How to register and licence a spaza shop

The two things the law requires

• A business licence under the Businesses Act 71 of 1991. Schedule 1 of the Act lists the businesses that may not be carried on without a licence, and Item 1 is the sale or supply of meals or perishable foodstuffs. A spaza shop sells bread, milk, cooldrinks and snacks, so it is Item 1. The licence is issued by the licensing authority for your area, which is your municipality, for the specific premises. eThekwini’s own guidance puts it plainly: no person may conduct such a business without a business licence.
• A Certificate of Acceptability under regulation R638 of 2018. These are the Regulations Governing General Hygiene Requirements for Food Premises, made under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act. Regulation 3 says no person may handle food, or allow food to be handled, on premises that do not hold a valid certificate. An environmental health practitioner inspects the shop, and if it complies with the hygiene requirements, issues the certificate in the name of the person in charge. It must be displayed in the shop, it is not transferable to another person or another premises, and it covers only the kind of food handling you applied for.

The licence is about the business trading lawfully on that site; the certificate is about the food being safe. Municipalities usually require the certificate before they will issue the licence, so the health inspection comes first in practice.

What happened in 2024, and what it means now

On 15 November 2024, after children died from contaminated food bought at spaza shops, the President announced that every spaza shop and food-handling business had 21 days to register with its municipality. That deadline was extended to 28 February 2025. The Inter-Ministerial Committee that ran the process set out two separate steps: register the shop, and comply with the health regulations, with a food business that fails the health requirements to be closed immediately.

The registration window has closed. What has not closed is the law. The Businesses Act licence and the Certificate of Acceptability were required before 2024 and are required now, and municipalities such as Ekurhuleni were still publishing compliance warnings in May 2026 saying that any spaza shop or food business that fails to register or does not meet the health standards will face closure. If you registered in the window but never received a licence, you are in the same position as someone who never registered: the licensing office is where you go.

How to get licensed, step by step

1. Check the zoning. The licensing process starts with land use. The municipality’s planning department confirms that a shop may trade from that stand, or issues written consent. A shop in a house on a residential stand usually needs consent use.
2. Get the premises health-ready and apply for the Certificate of Acceptability. Complete the municipality’s application form and book the environmental health practitioner’s inspection. The inspector checks the building, water, refuse, pest control, hand-washing, storage temperatures and the handling of food. Fix what fails and ask for a re-inspection.
3. Lodge the business licence application at the municipal licensing office, in person or online where the city offers it. eThekwini describes its process as reports to town planning and building control first, then lodging and paying the fee, then 21 days to satisfy the fire and health departments, then the licence.
4. Pay the tariff. It is set in the municipality’s annual tariff schedule and changes every 1 July.
5. Display both documents in the shop and keep them current. R638 requires the certificate to be displayed; inspectors ask for the licence.

What to bring

Each municipality publishes its own list. Ekurhuleni’s, which is one of the fuller ones, is:

• Completed business licence application form
• Zoning certificate or written consent approval
• Certificate of Acceptability
• Approved building plan and occupancy certificate
• Certified copy of the title deed, or a letter from the landlord if you do not own the premises
• Identity document for South African residents; work permit or a letter from the Department of Home Affairs for non-South African residents
• Registration with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission
• Latest municipal account statement for the business address
• Tax clearance from SARS

The national registration form used in the 2024 drive also asked for an affidavit confirming that the business is operated lawfully, and for foreign nationals, the passport number, section 22 asylum seeker permit or section 24 refugee permit, and a valid visa allowing the holder to work or conduct business in South Africa.

What it costs

The Certificate of Acceptability application is a separate municipal form and some municipalities charge for it and some do not. Ask the environmental health office. Renewal of a business licence in eThekwini is free, which is worth knowing when someone offers to renew it for you.

What actually goes wrong

• Registering in 2024 and stopping there. The Department of Small Business Development reported in May 2026 that about 82 000 shops registered before the deadline, 44 696 were verified, and roughly 15 000 held approved permits or licences. Registration was the first step, not the licence.
• Failing the health inspection. No hand-washing basin, food stored on the floor, no pest control, expired stock. The certificate is refused and the licence cannot follow.
• Wrong zoning. A shop in a garage on a residential stand with no consent use. Planning refuses, and the rest of the application waits.
• The licence in the wrong name. The certificate is issued to the person in charge and the licence to the trader for those premises. Neither transfers when the shop changes hands; the new owner applies again.
• Paying an agent for something that is free. Renewal in eThekwini costs nothing, and application forms are free everywhere. Pay for help with the inspection if you need it, not for the form.

Frequently asked questions