What is an FSSAI State licence?
A State licence is the licence granted by your State licensing authority under section 31 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 for a food business that is too large for Basic registration but not in the Central licensing net.
It is the same statutory permission as the other two tiers, applied for in a heavier form. Basic registration uses Form A. Both the State and the Central licence use Form B, and the licence itself is issued in Form C with your 14-digit FSSAI number on it.
The practical difference is the file. A State licence application carries a layout plan of the premises, an equipment list, a water analysis report where water is an ingredient and a food safety management system plan. That is the work, and that is where applications stall.
Who needs a State licence
You need a State licence if your annual turnover puts you in the middle band, or if your kind of business is one that FSSAI places under State licensing whatever your turnover is.
The turnover band that applies from 1 April 2026
FSSAI raised the limits with effect from 1 April 2026. The State licence now covers a very wide band.
| Annual turnover | Credential | Form |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ₹1.5 crore | Basic registration, see FSSAI registration | Form A |
| Above ₹1.5 crore and up to ₹50 crore | State licence | Form B |
| Above ₹50 crore | Central licence, see FSSAI Central licence | Form B |
Before 1 April 2026 the State licence band ran from ₹12 lakh to ₹20 crore. The band is now much larger at both ends, so a business that held a Central licence last year on a turnover of ₹30 crore may belong in the State licence today, and a business that held a State licence on ₹80 lakh may belong in Basic registration.
Categories that take a State licence whatever the turnover
FSSAI sets eligibility by kind of business as well as by turnover. Two food service categories sit in the State licence regardless of a low turnover figure:
- Caterers. A caterer takes a State licence up to ₹50 crore of turnover, and a Central licence above it. Basic registration is not offered for this kind of business.
- Hotels rated up to four star. A hotel up to four star takes a State licence. Five star and above takes a Central licence.
We check your kind of business against the current FoSCoS eligibility criteria before choosing the tier, because the eligibility document is revised and the tier follows the kind of business you select, not the words you use to describe it.
One credential per premises
FSSAI licensing is premises based. Each manufacturing unit, kitchen, warehouse or outlet needs its own registration or licence for its own address, and the tier is decided for each premises.
A restaurant group with four outlets in one state does not hold one State licence for the group. It holds a credential for each address, and the tiers can differ between outlets.
State licence or Central licence: where the line falls
Turnover decides it in most cases, and the kind of business decides it in the rest. If you import food, sell food through e-commerce, run a 100 per cent export oriented unit or operate in two or more states, the turnover figure does not save you from a Central licence.
| Question | State licence | Central licence |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | Above ₹1.5 crore, up to ₹50 crore | Above ₹50 crore |
| Granted by | State licensing authority | Central licensing authority |
| Importer of food | Not available | Required, whatever the turnover |
| Selling through e-commerce | Not available | Required, whatever the turnover |
| Business in two or more states | Credential for each premises in the state | Central licence for the head office as well |
| Form | Form B | Form B |
The Central licence categories are set out in full, with the head office structure for multi-state chains, on our FSSAI Central licence page. If you are close to the line, send us your numbers and the list of what you make or sell, and we will tell you which side you are on before anything is filed.
Documents required for a State licence in Form B
Form B needs everything a Basic registration needs, plus the premises and process documents. This is the list we work from, and we check every item against the details you enter on FoSCoS before uploading.
| Document | Who it applies to |
|---|---|
| Photo identity proof and a recent photograph of the proprietor, partners or directors | Every applicant |
| Proof of possession of the premises: ownership document, or rent agreement with the owner's electricity bill or property tax receipt | Every applicant |
| Constitution document: certificate of incorporation, partnership deed or LLP incorporation certificate, with a board resolution or authorisation for the signatory | Company, LLP, firm, trust or society |
| List of directors or partners with full addresses and contact details | Company, LLP or firm |
| Layout plan or blueprint of the processing, storage or kitchen area with dimensions and the area allocated to each operation | Manufacturers and processors, and in practice most licence applications |
| List of equipment and machinery with number and installed capacity | Manufacturers and processors |
| Water analysis report from a recognised laboratory | Where water is used as an ingredient or in processing |
| Food safety management system plan | Every licence applicant |
| List of food products or categories to be handled | Every applicant |
| No objection certificate from the local body, and pollution control board consent | Where the local body or the state requires it |
| Form IX nomination of the person responsible for the business | Where a company is the applicant |
The four documents that decide the file
Most State licence applications are held up by the same four items, so we build them first.
- The layout plan. It has to show dimensions and the separation between receiving, storage, processing, packing and dispatch. A builder's floor plan is usually not enough.
- The food safety management system plan. This is a written plan for your own process, covering hygiene, pest control, personnel, water, cleaning, temperature control and record keeping. A generic template that does not match your equipment list invites a query.
- Proof of possession of the premises. The name on the electricity bill, the rent agreement and the application must line up. Where the premises are in another person's name, a consent letter is needed.
- The product list. Under-declaring products to keep the file simple causes trouble later, because selling a product that is not on your licence is a contravention, and adding it afterwards is a modification.
