Food Business Registration (FADENBOOK): Who Must Register and What to Prepare

What Is Registration?

Article 8, Paragraph 3 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation states that food businesses of categories and scale designated by the central competent authority must apply to the competent authority for registration "before they may operate." In other words, for designated businesses, registration isn't a bonus; it's a prerequisite for opening for business. The registration platform is the TFDA's Food Business Registration Platform, known in the industry by its Chinese nickname (非登不可, "must register"), at fadenbook.fda.gov.tw.

Details follow the Regulations Governing Registration of Food Businesses (食品業者登錄辦法); the current text found at the time of writing was last amended on January 5, 2026.

Do I Need to Register?

Whether you need to register depends on the Ministry of Health and Welfare's notice on the categories, scale, and implementation dates of food businesses that must register before operating. According to the notice's amendment comparison table, the categories include:

• Manufacturing and processing: Food manufacturing and processing; manufacturing and processing of food utensils, food containers, or packaging; manufacturing and processing of food detergents.
• Food service.
• Import: Importers of products subject to inspection under Article 30 of the Food Safety Act.
• Retail.
• Logistics: Businesses that transport food or food additives.

Scale and implementation dates have expanded in stages: the earliest batch, announced October 16, 2014, covered food manufacturers and processors with factory, commercial, or company registration; it was later extended to other food manufacturers and processors with tax registration (those already registered from December 31, 2015), as well as food service, retail, logistics, and other sectors. If you make dumplings to sell or open a bun shop and have any of the registrations above, you are most likely already within the notice's scope; actual applicability follows the original text of the notice and the local health bureau's determination.

Does a Company That Sells Machinery Need to Register?

The "manufacturing and processing" category in the notice explicitly lists "manufacturing and processing of food utensils, food containers, or packaging"; plastic materials were included first, and other materials were added from September 18, 2015. Under Article 3 of the Food Safety Act, food utensils include machinery in direct contact with food. Whether a machinery maker counts as a food utensil manufacturer or processor under the notice, and whether it needs to register, depends on the competent authority's determination; businesses can confirm with their local health bureau or the TFDA.

What to Prepare for Registration

Under Article 4 of the Regulations, the items to register differ by industry category:

• Manufacturing and processing: Basic information on the filer and business, product liability insurance information, factory registration information, basic information on the factory or production site, contract manufacturing arrangements (as client or contractor), information on manufactured and processed products, warehouse information, and other descriptions of manufacturing activities.
• Food service: Basic information on the filer and business, product liability insurance information, factory or food service premises information, warehouse information, chain store information, and so on.
• Import, retail, and logistics: Each has corresponding items such as product information, warehouses, and means of transport.

The "product liability insurance information" item added in the January 5, 2026 amendment takes effect on July 1, 2026 under Article 10 of the Regulations. Businesses engaged in different categories of operations must register for each separately.

In practice, it's recommended to prepare the following before filling in the platform: company or commercial registration, tax registration, factory registration (if any), business address and floor area, product list, contract manufacturing agreements, warehouse address, and insurance policies.

Obligations After Registration

• Changes: If registered information changes, apply to update the registration within 30 days of the change (Article 7).
• Annual confirmation: After registering, confirm the registered information every year (Article 7).
• Closure: If the business closes or its business registration is revoked, this must be reported; if not reported and discovered, the competent authority will revoke the registration ex officio (Article 8).
• Inspection: The competent authority may enter work areas for inspection, and businesses may not evade, obstruct, or refuse (Article 6).

What Happens If You Don't Register?

Under Article 48, Subparagraph 2 of the Food Safety Act, failing to register in violation of Article 8, Paragraph 3, and not correcting within the deadline after being ordered to do so, is punishable by a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$3 million; false registration information is punishable by a fine in the same range under Article 47, Subparagraph 3.

Registration and traceability are two different things: registration lets the competent authority know "who you are, where you are, and what you do," while traceability records "where raw materials came from and where products went." Continue with Traceability and Raw Material Document Retention. For the overall process of making frozen dumplings at home or in a shop, see What Permits Do You Need to Sell Frozen Dumplings Made at Home or in a Shop?

FAQ

Q: Where is the registration platform?
A: The TFDA's Food Business Registration Platform (非登不可), at fadenbook.fda.gov.tw.

Q: How soon must registration data be updated after a change?
A: Under Article 7 of the Regulations Governing Registration of Food Businesses, apply for the change within 30 days of the change, and also confirm the registration once a year.

Q: What happens if we start selling without registering?
A: A designated business that fails to register and doesn't correct within the deadline after being ordered to do so is fined NT$30,000 to NT$3 million under Article 48 of the Food Safety Act.

Q: Do food machinery manufacturers need to register?
A: The notice's categories include food utensil manufacturing and processing, and food utensils as defined by the Food Safety Act include machinery in direct contact with food; whether an individual manufacturer is covered depends on the competent authority's determination. Check with your local health bureau.