FSSAI for restaurants, cloud kitchens and packaged food

By Pramod A G · Updated July 2026 · Verify on FoSCoS / FSSAI official portals

If you cook, store, distribute or sell food in India, FSSAI is usually not optional. The confusion is which registration tier you need and what premises proof will survive scrutiny.

Basic, State or Central — practical view

Basic registration — smaller turnover / limited activity cases defined in FSSAI rules.
State licence — most single-state restaurants, medium kitchens and distributors once you cross Basic eligibility.
Central licence — larger operations, multi-state, imports, or categories notified for Central licensing.

Turnover thresholds and category lists are notified and updated. Do not pick a tier from memory — use the FoSCoS eligibility questions and official schedule.

What kitchens should prepare

Identity and business constitution documents.
Proof of premises — rent agreement / ownership + clear kitchen layout for higher tiers.
Water test report and food safety management plan where asked.
List of food products / menu categories in the portal vocabulary (not creative cafe names).
For packaged foods — labelling readiness and product approval pathways where applicable.

Inspection mindset

Officers care about hygiene, pest control, raw vs cooked separation, storage temperatures, and whether your declared activity matches what is happening on site. A beautiful Instagram kitchen that fails basic segregation still fails.

Alongside FSSAI

Municipal health trade licence, fire NOC and Shop & Establishment often sit beside FSSAI for dine-in restaurants. GST may also apply. Use the starter licence checklist so FSSAI is not your only filing.

After approval

Display the licence where required, renew on time, and update the licence when you change premises or add a new unit. Premises changes are a frequent source of non-compliance for cloud kitchens that hop locations.

Official starting point: FSSAI / FoSCoS portals. Catalogue index: LicenseHub FSSAI search.