Do You Need a Licence to Sell Home-Cooked or Baked Food in Singapore? (2026)

If you searched for a "food licence" in Singapore, most of what came up was probably written for restaurants: floor plans, kitchen layouts, annual fees. That's not your situation. You're baking in your own oven and want to know if you can start taking orders. The short answer is no, you don’t need a licence if you’re running a home-based food business and follow the rules. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) says home-based food businesses currently do not need an SFA licence. However, there are still important rules to follow, and some activities are not allowed under this framework.

Why Home Kitchens Don't Need an SFA Licence

It comes down to scale. SFA treats home-based food businesses as lower risk than restaurants and other food establishments, which is why those businesses need a licence while home-based food businesses currently don't. This covers anyone preparing and selling food from home, whether in an HDB flat or a private apartment.

The exemption has conditions. SFA takes action on food safety breaches, such as selling unsafe food, and a home business linked to a food safety incident can be told to stop operating immediately or recall the food it has sold.

What You Still Have to Follow

SFA's list for home-based sellers is short. Here it is in plain terms.

Keep the food safe

You must follow the same food laws as any other seller. SFA recommends starting with the WSQ Food Safety Course Level 1. This course isn’t required, but it’s the fastest way to learn proper food handling.

Don't cater

Catering, which SFA defines as providing buffet lines or packed meals, is only for licensed businesses. If someone asks you to prepare a buffet or a large batch of packed meals for an event, that counts as catering. If you’re not sure what counts, you can ask SFA using their online feedback form.

Don't sell to cafés, restaurants or hawker stalls

Licensed food retailers can only sell food made on their own licensed premises or from other licensed businesses. So if a café wants to sell your brownies, you can’t supply them as a home-based food business.

Skip the bazaar

Home-based sellers can't prepare food at home to sell at temporary fairs, even if they hold a stall licence for the fair.

No ready-to-eat raw seafood

This includes sashimi, oysters, and raw marinated seafood. These foods are high-risk because they don’t go through heat treatment to kill bacteria. Most home-based businesses don’t have the equipment needed to keep these foods safe.

Source ingredients legally

Buy your ingredients from licensed suppliers. Don’t use ingredients from other home-based businesses, and don’t use food you brought back from a trip. SFA considers those items for private use only. If you use imported ingredients, make sure they are legally imported. You can buy them from a licensed importer, or get the right SFA import licence if you want to import them yourself.

Keep a hygienic kitchen

SFA’s hygiene tips for home food sellers are straightforward: cook food thoroughly, keep hot food above 60°C and cold food below 5°C, use separate utensils for raw food, clean surfaces often, and keep pests away. Pets should not be in the kitchen while you prepare food.

Watch the alcohol

Using alcohol in your recipes is different from selling alcoholic drinks. For example, adding rum to a cake doesn’t mean you need a liquor licence. But if you want to sell alcoholic drinks, you’ll need to check the liquor licensing rules.

The Home Rules from HDB and URA

Your flat or house has its own conditions, on top of SFA's. For HDB flats, the Home-Based Business Scheme allows certain small-scale businesses to operate from home, subject to its conditions. The business must be run by the owners, registered occupants or tenants, and non-resident employees are not allowed to work in the flat under this scheme. You can’t put up advertisements, signs, or posters at your flat, and you must avoid noise, smoke, smells, or litter that could bother your neighbours. You also can’t use heavy equipment meant for commercial use. Private homes follow URA’s guidelines, which are similar for small-scale home businesses. You can still promote your business online. SFA allows home-based sellers to use online channels, and you can also use delivery platforms if you follow their rules. It’s fine to put a shop link in your Instagram bio, but you can’t put up posters or business signs at your home. For more on the flat side, see our guide on running a home-based business from your HDB flat.

Are Home-Based Cafés Legal in Singapore?

Selling food from home is legal. Running a café from home is different. SFA includes cafés in the list of food retailers that need a Food Shop Licence, while the home-based business scheme is only for small-scale businesses in residential homes. Having customers visit your home for a café would also break the home-based business rules, which limit extra visitors. If you want to run a café or food shop, you’ll usually need to move into a commercial space and meet SFA’s licensing requirements.

When You Would Need a Licence

You'd be looking at SFA licensing if you want to:

• Offer catering
• Supply cafés, restaurants, hawker stalls or temporary fair stalls
• Open a café, restaurant or other licensed food shop
• Import food ingredients yourself
• Sell alcoholic drinks The type of licence you need depends on what you want to do. For example, a Food Shop Licence is for restaurants, cafés, and bakeries. Importing food for sale has different SFA requirements.

Don't Forget Business Registration

An SFA food licence is not the same as business registration. They are two separate things. If you’re running a regular home business for profit, you may need to register it with ACRA, even if you don’t need an SFA food licence. ACRA says this applies unless you qualify for an exemption, like operating only under your full legal name. So, before you start taking regular orders, check both:

• Whether your business needs to be registered with ACRA.
• Whether your food activity requires an SFA licence or other approval.

Before Your First Order

• Check whether you need to register your business with ACRA.
• Consider taking WSQ Food Safety Course Level 1.
• Check your menu for raw seafood or alcoholic drinks.
• Confirm your ingredients come from licensed suppliers.
• Make sure you're not offering catering or supplying food retailers.
• Check that your home-based setup follows HDB or URA conditions.
• Plan prices and costs before you take orders. Our simple home bakery business plan helps. Our guide on how to register a home-based business in Singapore walks through the business-registration side.

One Last Thing

Once you understand the rules, taking your first order is the easy part. If you want a single link for your Instagram bio, Belii lets you add a menu and start taking orders without needing a website. You can also see how other home sellers in Singapore set up their shops in the Sellers Directory or check out the Seller of the Week. This guide gives general information, not legal advice. SFA updates its rules from time to time, so check the official pages before you start your business.

Quick Answers

How Much Is a Food License in Singapore?

Selling from home as a home-based food business does not require an SFA food licence, so there is no SFA food-licence fee for that activity. If you open a licensed food shop, the Food Shop Licence currently costs S$195 per year.

Do I Need a License to Sell Homemade Food in Singapore?

Not from SFA, if you qualify as a home-based food business and follow the applicable rules. You may still need to register your business with ACRA, depending on how you operate it.

How Do I Apply for a Food Licence in Singapore?

Home-based food businesses don't apply for an SFA food licence. If you're opening a food shop, you can apply for a Food Shop Licence through GoBusiness. The application includes requirements such as a layout plan for the premises.

Are Home-Based Cafés Legal in Singapore?

based food business framework, but operating a café with customers visiting the premises requires a suitable licensed food-shop setup and must comply with the applicable residential and planning rules.