How do I get a food hygiene rating?

The steps, in order

1. Register your food business with the local council where your premises are, at least 28 days before you start trading. Registration is free and can’t be refused. It applies to home kitchens, market stalls, vans and online-only sellers too.
2. Wait for the first inspection. Councils inspect higher-risk businesses first, and GOV.UK says it can be several months before a new business gets its first visit.
3. The inspection. A food safety officer checks how you handle food, the condition of your premises, and how you manage food safety (your procedures, records and training).
4. Your rating. The officer gives you your rating in writing, either at the end of the visit or within 14 days, and it is published on the FSA’s ratings website.

How to be ready for the first visit

• Have a written food safety management system. Safer Food, Better Business (SFBB) is the free one most small caterers in England and Wales use.
• Keep your records up to date: fridge temperatures, cooking and cooling checks, cleaning and deliveries.
• Make sure every food handler has been trained or supervised for the work they do, and keep a record of it.
• Know your allergens: which of the 14 are in every dish, and how you stop cross-contact.

Read next: how the rating is worked out.

Want to see a real rating and the three scores behind it? Check any food business’s rating, free.