Register a food business

You must register your food business with us at least 28 days before opening.

It is a legal requirement to register a food business in Preston, so we can target inspection and education programmes effectively.

Who needs to register?

If you run a food business, you must tell us about any premises you use for storing, selling, distributing or preparing food for human consumption.

Types of food businesses

Food businesses include:

• cafes
• restaurants
• pubs
• factories
• takeaways
• supermarkets
• market stalls
• hotels
• caterers
• shops
• market and other stalls
• schools
• ice cream vans etc.

Please note: If you use vehicles for your food business in connection with a permanent premises (e.g. a shop or warehouse), you only need to tell us how many vehicles you have.

Street trading and mobile vehicles

To become a street trader in Preston you need to apply for a street trading pitch

Unfortunately all the street trading pitches in Preston are currently allocated. This is also the case for roaming traders such as ice cream vans.

Please note: Street trading at events where the public have paid to access the site do not need to apply for a street trading pitch.

How to register

To register for this free service please complete the online form.

GOV.UK - Register food business

It may take up to 28-days from receipt of your completed food business registration for your business to appear on the Food Standards Agency website, as awaiting inspection.

This is the reason you should register with us 28-days before you open. We appreciate that you're maybe awaiting approval from online food delivery platforms such as:

• Just eat
• Deliveroo
• Preston eats

Please do not contact us before the 28-day period has passed, we cannot speed up the process.

What happens next?

Once you have registered, to make sure you have all other requirements in place for starting your food business, see starting a food business

Notifying us of changes

Once you have registered, you only need to notify us of a change of food business operator, if you stop operating, or if the nature of your business changes.

Food hygiene inspections

We carry out food inspections to ensure local food businesses are compliant with food hygiene laws and are producing food that is safe to eat.

Following an inspection, you will receive a food hygiene rating scheme. To be awarded a 4 or 5-star rating you must be able to demonstrate a high level of compliance with food hygiene law.
The level of compliance will be assessed by one of our food safety officers when your business is inspected.

Achieving high food hygiene score

To find out how to achieve a high food hygiene rating score see achieving a high food hygiene rating score.

Benefits of scoring highly

Scoring highly can improve your reputation, increase customer confidence and attract a higher amount of custom. Businesses with a rating of 3 or above will also be promoted on Preston's official Visit Preston website's food and drink directory.

Food business approval

You may need to apply for food business approval instead of registering a food business if you both produce and supply certain foods of animal origin to other food businesses (not directly to the public).