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If you make, repack or distribute processed frozen food, FDA requires a License to Operate, and each prepackaged product needs a Certificate of Product Registration before sale. The health office adds a sanitary permit and staff health certificates. The thing owners miss: each product needs its own registration, so a long product list means many registrations.[1,2,3]
Making vs reselling
FDA's License to Operate applies to establishments that manufacture, repack or distribute processed frozen food. FDA's checklist gives 20 working days. FDA Advisory 2025-0032 says fees for applications filed from 12 January 2025 follow the newer fee order, AO 2024-0016, so ask FDA for your amount.[1,4]
Our sources do not say if a store that only resells FDA-registered frozen goods needs its own license. If you buy sealed packs from a registered maker and sell them as-is, ask FDA before assuming you are covered.
License first, then products
Each prepackaged processed food product must be registered before sale. The FDA charter lists 20 working days for an initial registration. FDA Advisory 2025-0032 says fees for applications filed from 12 January 2025 follow the newer fee order, AO 2024-0016, so ask FDA for your amount.[1,4]
Start with your best sellers. Register two or three products, sell those, and add more once you know what moves. Change the recipe or pack size only after checking if it needs a new registration.
Cold delivery
Vehicles carrying readily perishable food must have refrigeration equipment. The sanitary permit runs to December 31 and is renewed yearly.[2]
Every food handler also needs a health certificate from the local health authority.[3]
Before you sell your first pack
- Decide if you will make your own products or resell sealed packs.
- Write down your capitalization to find your FDA fee bracket.
- Pick the first products to register.
- Prepare labels for each product before filing.
- Arrange a freezer van or a delivery partner with refrigeration.
- Book health certificates for everyone in your kitchen.
- Log freezer temperatures every day.
Questions people ask
- Do I need FDA registration to sell homemade frozen food?
- If you make and package processed frozen food for sale, FDA requires a License to Operate and a Certificate of Product Registration for each product.
- How much is the FDA License to Operate?
- FDA sets it. FDA Advisory 2025-0032 says fees for applications filed from 12 January 2025 follow the newer fee order, AO 2024-0016, so ask FDA for your amount.
- Can I deliver frozen food on a motorcycle?
- Vehicles carrying readily perishable food must have refrigeration equipment. Ask your health office what it accepts for small deliveries.
- I only resell frozen goods. Do I need an FDA license?
- Our sources do not say. Ask FDA, and keep the maker's FDA documents for every product you carry.
Sources
Checked 13 November 2026. We link the agency's own page for every requirement. Rules change; confirm with the office before you pay.
- Administrative Order No. 2014-0029: Rules and Regulations on the Licensing of Food Establishments and Registration of Processed Food, and Other Food Products · Department of Health / FDA (text via FAO FAOLEX) · 8 September 2014
- Implementing Rules and Regulations of Chapter III, Food Establishments, of P.D. No. 856 · Department of Health (text via Supreme Court E-Library) · 29 December 1995
- Presidential Decree No. 856 (Code on Sanitation of the Philippines) · Lawphil (text of PD 856) · 23 December 1975
- FDA Advisory No.2025-0032 || Effectivity of Administrative Order No. 2024-0016 · Food and Drug Administration Philippines · January 2025
The extra permits, in one table
| Permit or registration | Agency | When it applies | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDA License to Operate[1] | FDA (DOH) | if manufacturing, repacking or distributing processed frozen food | assessed by FDA under AO 2024-0016 (see the FDA fee row) |
| Certificate of Product Registration[1] | FDA (DOH) | each prepackaged product | assessed by FDA under AO 2024-0016 (see the FDA fee row) |
| Refrigerated vehicle for perishable food[2] | City/municipal health office (LGU) | delivery of perishable frozen food | Not published |
| Sanitary permit[2] | City/municipal health office (LGU) | always | set by city/municipal ordinance (IRR Sec. 3(a)3); no national amount |
| Health certificate for every food handler/employee[3] | City/municipal health office (LGU) | always | set by the city or town |
| FDA fees for applications filed from 12 January 2025…[4] | FDA | if manufacturing, repacking or distributing processed frozen food | assessed by FDA under AO 2024-0016 |