Licensing

Food Stall Licence

Licence Fee

Food Stalls are individual food establishments within Food Shops. They could be within a canteen, eating house or food court. Below are the types of food stalls and their licence fee. A Food Stall Licence is required if you are operating the following types of food stalls.

Types of Food Stalls

Annual Licence fee

Food stall within a government hawker centre or in a MOE primary/secondary school or junior college

$13

Food stall within a canteen/eating house/food court or tertiary institution

$32

A market stall within a government market

$13

A market stall within a private market

$32

*Anyone who wishes to operate a stall in an NEA-managed hawker centres, i.e. hawker stall, needs to have a valid Tenancy Agreement with NEA. More information is available at the NEA Website.


Applying for a Food Stall Licence

The following provides a summary of the licence application process for a food stall. For detailed information, please refer to the application guide for new food stall licences.

Overview of Licence Application:

Step 1: Licence Application

Step 2: Complete Payment for Licence

 

STEP

DESCRIPTION

EST. TIME NEEDED

1

Licence Application

To apply for a Food Stall licence, applicants must submit an application in GoBusiness.

Please refer to the details below to ensure a complete application is submitted:

  • Complete all fields on the application form

  • Submit the tenancy / lease agreement along with its Certificate of Stamp Duty issued by Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)

  • Submit the layout plan (with dimensions and metric scale) that reflects the location of the specific stall within the eating house / canteen / food court / coffee shop that houses it.

 

If the application is complete and in order, approval will be issued. Successful applicants will be notified within 7 working days via email. Applicants may also refer to their GoBusiness for updates.

If the application submitted needs rectification (e.g. stamp duty certificate was not provided), SFA will reach out within 7 working days. In this instance, applicants should note that the application duration could take longer. Hence to minimise delays, please ensure all documents are submitted correctly.

If the application is incomplete, it will be rejected. Applicants will need to submit a new application.

Stamp Duty Certificate

If the main operator of the applicant’s canteen, food court, coffee shop or eating house is collecting and paying stamp duties on behalf of the stall holders as part of the tenancy management process, please request a copy of the Certificate of Stamp Duty from them.

If the main operator issues other types of agreements in lieu of leases / tenancies (e.g. licence agreements, service agreements, etc.), please check if these agreements are subject to stamp duty. The applicant may approach IRAS for clarification and attach IRAS' clarifications as a supporting document when applying for the licence. If stamp duties are not applicable, SFA will require documentation from IRAS stating this.

Existing Licensed Premises

If the applicant is taking over a food stall, the applicant should engage the main operator to ensure that the previous licensee has cancelled the licence.

Up to 7 working days

 

2

Complete Payment for Licence

Upon compliance with all pre-licensing requirements, applicants will receive a payment notification via email / in GoBusiness. The applicant may proceed to make payment for the licence within 28 days. Otherwise, the application will lapse and be considered null and void. A new application will be needed if the applicant still intends to operate the food business.

  • For applicants with an existing GIRO arrangement with SFA, the applicant may start operations after receiving SFA's approval email.

  • For applicants without GIRO arrangements, the applicant may only commence operations after payment has been made via AXS or GoBusiness.

Applicants are encouraged to sign up for GIRO auto-payment as a convenient way to pay the fees for the renewal of their licence. Auto-renewal of licence takes place two months before the licence expires.

Licences paid for on or after 1 Jan 2022 must be self-printed directly via GoBusiness. The applicant may refer to the self-printing guide. The list of Community Centres with Citizen Connect Centres, including those with printing facillities can be accessed here.

Exact time taken is dependent on the applicant

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

1. How soon can I hear from SFA after I submit my application?

Refer to Step 1.

If you are taking over a food stall where the current licence is valid, you should engage the main operator to ensure the previous licensee has cancelled the licence so as not to delay your application. Otherwise, SFA may take up to 2 weeks to engage the food stall licensee for cancellation of licence.

Please also check the email account (including junk / spam mail box) that you have used for licence application to ensure that you have responded to any request for action (RFA) from our officers. SFA will not be able to approve your application until you have responded to our RFAs. If we have not heard back from you after seven days despite reminders, we will take that you are no longer interested in the application and will proceed to take the case as closed.

For company filer who is unsure if any prior application has been submitted for the same premises, you are advised to write to SFA at online feedback form for assistance to check. Please refrain from submitting duplicate applications.

 

2. How soon will my application be approved?

Refer to Step 2.

 

3. When can I commence business?

Refer to Step 2.

Licences paid for on or after 1 Jan 2022 can be printed directly via GoBusiness.  You may refer to the self-printing guide.

 

4. What is the difference between a food shop licence and a food stall licence?

A food shop refers to a shop operating as an independent unit such as a takeaway kiosk, snack counter, restaurant, caterer, canteen, coffeeshop, food court, etc. A food stall operates within a food shop such as canteen, coffeeshop, food court, private market or hawker centres.

 

5. I have applied for a licence under the wrong entity/wrong licence type. Can I change them?

Please note the licensee name and licence type cannot be amended and licences issued by SFA are not transferrable.

If you have submitted the application under the wrong entity or wrong licence type, please resubmit the application using correct account (SingPass/CorpPass). Please refer to FAQ 4 above to identify the differences. If you are unsure of the licence type to apply for, please write in via SFA's Online Feedback Form and provide details such as location of the intended operations, how the food items to be sold are being prepared, and the type of equipment to be used. 

If your business operations have changed and is no longer considered a Food Stall, you are required to apply for a new Food Shop Licence.

If your business experienced a take over or merger, and the operating entity’s UEN has changed, verify the licence type you are required to apply for first (refer to FAQ 4 above). Thereafter, apply for either a Food Shop or Food Stall Licence using the new UEN.