The Home-based Business Scheme enables anyone to run a small-scale business, including a food business, from their home, provided they comply with the requirements and conditions.

You can only use ingredients that are legally imported or sourced from licensed manufacturers and suppliers to ensure that the food is safe for consumption by your customers.

• Do not source ingredients from other home-based businesses as they are not licensed.

• Do not use food items you brought back from your travels as these items are strictly for your private consumption.

• If you intend to use imported ingredients, you can import them yourself or go through a licensed importer. You will need a licence from SFA if you wish to import them yourself.

  Please see What You Need to Know for Import of Food for Commercial Sale for more details.

If you are operating from a HDB flat, please visit HDB’s website for details. If you are operating from a non-HDB property, please visit URA’s website for details. Additionally, all home-based food businesses must comply with:

• Food rules and regulations
  All food businesses must comply with food safety laws.

• Specific restriction for home-based food businesses
  For example, such businesses are not allowed to sell their food to food retailers, such as hawker stalls, restaurants, coffee shops, cafes, canteens, temporary fair stalls and similar establishments licensed by the SFA. They are also not allowed to offer ready-to-eat raw seafood, such as sashimi, raw oysters, and marinated cockles. They should also follow the guidelines on good food safety practices provided by SFA.

Please refer to Requirements for Home-based Food Businesses for more information.

If you intend to do food services, such as food stalls in hawker centres, food courts and coffeeshops, food stalls within temporary fairs, restaurants, canteens, mobile food wagons, and snack counters, as well as retailers such as supermarkets. All such activities require a food retail licence/permit from SFA before starting operations.

Please refer to Businesses that Need Licence/Permit for Food Retail for more information.