Can an FSSAI licence be transferred?
An FSSAI licence cannot be transferred to a buyer of the business. Where the holder was an individual and has died, the legal representative applies to the licensing authority to have the licence transferred. Any other new operator applies for a registration or a licence in that operator’s own name.
Can the licence be sold?
No. The licence is a permission to the person who holds it. It is not an asset that passes with the shop, the brand, or the equipment. Printing the old 14-digit number after the business has changed hands does not keep the permission alive for the buyer.
What happens on death?
The legal representative of a deceased individual holder applies on FoSCoS. The application states the premises and the fact of the death. The licensing authority processes that application. It is not a fresh classification of the business, and it is not available to a purchaser. The application carries the government fee the form asks for. This page does not quote that fee.
What about a new company or a new address?
A proprietorship that becomes a company is a different person. That company applies in its own name. A change of address of the same holder is a modification of the existing permission, not a transfer to someone else. Neither case is completed by a sale deed alone.
Which permission is being transferred?
From 1 April 2026, turnover up to ₹1.5 crore is a registration, a higher turnover up to ₹50 crore is a state licence, and turnover above ₹50 crore is a central licence. Those bands, and the penalty for operating without a required licence, are on the FSSAI licence page. How a new application is filed is on the registration page. The older ₹12 lakh and ₹20 crore lines do not decide a new application.
Frequently asked questions
Four questions cover a sale, a death, the old turnover band, and FoSCoS.
Can a buyer of the shop keep the old number?
No. The licence is not property that passes with the sale. The buyer applies for the registration or the licence that the buyer’s own business needs.
Is transfer limited to the death of an individual holder?
The case in which the legal representative asks the authority to put the licence in that representative’s name is the death of an individual holder. A sale, and a change from a proprietorship into a company, are not that case.
Does the old ₹12 lakh band decide the transfer?
No. From 1 April 2026 a new application uses the bands on the FSSAI licence page. The older ₹12 lakh and ₹20 crore lines do not decide it.
Is the application still filed on a paper menu?
No. The application is made on FoSCoS. The authority processes it. The page does not promise a number of days.
Sources
A food business holds the registration or the licence the Food Safety and Standards Act requires. The licensing regulations do not treat that licence as transferable on a sale. An application is made on FoSCoS.