Register your food business
Every business that serves food or drink to the public has to be registered with the local authority where it operates.
Every business that serves food or drink to the public has to be registered with the local authority where it operates. It takes about ten minutes online, it is free, and the council cannot refuse it. Registration is what puts you on the environmental health inspection list, so it also sets the clock running on your first visit.
Trading without registering is an offence. In practice the bigger problem is that registration is the anchor date for your first inspection and your hygiene rating — if you register late you can open with no rating showing, and in Scotland you are expected to display the result.
Free. Takes about 10 minutes. The council cannot refuse your registration.
Who this is for
Every venue that serves any food or drink, including drinks-only bars, coffee shops and delis. If you sell so much as a packet of crisps, you register.
No revenue threshold and no minimum trading time. It applies from the first day you intend to trade, including pop-ups and residencies.
What you’ll hold
- Your registration confirmation email — keep it, the EHO will ask for the date
Watch out for
- Leaving it until the fit-out is finished. The 28 days runs from registration, not from when you are ready — register the moment you have the address.
- Registering the wrong legal entity. It must be the company that will actually trade, and it must match the name on your premises licence application.
- Assuming the previous occupier’s registration carries over. It does not. A new operator at the same address registers again.
Sources
- FSA — Register a food business checked 2026-09-02
- GOV.UK — Food business registration checked 2026-09-02
See also
This is item 32 of 66 in the free UK Launch Checklist. See the whole list →