Register a Food Business in County Durham Before Opening

An opening date can slip if you mistake food registration for permission to trade. To register a food business in Durham, you must notify Durham County Council at least 28 days before opening, but other checks may affect when you can welcome customers.

That applies to home kitchens and mobile businesses as well as cafés, shops and takeaways. Start by separating registration, food safety and premises permissions, so you know which requirements your business must meet.

Key Takeaways

• Food business registration is free and must reach Durham County Council at least 28 days before you start trading.
• Some businesses supplying products of animal origin to other businesses need approval before carrying out those activities.
• Registration doesn’t replace planning permission, street trading consent, alcohol licensing or suitable food safety procedures.

Keep copies of applications and council correspondence together. You’ll need to distinguish a submitted form from an approval, licence or inspection outcome.

How to Register a Food Business in Durham

Use Durham County Council’s official food premises registration page to begin. Register each relevant premises where your business prepares, stores, sells or distributes food.

The requirement covers more than permanent restaurants. Durham’s examples include domestic premises, market stalls, delivery vehicles and portable structures. Selling through social media or a website doesn’t remove the requirement.

Before completing the form, gather your operator details, business address, contact information, proposed opening date and a clear description of your activities. Explain whether you’ll cook, manufacture, store, deliver or sell food, rather than describing everything as catering.

Submit the registration at least 28 days before trading and retain any acknowledgement. Registration is free, so separate it from fees for other permissions or services.

For a paper form, contact Durham’s Community Protection team at ehcp@durham.gov.uk or call 03000 261 016.

If you have premises in different council areas, check registration with each applicable authority. Mobile operators should explain where their vehicle is normally kept and where preparation or storage happens.

Taking over an existing café also requires action by the new operator. Contact Durham and register before operating; don’t assume the previous owner’s registration covers you.

Notify the council if the business closes or its activities change significantly. A later move into manufacturing or wholesale supply may require a fresh assessment.

Check Whether Your Business Needs Approval

Registration for ordinary food businesses

Registration is the usual route for businesses selling food directly to customers, including many cafés, takeaways and home-based bakers.

However, the council needs to understand your actual operation. Selling packaged goods, cooking meals for collection and producing food for other retailers can involve different requirements.

Describe both your products and your customers. If wholesale supply forms part of your plans, mention it before committing to equipment or a launch date.

Approval for certain animal-origin activities

Some establishments handling products of animal origin and supplying other food businesses require approval. Simply using meat, eggs, fish or dairy products doesn’t automatically place you in that category.

Check Durham’s food premises approval requirements and discuss your proposed activities with the council. Exemptions depend on the operation, so don’t decide based only on your menu.

Where approval is required, you must wait for conditional or full approval before starting the relevant activity. Submitting an application doesn’t authorise production.

Check the Premises and Trading Location Separately

Planning, building work and shop signs

Food registration doesn’t establish that a building has the right planning permission for your intended use. Before signing a lease, check the existing permission and any restrictions on opening hours, extraction equipment or deliveries.

Planning permission and Building Regulations approval are separate checks. Structural alterations, drainage changes and fire safety work may need their own assessment.

A new shopfront or illuminated sign can raise another question. Check the rules on County Durham shop sign consent before paying for manufacture or installation.

Also review premises costs, including County Durham business rates relief. Eligibility depends on the property and business circumstances, so check the bill rather than assuming a discount applies.

Vans, pop-ups and licensed activities

A registered food van still needs a lawful place to trade. Ask Durham County Council whether street trading consent or a licence applies to your proposed pitch.

Landowner permission doesn’t settle every regulatory question. Private land can still raise planning or access issues, whilst public-space restrictions may affect where and when you operate.

Give the council a site plan, proposed dates, operating hours and business details. Also check whether alcohol sales or supplying hot food or drink between 11pm and 5am requires licensing.

Put Food Safety Procedures in Place

Choose a system that matches your operation

Food businesses need food safety management procedures based on HACCP principles. These identify hazards and establish controls for handling food safely.

The Food Standards Agency’s guide to starting a food business explains the preparation involved. Its Safer Food, Better Business pack is an option for many small catering businesses.

