Home › Business kits › Food stalls, restaurants and food service
Same permits apply to: carinderia, cafeteria, samgyupsal, coffee shop, food truck, milk tea shop, dessert shop, cloud kitchen.
A restaurant's food permits come from your city or municipal health office, not the FDA. FDA licensing rules leave restaurants to local governments. You need a sanitary permit, health certificates for every food handler, renewed at least yearly, and a potable water supply. The thing many owners miss: some towns ask for monthly water tests from a DOH-accredited lab to keep the sanitary permit.[1,2,3,4]
Why you do not file with the FDA
FDA Administrative Order 2014-0029 names restaurants, canteens, catering, water refilling stations and street food as under the purview of local government units.[4]
If you later want to sell packaged food in groceries, such as bottled sauces, ask the FDA at that point. That is a separate product line, not part of opening the dining room.
Water is part of your permit
Your water supply must be adequate and potable, whether from a public system or a private one.[1]
Morong, Rizal, for example, asks food establishments like eateries and carinderias to submit monthly bacteriological water tests from a DOH-accredited lab for the sanitary permit.[3]
Ask your city health office if it has the same rule. If it does, find an accredited lab near you and set a monthly reminder.
Every hire needs a health certificate before day one
No one may be employed in a food establishment without a health certificate from the local health authority.[2]
That includes dishwashers, servers and part-timers. Build the health certificate into your hiring steps so no one starts without it.
Restaurant permit prep
- Confirm your water source and get a recent water test
- List all kitchen and floor staff for health certificates
- Ask the health office about monthly water testing
- Set renewal reminders for each staff health certificate
- Plan a grease trap and garbage area before the inspection
- Ask the city about a liquor permit if you will serve alcohol
Questions people ask
- Does a restaurant need an FDA License to Operate?
- Not for running the restaurant itself. FDA rules leave restaurants to local government units.
- How long is a sanitary permit valid?
- It is valid until December 31 and renewed yearly.
- Are the rules different for a small eatery?
- The same food establishment rules apply. See the carinderia kit for a smaller setup.
Sources
Checked 13 November 2026. We link the agency's own page for every requirement. Rules change; confirm with the office before you pay.
- 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
- Requirements for Application of Sanitary Permit · Municipality of Morong, Rizal
- 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
The extra permits, in one table
| Permit or registration | Agency | When it applies | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanitary permit[1] | 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[2] | City/municipal health office (LGU) | always | set by the city or town |
| Annual renewal of employee health certificates[1] | City/municipal health office (LGU) | always | Not published |
| Potable[1] | City/municipal health office (LGU) | always | Not published |
| Monthly bacteriological water test from a DOH-accredited lab for the sanitary permit[3] | LGU health office (example: Morong, Rizal) | where the LGU requires it (Morong lists bakeries, eateries, carinderias, food stands) | lab fee (set by the lab) |
If it's a coffee shop: brewing in the shop vs selling bags of beans
FDA licensing under AO 2014-0029 does not cover restaurants and similar food service, which are under LGUs. A cafe that brews and serves drinks fits there.[4]
If you also roast beans and sell sealed bags to take home or to other shops, you are packing food for sale. See the coffee roasting kit for the FDA steps, and ask FDA before you print bags.
If it's a food truck: refrigeration and water on board
Vehicles carrying readily perishable food must have refrigeration equipment, and a food establishment's water supply must be adequate and potable.[1]
Plan the build around these two before you buy the truck. You need space and power for a fridge or chiller, and clean water tanks for washing hands and utensils. Fill tanks only from a safe source and keep receipts.
If it's a carinderia: cooking at home and selling from the window
The sanitary permit is required for any food establishment open to the public, so a home carinderia that sells to walk-in customers needs one too.[1]
Move family cooking and pets away from the selling area, and keep the dishwashing station separate from where food is served. See the home-based business guide for zoning and barangay questions.
If it's a cafeteria: why FDA is not on your list
FDA licensing under AO 2014-0029 does not cover canteens, restaurants, caterers, water refilling stations or street food. These are under LGUs.[4]
That changes if you start selling sealed, labelled food to other stores, such as packed snacks or bottled sauces. At that point, ask FDA if your products need registration.
If it's a samgyupsal: raw meat on every table changes your staffing
In a grill-it-yourself setup, servers handle trays of raw pork and beef and refill banchan all night. Under the sanitation code, no one may be employed in a food establishment without a health certificate, so servers and refill staff count as food handlers.[2]
Give servers separate tongs and trays for raw meat, and train them to swap gloves before touching cooked side dishes.
Rules and exemptions
What a restaurant does not need
- FDA licensing (AO 2014-0029) does not cover canteens, restaurants, caterers, water refilling stations or street food; these are under LGUs[4]