Apply for your SFA Food Stall Licence
A licence from the Singapore Food Agency to operate a food stall — a unit inside a shared food establishment such as a food court, coffeeshop or canteen, rather than a standalone shop with its own entrance.
A licence from the Singapore Food Agency to operate a food stall — a unit inside a shared food establishment such as a food court, coffeeshop or canteen, rather than a standalone shop with its own entrance. The premises checks are the same broad categories as a Food Shop Licence (layout, sanitary facilities, pest control) but the fee and licence type differ.
Operating without this licence is an offence — SFA can close the stall and prosecute. You also cannot get your fit-out inspected or open to customers 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 stall inside a food court, coffeeshop or canteen rather than a standalone unit.
Your stall must meet SFA's pre-licensing checklist for layout, ventilation, sanitary facilities and waste disposal before you apply.
What you’ll hold
- Approved Food Stall Licence certificate — display it on the stall
- Pre-licensing self-checklist, completed
Watch out for
- Applying for a Food Shop Licence instead of a Food Stall Licence (or vice versa) — the two cover different premises types and have very different fees; picking the wrong one gets the application rejected.
- Applying before your stall layout matches the pre-licensing checklist — shared facilities in a food court or coffeeshop still have to meet the sanitary and ventilation checks.
- Not clarifying with the food court/coffeeshop operator who holds responsibility for shared common-area cleaning versus your own stall — this can affect your inspection outcome.
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 13 of 36 in the free Singapore Launch Checklist. See the whole list →