Apply for your SFA Food Shop Licence
A licence from the Singapore Food Agency to operate a food shop — a standalone unit with its own entrance, not a stall inside a food court, coffeeshop or canteen.
A licence from the Singapore Food Agency to operate a food shop — a standalone unit with its own entrance, not a stall inside a food court, coffeeshop or canteen. It covers the premises itself: layout, sanitary facilities, pest control and food-handling standards are all checked as part of the application.
Operating a food business without this licence is an offence — SFA can close the premises and prosecute. You also cannot get your fit-out inspected or open to the public without it, so it sits on the critical path for your opening date.
Via GoBusiness (SingPass/CorpPass). About 7 working days to review, then about 7 working days to approve.
Work through this before you apply — it flags the layout and facilities issues that cause rejections.
Who this is for
Any bar, restaurant or café trading from a standalone unit rather than a stall inside a shared food establishment.
Your premises must meet SFA's pre-licensing checklist for layout, ventilation, sanitary facilities and waste disposal before you apply.
What you’ll hold
- Approved Food Shop Licence certificate — display it on the premises
- Pre-licensing self-checklist, completed
Watch out for
- Applying before your fit-out matches the pre-licensing checklist — a layout that fails the sanitary-facilities or ventilation checks gets rejected and sent back, costing you weeks.
- Confusing this with a Food Stall Licence — if your unit is inside a food court, coffeeshop or canteen rather than standalone, you need the Stall licence instead, at a different fee.
- Leaving the application until close to your intended opening date — 14 working days of processing assumes a clean first submission; build in slack for a resubmission.
Sources
- SFA — Businesses that need a licence or permit for food retail checked 2026-09-08
- SFA — Application process and fees for licence/permit for food retail checked 2026-09-08
- SFA — Food Shop pre-licensing checklist (PDF) checked 2026-09-08
See also
This is item 12 of 36 in the free Singapore Launch Checklist. See the whole list →