Food business certificate
Any place that handles food, a restaurant, a takeaway, a spaza shop or a food truck, needs a Certificate of Acceptability from the local municipality before it can trade. A health inspector visits and checks the premises against the national hygiene rules, known as Regulation R638. We prepare your application and give you a readiness checklist so you have the best chance of passing that inspection the first time, instead of being sent away to fix things.
Food business certificate costs R690 at ProperSA. That is our fixed service fee; government and authority fees are charged at cost on top. If you give us everything we ask for and we still fail to deliver what this page promises, we refund our fee; a refusal by the authority is not refundable.
What is included
- Your Certificate of Acceptability application, prepared for your municipality
- A premises readiness checklist built from the R638 hygiene rules
- What the health inspector looks for, area by area, so nothing is missed
- The layout, water, waste and hand-washing points that fail premises most often
- A simple guide to lodging the application and booking the inspection
How ordering works
- Order below and pay securely by card or instant EFT.
- Tell us about your premises and what food you handle.
- We prepare the application for your municipality and a readiness checklist for your setup.
- The pack lands in your portal. You fix anything on the checklist, lodge the application and book the inspection.
- The municipality issues the certificate once the inspector is satisfied. Any municipal fee is separate.
Not sure this is the right one for you? Ask us first and you get a written answer within one business day.
What we will need from you
The certificate of acceptability is issued by your local municipality after an inspection, so most of what we need describes the premises.
- The trading name and the exact street address of the premises.
- Which municipality you fall under. Requirements and forms differ between them.
- What food you handle, and whether it is prepared, cooked, packaged or only sold sealed.
- A simple layout of the premises, showing preparation areas, storage, wash-up and toilets. A hand sketch is fine.
- Your water source, and how waste and refuse are handled.
- Details of the person who will be responsible for the premises.
- Whether you are trading from a vehicle or a stall, which changes the requirements considerably.
The inspection is the real hurdle, not the form. Common failures are hand-wash basins, surfaces that cannot be cleaned properly, and storage off the floor.
Frequently asked questions
Who needs a Certificate of Acceptability?
Anyone who handles food on a premises to sell it: restaurants, takeaways, cafes, spaza shops, food trucks, caterers and home kitchens that sell. Trading without one is illegal and the premises can be closed.
What law is this under?
Regulation R638 of 2018, made under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972. It sets the hygiene standard every food premises must meet.
Who issues it?
Your local municipality's Environmental Health department. An Environmental Health Practitioner inspects the premises and the municipality issues the certificate.
Does the certificate expire?
It stays valid while the premises and the person in charge stay the same, but inspectors can re-check at any time. If you move or sell the business, a new certificate is needed.
Can you guarantee I pass?
No one honestly can, because it depends on your actual premises. What we can do is make sure you know exactly what the inspector checks, so you fix problems before they see them.
Where this comes from
Regulation R638 of 2018 (General Hygiene Requirements for Food Premises), under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972. Rules and fees change; confirm anything you rely on with the relevant authority before you act.