Domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food for consumption in the United States are required to register with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). All entities required to register must renew their registration from October 1 through December 31 every even-numbered year. If the facility registration is not renewed by 11:59 PM on December 31, 2016, the registration is considered expired.

New facility registration requirements

Renewing facilities should be aware of recent changes to the facility registration requirements that went into effect on July 14, 2016.

• All registrations must contain the type of activity conducted for each food category.
• All submissions by an individual who is not the owner, operator, or agent in charge of the facility, the submission must include the email of the person who authorized the submission.
• Electronic renewals must include the name of the individual submitting the renewal.

All covered facilities, including registrants seeking to use the abbreviated process, should review the new requirements, and preceding submissions to ensure that all required information has been included.

Abbreviated registration renewal process

All covered facilities must submit a biennial renewal, even if all information is unchanged since the last registration, renewal, or update submission. FDA, however, provides an abbreviated registration process for entities with no change to the required information provided in the preceding submission.

Registrants using the abbreviated process must:

• Confirm that no changes have been made to the required information,
• Confirm that FDA will be permitted to inspect the facility at the times and in the manner permitted by the FD&C Act, and
• Certify that the information submitted is truthful and accurate.

Submitting a renewal

For more information on how to renew a food facility registration see the following:

• Food Facility Registration User Guide: Biennial Registration Renewal
• User Guides for Online Registration of Food Facilities

For assistance contact FDA "FURLS" Food Facility Registration Helpdesk

• Email: FURLS@fda.gov
• Phone: 1-800-216-7331 or 301-575-0156

Additional Information

• FSMA Final Rule: Amendments to Registration of Food Facilities (July 2016)