Registering a Food Business in the UK: A Step-by-Step Guide for Caterers

Every catering business must register with its local authority before trading. Registration is free and takes around 20 minutes. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland you are required to register at least 28 days before trading — miss that window and you can be fined. Scotland runs a separate process: registration is still with the local authority, but the 28-day rule above is not part of it — see Food Standards Scotland for the Scottish requirements.

This guide covers what counts as a food business for registration purposes, the step-by-step process, what the inspection that follows actually involves, and how to stay compliant once you are registered.

What counts as a food business

The legal definition is broad. The registration duty itself is UK-wide: Article 6(2) of assimilated Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 requires that "every food business operator shall notify the appropriate competent authority, in the manner that the latter requires, of each establishment under its control". Each nation then implements it through its own instrument — in England, the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/14), with parallel regulations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The practical effect is the same everywhere: if you sell, cook, store, handle, prepare, or distribute food — in any capacity, including from home, at events, or through online orders — you are running a food business and must register.

This catches most caterers:

• Private chefs cooking at clients' homes (your home or prep kitchen is the registerable premise)
• Event caterers running stalls or serving food at venues
• Mobile caterers operating from a van or trailer
• Home bakers or supper-club hosts selling food to the public
• Food businesses operating across multiple locations — each address requires a separate registration

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the "at least 28 days before trading" rule means you should register when you are close to your intended start date, not months ahead. The FSA guidance recommends not registering too early.

What you need before you register

Get these ready before starting the online form:

1. Your trading name — the name under which you will sell food
2. Your business address — the premises where food is stored, prepared, or both
3. A description of your activities — "event catering: private chef and event meals for up to 100 guests" is sufficient
4. Your estimated start date — must be at least 28 days from registration (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
5. Contact details — the person responsible for food safety at the premises

If you prep food at home and serve at external venues, register your home address. If you use a hired commercial kitchen as your main prep facility, check with your local authority whether that address also needs registration.

The registration process

Registration is handled through the Food Standards Agency's registration portal. The form takes around 20 minutes. Your registration goes to the local authority for the area where your business premises are located.

1. Go to register.food.gov.uk/new
2. Select England, Wales, Northern Ireland, or Scotland (Scotland has a separate process through the local authority directly)
3. Enter your business address — this determines which local authority receives your registration
4. Complete the business activity description
5. Submit — you will receive a confirmation email

Registration is permanent until you inform your local authority that you have ceased trading or changed your business address. There is no annual renewal. There is no fee.

What happens after you register

The first inspection

After registering, your local authority will carry out a food hygiene inspection at your premises. This is unannounced — you will not know the date in advance. The inspection assesses:

• Hygienic handling of food — how you prevent contamination during prep, storage, and service
• Cleanliness and condition of premises — surfaces, equipment, pest control
• Food safety management system — your HACCP documentation (see below)

You will receive a Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) score from 0 to 5. A score of 5 is "very good." Most new businesses pass their first inspection if they have set up their systems properly before registering.

HACCP documentation

Every food business must have a food safety management system based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) principles. For small caterers, the FSA's Safer Food Better Business guide covers everything you need in a format designed for smaller businesses. It is free to download from the FSA website and the inspector will want to see evidence that you are following it.

Your HACCP documentation should cover:

• Personal hygiene procedures
• Cleaning schedules for kitchen surfaces, equipment, and utensils
• Temperature controls for storing, cooking, and chilling food
• Cross-contamination prevention
• How you handle allergens (see below)
• Supplier records — who you buy from and what you buy

Keep records from day one. Inspectors ask to see them.

Allergen management

Allergen documentation is part of the inspection and increasingly a priority for enforcement. You must be able to tell customers which of the 14 regulated allergens are present in each dish, either verbally (at events) or in writing (on menus or labels).

Build an allergen matrix before your first event. The allergen matrix generator creates a 14-allergen chart for your menu, and the allergen matrix template walks through building your own from scratch.

Home kitchens

You can legally cook from home as a caterer. Your home kitchen is a valid food business premises. The registration is for the address, and your local authority will inspect the kitchen as part of the process.

Home kitchen registration does not automatically limit your scale — it depends on whether your kitchen meets hygiene standards at the volume you operate. Common issues inspectors raise with home kitchens:

• Separation — food prep surfaces that also serve household purposes need clear separation during food business use
• Pest control — domestic properties have higher pest risk than commercial premises; document your pest control measures
• Temperature control — a domestic refrigerator is often acceptable for small scale; if volume grows, a dedicated commercial fridge may be required

Some caterers use hired commercial kitchen space to avoid these complications. See our guide to commercial kitchen rental in the UK for how to find and cost suitable kitchen space.

Multiple premises

If you operate at more than one address — for example, a home prep kitchen and a hired commercial kitchen — you may need separate registrations. Discuss this with your local authority. In practice, most caterers who use a hired kitchen occasionally (not as their regular base) register only their home address. Regular use of a hired space as your main production facility typically warrants a second registration.

Changing your registration

Contact your local authority if:

• Your business address changes
• You add a new premises (e.g. a second kitchen or a permanent market pitch)
• You cease trading

There is no form for updating an existing registration; most local authorities handle changes by phone or email.

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This guide covers food business registration across the UK, with the 28-day notice period as it applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland administers registration separately through Food Standards Scotland and does not apply that 28-day rule. Always verify current requirements with your local authority before starting to trade.

Sources

• Food business registration — GOV.UK
• Food business registration portal — register.food.gov.uk
• Starting a food business — GOV.UK (Food Standards Agency guidance)
• Assimilated Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Article 6 (registration of establishments; extent: U.K.) — legislation.gov.uk
• The Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/14) — legislation.gov.uk
• Food Standards Scotland