If you looked up FSSAI licence types before April 2026, most of what you read is now out of date. FSSAI notified the Licensing and Registration Amendment Regulations on 10 March 2026, and from 1 April 2026 two things changed that matter to every restaurant, café, QSR and cloud kitchen: the turnover limits for each licence type went up sharply, and new licences no longer expire. Here is what applies now, based on FSSAI's own FAQ on the amendment.
The three categories and the new turnover limits
Which category you need still depends on your annual turnover. What changed is where the lines are drawn:
- FSSAI Registration — turnover up to ₹1.5 crore (previously up to ₹12 lakh)
- State Licence — turnover above ₹1.5 crore and up to ₹50 crore (previously ₹12 lakh to ₹20 crore)
- Central Licence — turnover above ₹50 crore (previously above ₹20 crore)
In practice, this moves a large number of single-outlet restaurants and cafés that used to need a State Licence down to Registration. FSSAI says more than 98% of food businesses will now fall under State oversight. The new thresholds apply to anyone applying for a new licence or registration on or after 1 April 2026.
Licences no longer need renewing
The bigger change is perpetual validity. FSSAI's FAQ defines it plainly: licences and registrations remain valid unless they are suspended, cancelled or surrendered, and food businesses are not required to renew them. Any licence or registration issued on or after 1 April 2026 has perpetual validity — including applications that were still being processed on that date, and Tatkal licences.
Two things have not gone away. First, the annual fee: you still pay it, and FSSAI now lets you pay for any number of years at once, at any time of year. Second, compliance: FSSAI is explicit that perpetual validity does not reduce your hygiene and safety obligations. If your licence was issued before 1 April 2026 and shows an expiry date, check its status on FoSCoS before that date rather than assuming it is automatically covered.
If you're already licensed: moving to the right category
Existing businesses whose turnover now falls under a lower category — for example, a State Licence holder who now qualifies for Registration — don't need to start over. According to FSSAI's FAQ:
- Migration happens automatically in the system, based on your self-declaration on FoSCoS, with no approval needed from the licensing authority
- There is no fee for migrating because of the revised thresholds
- Your licence number stays the same
- Fees you've already paid for a State Licence are adjusted against the annual Registration fee
- FSSAI says sufficient time will be given for existing businesses to migrate via FoSCoS
What stays the same: you're still inspected
Alongside perpetual validity, FSSAI introduced a risk-based inspection framework. Inspections are scheduled using factors like the type of food you handle, your past compliance record, third-party audit results and enforcement findings. The stated aim is fewer repeat inspections for businesses that stay compliant — and more attention on those that don't.
That makes your day-to-day records more important, not less. With no renewal cycle forcing a periodic check, the evidence that you're compliant is whatever you can show on any given day: hygiene checklists, temperature logs, staff health certificates, pest control records and training certificates.
Quick checklist
- Check your annual turnover against the new limits: ₹1.5 crore and ₹50 crore
- Log in to FoSCoS and confirm your category; migrate if you now qualify for a lower one
- Keep your annual fee paid — consider paying several years at once
- Display your FSSAI licence or registration number prominently
- Keep daily compliance records current — under risk-based inspection, they are your track record
How Mohar helps
Mohar keeps your FSSAI licence alongside the other documents inspectors ask for — fire safety, staff health certificates, pest control reports and food safety training — with their dates tracked, and runs the daily FSSAI-aligned checklists that make up your compliance record. Everything is timestamped and in one place for every outlet.
This article summarises FSSAI's FAQ on the Licensing and Registration Amendment Regulations, 2026 as of October 2026. Rules can change; confirm current requirements on fssai.gov.in or FoSCoS before acting.