Complete the relevant procedures before opening. Buying a pack or downloading blank documents doesn’t show how your business controls risk.

Your records should match what staff do during deliveries, preparation, cooking, cooling and cleaning. Review them when you change recipes, equipment or suppliers.

Prepare the kitchen and train staff

Check that the layout supports safe working. Raw ingredients shouldn’t contaminate ready-to-eat food, and staff need suitable hand-washing facilities.

Arrange cleaning, waste collection and pest control before trading. Check refrigeration capacity against the quantity of food you expect to store, rather than the size of the empty kitchen.

Staff need supervision and training appropriate to their duties. Show them your procedures, including what to do when a delivery is unsuitable or equipment fails.

Keep supplier details and purchase records so you can trace ingredients. Make someone responsible for checking records and correcting problems during each shift.

Get Allergen Information Right Before Taking Orders

Ingredients, recipes and packaged food

Food businesses must provide information about the 14 regulated allergens and manage cross-contamination risks. Build accurate ingredient information into your recipes before printing menus.

Check supplier labels when deliveries arrive. A replacement sauce or seasoning can introduce an allergen even when the dish’s name stays unchanged.

Food prepacked for direct sale needs a full ingredients list with allergens emphasised. This can apply to food packaged at the business before customers select it, such as sandwiches prepared for a display counter.

Work out which labelling rules apply to each product. A menu description alone won’t meet every requirement.

Online orders and delivery

For distance selling, allergen information must be available before purchase and again when the food is delivered. That includes orders through websites, apps and telephone calls.

Make sure staff know where to find reliable information. They shouldn’t guess from memory or promise an allergen-free meal without checking ingredients and preparation.

Allergen information must stay accurate when ingredients change, even if your printed menu and online listing remain the same.

Decide how you’ll pass the information to customers at delivery. Then test the complete ordering process before accepting paid orders.

Understand Inspections and Hygiene Ratings

Durham County Council uses risk-based inspections. Registering doesn’t mean every business will receive an inspection before opening, and registration itself isn’t a hygiene rating.

Where the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme applies, scores run from 0 to 5. A score of 5 means very good hygiene standards.

Inspectors assess food handling, the condition of the premises and food safety management. A clean counter won’t compensate for unsafe storage or procedures that staff don’t follow.

Keep your food safety records accessible and make sure employees can explain their tasks. Inspectors need to assess the business in practice, not simply read its paperwork.

The local guide to Durham food hygiene ratings explains how customers check results. When reviewing an existing premises, match the address and inspection date; another branch’s score tells you nothing definite about your kitchen.

If you’re uncertain about your preparations, request food law advice for businesses from Durham County Council before opening.

Complete Your Final Pre-Opening Checks

Use one opening file to bring the separate requirements together. It should contain registration correspondence, any necessary permissions and the procedures staff will use.

1. Confirm that you submitted food registration at least 28 days before your intended start date.
2. Check whether approval applies, and obtain conditional or full approval before starting any activity that requires it.
3. Verify the premises use, trading location and any licensing restrictions.
4. Complete food safety procedures, staff preparation and allergen information for every sales channel.
5. Check suppliers, storage, cleaning arrangements and waste collection before your first delivery.

Resolve missing permissions before advertising a firm opening date. Meanwhile, use a practice service to check whether staff can follow the procedures under realistic working conditions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I open before the council inspects?

Ordinary registration doesn’t automatically require you to wait for a pre-opening inspection. However, you must meet food law requirements and have any other permissions your operation needs.

The position differs where food premises approval is required. You can’t begin the relevant activity until the authority grants conditional or full approval.

If you’re unsure which route applies, ask Durham County Council before trading.

Do I need to register a home food business?

Yes, operating from home doesn’t remove the registration requirement. That includes businesses preparing food for sale through online orders or social media.

Tell the council about preparation and storage areas, as well as your sales arrangements. Also check any separate restrictions affecting use of the property.

Open With the Required Checks Complete

Registering a food business in County Durham starts with a free application at least 28 days before trading. Your opening date also depends on the permissions and food safety controls your operation needs.

Keep registration and approval distinct, and check the premises before committing to costly work. A complete opening file helps you spot unfinished requirements before customers arrive.