Starting a food business from your home

This guidance is for individuals starting food businesses from home. However, you must also read our guidance on getting ready to start your food business and starting your food business safely.

We also have guidance on selling food for delivery.

While you may not define yourself as a business, if you are providing food on a regular and organised basis, you are a food business under food law. 

Once you have registered as a food business, local authority officers will make arrangements to visit your home to conduct a food hygiene inspection. This inspection is to assess whether your food preparation areas and food safety procedures are suitable for running a food business.

Managing food waste

All food businesses, including home-based businesses, must dispose of waste securely and properly. 

To prevent your kitchen from being flooded with waste and sewage you should put all food waste in the bin rather than down the sink and use sink strainers to stop fat, oil and grease (FOG) and small bits of food waste entering the sewer network.

Instead of pouring any cooking fats and oils down the sink, these can be collected in a container like a jam jar or yoghurt pot. The fat, oil and grease solidifies as it cools down. Once it is solid, you should put it in the bin. Any liquid foods like gravy can be soaked up using kitchen roll or newspaper and then also put into the bin.

It is important to dispose of FOG in this way because not only can blockages flood your home, but you could also risk prosecution if your business disposes of FOG carelessly. Contact your Local Authority to check the correct way to dispose of waste responsibly.

Practical requirements for setting up a food business from home

Register as self-employed

When you start a food business from home you need to inform HMRC that you are self-employed. This is to alert them that you will pay tax through Self-Assessment. You need to register as self-employed when starting a food business, even if you are part-time or have another job.

You should register at GOV.UK to verify your account and confirm the specifics of your food business. Failure to register may result in a fine.

HMRC has further guidance on working for yourself and how to check if you should set up as a limited company instead.

Running a business from home

The government has guidance for running a business from home. This includes advice on:

• getting permission from your mortgage provider or landlord
• getting permission from the local council
• insurance
• tax allowances
• business rates
• health and safety