid for a state licence are adjusted against the registration fee.
Open the official pageNot confirmed
FSSAI said existing businesses will be given enough time to move on FoSCoS; we did not see the date or the screens. The FAQ does not say clearly whether a registration or licence issued before 1 April 2026 must still be renewed at its expiry date: check the expiry date on FoSCoS and ask the helpline on 1800112100.
Sources: 2
- Do this nowIf: Any other food business (making, selling, storing, hotel, catering, home kitchen...)
A registration or licence issued from 1 April 2026 needs no renewal: it stays valid until it is suspended, cancelled or surrendered.
The fee is still yearly; on FoSCoS you may pay for any number of years at once, at any time. Hygiene and safety rules always apply.
Open the official pageNot confirmed
FSSAI's FAQ does not say what happens if a year's fee is not paid; ask the helpline on 1800112100.
Sources: 2
- Do this nowIf: Yes, I have one
If details on the licence or registration are going to change (address, kind of business, foods), apply for a modification on FoSCoS first; if the change alters what the certificate says, wait for approval before running the business with it.
If you close the business, surrender it on FoSCoS.
Open the official pageNot confirmed
We did not find the fee for modifying a registration; see the amount FoSCoS shows.
Sources: 9, 2, 8
If something goes wrong
If it is rejectedIf the registration or licence is refused, you can appeal to Telangana's Commissioner of Food Safety within 15 days of receiving the decision (section 32 of the Food Safety and Standards Act).
If the registration or licence is refused, you can appeal to Telangana's Commissioner of Food Safety within 15 days of receiving the decision (section 32 of the Food Safety and Standards Act). The office, as FSSAI's Southern Region page lists it: Commissioner of Food Safety for Telangana, Directorate of Institute of Preventive Medicine, Narayanaguda, Hyderabad-29; email telanganacfs@gmail.com. For a central licence, the appeal goes to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FSSAI. You must be heard before a refusal, and the reasons must be recorded in writing.
Commissioner of Food Safety, Telangana
Sources: 9, 8, 10
If it is lateIf, after a complete application, the registration has not come in 7 days (30 days if inspected), or the licence in 60 days, and you have had no query or report of defects, the rules let you start the business; you must still make any improvements the authority asks for later.
If, after a complete application, the registration has not come in 7 days (30 days if inspected), or the licence in 60 days, and you have had no query or report of defects, the rules let you start the business; you must still make any improvements the authority asks for later. About the delay, call the FoSCoS helpline on 1800112100 or write to helpdesk-foscos@fssai.gov.in. For a delayed central licence you can also write to FSSAI's Southern Region office (director-sro@fssai.gov.in).
FoSCoS helpdesk (FSSAI) · Open the official page
Sources: 8, 9, 10
If you are asked for more moneyPay the fee online on FoSCoS only: ₹100 a year for a registration (nothing for a hawker), ₹5,000 a year for a state licence, ₹7,500 a year for a central licence (₹2,000 for catering at central government agencies and railway stations).
Pay the fee online on FoSCoS only: ₹100 a year for a registration (nothing for a hawker), ₹5,000 a year for a state licence, ₹7,500 a year for a central licence (₹2,000 for catering at central government agencies and railway stations). FSSAI has fixed the service charge of its "Food Safety Mitras", who file applications for you: ₹100 for a registration, ₹500 for a licence. If anyone asks for more, complain to the FoSCoS helpline.
FoSCoS helpdesk (FSSAI) · Open the official page
Sources: 3, 9
Official websites for this work
- FSSAI (FoSCoS) Food business registration and licence
Related guides
The 10 official pages and papers this guide is written from
- Order of 13 March 2026: Implementation of revised turnover threshold for food businesses under Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Regulatory Compliance Division, Paragraphs 2 (Amendment Regulations, 2026, Gazette of 10.03.2026), 3 (table of thresholds), 4 and 5 (in force from 01.04.2026) (13-03-2026) · read on 30-10-2026
- FAQs on Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Amendment Regulations, 2026 (letter of 27 March 2026, Annexure 1)Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Regulatory Compliance Division, Annexure 1, Q1, Q2, Q4 to Q8, Q10 to Q13 (27-03-2026) · read on 30-10-2026
- Kind of Business, Criteria, License/Registration, Fee Per Annum [Updated on 01.04.2026]FSSAI, Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS), Pages 1 to 9: manufacturers, trade/retail, food services (pages 7 and 8, read from the page images because the text layer loses the table columns: hotel up to 4 star, club/canteen, food vending establishment and mid-day meal canteen, state licence above Rs. 1.5 crore with no central licence row), central government agencies, airport/seaport, head office The same row also holds dhabas, boarding houses serving food, banquet halls with catering, home-based canteens and dabba wallas, permanent or temporary stall holders, and food stalls at religious gatherings and fairs; it has no central licence line (pages 7 and 8, read by eye). (01-04-2026) · read on 30-10-2026
- Documents required for Registration CertificateFSSAI, Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS), Items 1 to 3 · read on 30-10-2026
- Kind of business wise documents required for LicenseFSSAI, Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS), All lists, in particular "All food processing units other than mentioned above"; "Caterer, ... Restaurant" and "Hotel" (a water analysis report, no proof of possession of premises); "Transporter" and "Importer" (no proof of possession of premises); "Distributor, ... Retailer, ... Wholesaler"; "Food vending agencies, ... Hawker" · read on 30-10-2026
- Schedule 2, Form A: Application for Registration / Renewal of Registration under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006FSSAI, Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS), Kind of business (milk producers who are not members of a dairy cooperative society); items (a) to (l) · read on 30-10-2026
- User Manual for applying License / Registration to Manufacture Millet based ProductsFSSAI, Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS), Steps 1 to 10 (how an application is made on FoSCoS); its fees are from before April 2026 and are not used here · read on 30-10-2026
- Compendium: Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011, Version II (09.11.2017)Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Chapter 1, definitions 3 to 6; regulations 2.1.1 (with the proviso on dairy cooperative members), 2.1.2(3) and (4), 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.1.6, 2.1.12 (09-11-2017) · read on 30-10-2026
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on FSSAI License and Registration (last updated 21 July 2022)FSSAI, Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS), Q8, Q17, Q19, Q21, Q25, Q26, Q28, Q41, Q45, Q56, Q57, Q58, Q59, Q63 (21-07-2022) · read on 30-10-2026
- Organizational Directory: Officers, South Region; Commissioners of Food SafetyFSSAI, Southern Region, Regional Office Chennai and Branch Office Hyderabad; row "Telangana" (Commissioner of Food Safety for Telangana) · read on 30-10-2026