FSSAI State licence fees
Professional fee: fee on quote after a free review. A State licence is priced after we see the kind of business, the number of premises and the product list, because a single retail warehouse and a multi-line manufacturing unit are not the same job. Our pillar page carries the confirmed fee for a Basic registration: from ₹1,999 on FSSAI registration.
Government fee: the FSSAI licence fee for your kind of business, paid on FoSCoS when the application is submitted, plus the annual fee that keeps the licence active. We confirm both amounts from FoSCoS for your exact kind of business before we file. FSSAI lets a licence holder pay the fee for several years at once.
Professional fees exclude GST at 18%. Government fees, where they apply, are paid at actuals to the department and are shown separately. Fees verified on 27 September 2026.
Penalties are not fees. The penalty for running a food business that needs a licence without one is set out on FSSAI registration.
How the application runs on FoSCoS
The whole application is online at foscos.fssai.gov.in. There are five stages, and the premises visit sits in the middle rather than at the end.
- Tier and kind of business. A CA confirms the State licence against your turnover and the current eligibility criteria, and fixes the kind of business you will apply under.
- File preparation. Layout plan, equipment list, food safety management system plan, water report where needed, and the identity and premises set.
- Form B and fee. We complete Form B with your product categories, you pay the government fee on FoSCoS, and the application goes in.
- Scrutiny and inspection. The authority checks the application for completeness, may raise a query and may inspect the premises before deciding.
- Grant in Form C. The licence is issued with your 14-digit number and is available on your FoSCoS dashboard for download and display.
The time limits the regulations give the authority
The Licensing and Registration Regulations set out how long each stage may take, which is useful when an application has gone quiet.
- The authority scrutinises the application for completeness within 15 days of receipt.
- If it asks for more information, you have 30 days to provide it.
- Once the application is complete and an application ID is issued, the authority decides within 60 days, and the inspection period is excluded from that count.
- If no licence is issued within that period and no notice of inadequacy was received, the applicant may commence business.
We do not present the deemed-grant rule as a shortcut. It is a fallback, and trading on it without written advice is a risk we would rather you did not take alone.
What the inspection covers
The food safety officer visits to see whether the premises match the application and whether the hygiene and process requirements of Schedule 4 of the Licensing and Registration Regulations are being met.
In practice the visit turns on a short list: the layout matching the plan you filed, separation of raw and finished goods, potable water, pest control evidence, staff hygiene facilities, cold storage temperatures where they apply, and the records your food safety plan promises to keep. If the premises are not ready, ask us to hold the filing rather than filing and failing.
After the licence is granted
Three obligations start the day your licence is granted.
- Display. A true copy of the licence in Form C goes up at a prominent place in the premises at all times.
- The annual fee. Perpetual validity does not mean a free licence. The annual fee keeps the licence active and non-payment leads to deemed suspension, which is the same as trading without a valid licence.
- The annual return. A licensed manufacturer or importer files Form D-1 on FoSCoS by 31 May for the previous financial year. A licensee handling milk or milk products files Form D-2 twice a year, by 30 November and 31 March. A late return attracts ₹100 for each day of delay.
Anything that changes what is printed on the licence, including a new product category or a new address, is a modification and needs to be approved before you start doing it. See FSSAI licence modification.
Moving up from registration, or down from a Central licence
Crossing ₹1.5 crore of turnover is the usual trigger for this page. Apply for the State licence before you rely on the higher turnover, and do not simply stop using the registration.
Coming down from a Central licence is the newer case, created by the 1 April 2026 thresholds. FSSAI has confirmed that migration between categories on account of the revised turnover thresholds is system based, needs no approval from the authority, carries no fee, leaves your existing licence number unchanged, and that licence fees already paid are adjusted. If your FoSCoS dashboard has not moved you, ask us to look at it rather than paying twice.
Common reasons a State licence application is sent back
- Kind of business chosen wrongly, so the tier shown by FoSCoS does not match the business described in the documents.
- Layout plan with no dimensions, or a plan that does not match the equipment list.
- Food safety management system plan that is a template for a different kind of business.
- Premises proof in a third party's name with no rent agreement or consent letter.
- Water analysis report missing where water is an ingredient, or from a laboratory that is not recognised.
- Product categories declared narrowly, then contradicted by labels or an invoice seen at inspection.
- No reply to the authority's query inside the time given on FoSCoS.
- Premises not operational at the time of inspection.
If your application has already been rejected, send us the rejection remarks. We read those first, because refiling without fixing the stated reason usually produces the same result.
Why Regikart for an FSSAI State licence
Regikart is a CA and CS firm serving 250+ clients from offices in Kolkata (head office), Delhi and Bengaluru, and works with clients across India online.
- Tier confirmed in writing first. The most expensive mistake on this page is filing in the wrong tier, so the turnover and kind-of-business check comes before any fee conversation.
- We build the file, not just the form. Layout plan review, equipment list and food safety management system plan drafted against your actual process.
- One team for the rest of the stack. GST registration, trade licence, shop and establishment registration, Udyam registration and your accounts.
- Current law. This page reflects the FSSAI thresholds in force from 1 April 2026.