FDA Reminds Enterprises to Renew the Food Facility Registration

On September 27, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a notice¹ to remind enterprises of the facility registration renewal. A food facility will be considered expired if the facility’s registration is not renewed by December 31, 2024. 

In the United States (U.S.), a food facility refers to a facility engaged in manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding food for human or animal consumption. The owners, operators, or agents in charge of domestic or foreign food facilities should register the facility with the FDA, and renew the registration during the biennial renewal period. According to the FDA, the registration and renewal period is open from October 1 to December 31, 2024. The person in charge of food facilities should submit the renewal information electronically through the FDA Industry Systems (FIS)² account. 

In addition, a recognized unique facility identifier (UFI) should be provided for the FFR renewal submission. The UFI is used to verify that the facility-specific address associated with the UFI is the same address associated with the facility’s registration. 

A Step-by-Step System Instructions³ is provided by FDA as below: 

After logging in to the Food Facility Registration (FFR) system from the Online Account Administration (OAA) page, choose the "Biennial Registration Renewal - 2024" option from the FFR main menu (Figure 1).

(Figure 1 – Biennial Registration Renewal - 2024 Menu Option)

The system will display a list of all your registrations that are available/due for renewal (Figure 2).

(Figure 2 - List of Registrations)

To complete the renewal process, select the registration number hyperlink within the table and the system will display the registration review screen (Figure 3).

Please read the instructional text at the top of the screen carefully. Only sections of the registration with an “Edit” button displayed next to it may be updated during the biennial registration renewal process. Once you have reviewed the information, visited Section 10, and made any other updates as necessary, submit your changes to complete the renewal process.

 (Figure 3 - Review Registration)

More guidelines related to FFR are collected below:

FFR Renewal:

• Food Facility Registration User Guide: Biennial Registration Renewal

• D&B + FDA Joint Web Presentation on Biennial Food Facility Registration Renewal

FFR Guidance:

• Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration (Seventh Edition)

• Draft Guidance for Industry: Supplemental Questions and Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration

FFR User Guides:

• Food Facility Registration User Guide: Step-by-Step Instructions for Registration

• Food Facility Registration User Guide: Update Facility Registration

• Food Facility Registration User Guide: Summary of Fields

FIS User Guides:

• FDA Industry Systems: Create New Account Quick Start Guide

• FDA Industry Systems User Guide: Summary of Fields in Account Management