How to Start a Home Food Business in the UK: Legal Setup Checklist (2026)

Register with your local council

Legal Requirement

When

At least 28 days before you start trading

Cost

Free. Cannot be refused.

Where

Every food business, including home caterers, must register with their local authority. This applies whether you sell at markets, online, via social media or by word of mouth. Registration is free and cannot be refused.

You will be asked for your business name, address, type of food business and contact details. Your application is automatically forwarded to your council.

What happens next: An Environmental Health Officer (EHO) may contact you after registration, sometimes for a pre-inspection visit. New businesses are often inspected within the first year.

Penalty: Operating without registration can result in a fine and up to two years in prison.

KitchenReady picks up where registration ends. Once you are registered, the app keeps your SFBB food safety records up to date so you are ready when your EHO visits.

Set up a food-safe kitchen

EHO Inspected

EHOs inspect your actual kitchen, not a separate commercial premises. Your home kitchen must meet food hygiene standards set out in the Food Hygiene Regulations 2006.

A dedicated handwashing basin, separate from the food preparation sink and washing-up sink. It must have hot and cold running water, soap and paper towels at all times. This is a legal requirement under the Food Hygiene Regulations 2006.
Ideally a separate food preparation sink and a washing-up sink. In home kitchens this is not always possible; an EHO can advise. At minimum, one sink is required.
Your toilet must not open directly into the kitchen.
Pets must be excluded from the kitchen whenever food is being prepared for sale.
Separate storage for raw and ready-to-eat foods: different shelves or containers, raw stored below cooked.
Colour-coded chopping boards and equipment to prevent cross-contamination.
Fridge temperature: below 5 degrees C (aim for 1 to 4 degrees C). Freezer: below minus 18 degrees C.
Adequate ventilation, good lighting and surfaces that are easy to clean.

FSA: Setting up your food business premises

Your Temperature Log and Daily Diary sections in KitchenReady record fridge and freezer temperatures, opening checks and corrective actions: exactly what an EHO looks for.

Get food hygiene training

Strongly Expected

UK law does not require you to hold a specific certificate, but it does require you to have training appropriate to the work you do. In practice, EHOs expect you to hold a Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate.

Level 2 Certificate

2 to 4 hours online. Typically costs £10 to £30. Renew every 3 years (industry standard).

Who needs it

You and anyone who handles open food in your kitchen, including family members who help.

The Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate covers food safety basics, contamination risks, temperature control, cleaning and personal hygiene.

Allergen Awareness: since Natasha's Law came into force in October 2021, allergen awareness training is essential for anyone preparing food for sale. Many providers offer a combined Level 2 and Allergen Awareness package.

Providers (examples, not affiliated): High Speed Training, Virtual College, RSPH, Highfield, CIEH.

RSPH Level 2 Award in Food Safety

Record your training certificates in the Staff Training section. This shows EHOs that everyone handling food is qualified. Include yourself as a staff member.

Label your products correctly

Legal Requirement

Natasha's Law (October 2021) changed labelling rules for prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food. If you package food at the same place it will be sold, before it is ordered or selected, it is PPDS.

PPDS examples

Individually wrapped cakes at a market stall, bagged brownies at a school fete, boxes of fudge at a craft fair.

What your PPDS label must show:

The name of the food
A full ingredients list, in descending order by weight
All 14 major allergens must be emphasised within the ingredients list, using bold text, capitals, a contrasting colour or underlining
Best-before or use-by date (best-before for most baked goods, use-by for foods that must be refrigerated for safety)
Your business name and address (not just email or phone)

Loose food (not packaged before sale): you must still be able to provide allergen information verbally or in writing. A printed allergen menu or notice at your stall is good practice.

The 14 major allergens:

Cereals containing gluten Crustaceans Eggs Fish Peanuts Soybeans Milk Tree nuts Celery Mustard Sesame Sulphur dioxide and sulphites Lupin Molluscs

FSA: Allergen labelling for PPDS food FSA: Packaging and labelling

The Allergen Records section lets you track all 14 allergens across every recipe you sell, with cross-contact warnings. It does not generate labels, but it gives you the allergen data you need to write accurate labels.

