Re-Registration of Expired Food Facility Registrations with US FDA

Section 415 of the FD&C Act requires food facilities that are registered with the FDA to renew such registration between Oct 1 to Dec 31 of every even-numbered year. If registration is not renewed by Dec 31 of the biennial registration renewal year, the registration is considered expired and is removed by FDA from their system.

Domestic and foreign food facilities that intend to market products in the US and have failed to renew their registration by the renewal deadline will have to re-register with FDA. Facilities that re-register due to incomplete biennial renewal need to provide the old registration number, and FDA will re-assign the same registration number to them.

If the registration was canceled for any other reason, food facilities must submit a new registration and be assigned a new FDA registration number.

FDA Re-registration - FAQ

Do food facility registrations expire?

FDA food facility registrations that are not renewed during FDA biennial renewal period are considered expired and removed from FDA system.

When should a facility submit a registration renewal to FDA?

Facilities that are required to register with FDA must renew their registrations between October – December every even numbered year.

What are the consequences if a facility fails to complete registration renewal by the deadline?

If a foreign facility that is required to register with FDA fails renew its registration by December 31 of a biennial renewal period, the registration for the facility will be considered expired and FDA will cancel the registration. The food being offered for import into the US from such facility is subject to detention at the port of entry.

When can a facility re-register?

Facilities will have the option to re-register after the biennial renewal period is over.

If a facility re-registers, does FDA assign a new registration number?

No, Facilities that re-register because of not completing biennial renewal will be receiving the same registration number.

If I do not have previous registration number, can I still re-register my facility?

Previous registration number is required to do a re-registration. In the absence of previous registration number, facilities can opt for new registration, in which case they will be assigned a new registration number by FDA.