Get business insurance

Strongly Recommended

No single law requires all home caterers to hold insurance, but public liability and product liability cover are strongly recommended by industry bodies and councils, and some markets and events will require proof of cover before letting you trade.

Public liability

Covers claims from customers or members of the public who are injured or made ill because of your business.

Product liability

Covers claims arising from a product you sold, for example if a customer has an allergic reaction to food you prepared.

Employers' liability

Legally required if you employ anyone, including part-time staff, family members on wages or subcontractors. Without it you can be fined up to £2,500 per day per employee.

Also check: your home insurance policy may be invalidated if you run a business from your home without informing your insurer. Your mortgage terms may also require notification.

Where to look: Simply Business, Protectivity, AXA and Howden all offer specialist catering cover for home businesses. Premiums for basic cover often start under £10 per month.

Simply Business: Catering insurance

Register with HMRC as self-employed

Legal If Earning

If you earn more than £1,000 in a tax year from self-employment (including food sales), you must register as self-employed with HMRC and complete a self-assessment tax return.

Deadline

By 5 October after the end of the first tax year in which you traded. For example, if you start selling in autumn 2026, you must register by 5 October 2027.

Trading allowance

£1,000 per year. If your gross income from food sales is below this, you do not need to report it.

Above the £1,000 threshold, you register and deduct allowable expenses: ingredients, packaging, equipment and a proportion of household bills.

Also check: your mortgage or rental agreement may contain restrictions on running a business from your home.

gov.uk: Self-assessment tax returns gov.uk: Register as self-employed

Planning permission and business rates

Check with Council

Most home food businesses do not need planning permission and are not liable for business rates, provided your home remains primarily a family home and the business is ancillary.

Planning NOT typically needed if

Food preparation happens in the existing kitchen, there is no significant increase in customer traffic, no structural alterations are made and the business does not disturb neighbours.

Planning MAY be needed if

Customers visit regularly for collections, deliveries are frequent enough to noticeably increase traffic, or the character of the property shifts from residential to commercial.

Business rates: if your home is used both for living and for your food business, and the business use is clearly ancillary, you generally continue to pay council tax, not business rates. If part of your home is used exclusively for business purposes, that part may become separately rateable. Check with your local Valuation Office Agency.

Planning Portal: Working from home gov.uk: Valuation Office Agency

Waste and water regulations

Regulations Apply

Water supply

Must be wholesome, which in practice means mains-connected. Private supplies must be tested. Hot water must be available at all food preparation and handwashing points.

Food waste (micro-businesses)

Fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees are exempt from mandatory food waste separation until 31 March 2027. Most home caterers qualify for this exemption.

Food waste in England: from 31 March 2025, businesses must separate food waste from general waste and have it collected by a licensed waste carrier. However, micro-businesses (fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees) are exempt until 31 March 2027. Most home caterers fall into this category.

Macerators and food waste disposal units: from 31 March 2025, businesses in England can no longer use macerators or food waste disposal units to dispose of food waste.

Commercial waste generally: business-generated waste, including food packaging and ingredients waste, must be disposed of as commercial waste, not in your household bins. Contact your local council about commercial waste collection.

gov.uk: Simpler recycling in the workplace

Questions about setting up

Common questions from home caterers starting out.

Yes. The law applies as soon as you sell food commercially, regardless of frequency. There is no minimum volume threshold.

Possibly. Many EHOs will accept a standard domestic kitchen if it is clean, organised and you can demonstrate good hygiene practices. A dedicated handwashing basin is required; the full three-sink setup is ideal but not always enforced for home kitchens.

Yes. The Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate covers general food safety. Allergen awareness is a separate topic and some providers offer a combined package. Since Natasha's Law, allergen training is strongly expected for anyone preparing food for sale.

PPDS stands for Prepacked for Direct Sale. If you package your cakes before a customer asks for them (for example wrapping brownies before a market), they are PPDS and require a full ingredient and allergen label. If you bake to order and hand food over unwrapped, different rules apply but you still need to provide allergen information.

Most home insurance policies exclude commercial activity. You will usually need a separate public liability policy. Some insurers offer add-ons, but check the wording carefully to confirm food-related claims are covered.

If you have fewer than 10 employees (which most home caterers do), the requirement applies from 31 March 2027 in England.

Everything you need to legally run a food business from home

8 things you need before you start