Dark store licence in India: every licence you need

Updated October 2026

A grocery dark store needs an FSSAI licence, GST registration, Shops and Establishments registration, a municipal trade licence and, in most buildings, a fire NOC. Add a drug licence for medicines and Legal Metrology registration if you pack your own goods.

The FSSAI licence is the one food-safety officers suspend most often. In 2025 and 2026 they acted against dark stores in Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka and Rajasthan.

Check with the authority before you open. General guide, not legal advice. Each store needs its own set of licences. Thresholds, fees and forms change from state to state. Confirm with FoSCoS, your state labour and fire departments and your municipal corporation, or ask a compliance professional.

Dark store licence checklist: who issues what

Licence	Issued by	When you need it	Notes
FSSAI registration or licence	FSSAI, through the FoSCoS portal (state food-safety department issues state licences)	Any store that stores or sells food, including packaged food. One per premises.	From 1 April 2026: basic registration up to ₹1.5 crore annual turnover, state licence from ₹1.5 crore to ₹50 crore, central licence above ₹50 crore. New licences no longer expire, but the yearly fee is still due. Check your category on FoSCoS.
GST registration	GST Network (GSTN)	Every state where you hold stock. A second store in the same state is added as an additional place of business.	Brands supplying an app need the warehouse or store address on their GST registration too.
Shops and Establishments registration	State labour department	Each store, usually within 30 days of opening. Rules and fees vary by state.	Covers working hours, weekly offs and staff records. Night shifts and women working at night may need extra conditions under state law.
Trade licence	Municipal corporation or council	Each premises, renewed every year in most cities.	Missing trade licences do come up. In 2026 Zepto disclosed a pending case over a Tamil Nadu dark store run without a valid trade licence.
Fire NOC	State fire and emergency services	Depends on building height, floor area and occupancy class, which differ by state.	There is no single national threshold. Inspectors check exits, extinguishers, sprinklers and storage of flammables like aerosols and cooking gas.
Land use / building use permission	Development authority or municipal corporation	If the premises is in a residential zone or was approved for another use.	Sealing is the usual risk for dark stores in residential areas, so check before you lease.
Drug licence (pharmacy items)	State drugs control department	Only if the store sells medicines. Over-the-counter health products that are not drugs do not need it.	Retail sale of drugs needs a licence under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, with a registered pharmacist in charge. Confirm the forms with your state drugs controller.
Legal Metrology registration	State legal metrology department	If you pack, repack or import packaged goods (for example own-label rice, dal or spices), or use weighing scales.	Packaged goods must carry MRP, net quantity, packer details and consumer-care details under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. Scales need periodic verification and stamping.
Pollution board consent	State Pollution Control Board	Possibly, for large cold rooms, diesel generators or high waste volumes.	Storage sites with generators or a lot of waste may need consent to establish and operate. Registration may also be needed above 100 kg of waste a day. Check with your state board.

How to get a dark store licence, step by step

Check the zoning first. Make sure the property’s approved use allows storage or retail. A licence will not protect a store in the wrong zone.
Register the business and GST with the store address as a place of business.
Apply for FSSAI on foscos.fssai.gov.in with the premises layout, water-test report where asked, and a food-safety plan. Keep pest-control and cold-room temperature logs from day one.
Register under the Shops and Establishments Act and take the municipal trade licence.
Get the fire NOC if your building type needs one, after fitting extinguishers, exits and alarms.
Add special licences. A drug licence for medicines, Legal Metrology for own packing, pollution consent if your state requires it.
Display and renew. Put every licence on display and note the due dates, including the yearly FSSAI fee. Trade licences in most cities are renewed every year.

What food inspectors check in a dark store

In the 2025–26 cases, officers mostly found expired stock, cold rooms running too warm, pests and missing records. Keep these ready for a surprise visit:

The FSSAI licence on display, in the name of the business that runs the store.
A daily temperature log for chillers and freezers. Dairy must stay below 5°C.
Pest-control certificates and service records.
Cold-chain certificates for chilled stock.
Medical fitness records for every staff member who handles food.
Expired and damaged stock taken off the shelves, kept apart and clearly marked.
Correct labels on every pack, including own-label goods.

Where inspectors have acted

Officers have suspended licences, sealed sites and destroyed stock. Maharashtra went furthest, with a statewide drive in August 2026. Shillong adds a twist: a district council trading licence is needed on top of state and central approvals, and Blinkit’s 2026 entry stalled when the council refused to grant one.

Frequently asked questions about dark store licences

Is FSSAI registration enough, or does a dark store need a licence?

Most need a licence. Basic registration covers yearly turnover only up to ₹1.5 crore, and a busy dark store selling a few lakh rupees a day passes that within months, so it needs at least a state licence. The full slabs are in the checklist above.

What is the penalty for running a dark store without an FSSAI licence?

Selling or storing food without the required licence can lead to up to six months in prison and a fine of up to ₹5 lakh under Section 63 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Who holds the licences in a franchise dark store, the partner or the app?

Whoever runs the premises and sells the goods holds the licences for that store. In a partner-run store that is usually the partner’s company. In a company-run store it is the app’s own company. Get the licence holder’s name in writing before you sign a dark store franchise agreement.

Can a dark store sell medicines?

Only with a drug licence from the state drugs control department and a registered pharmacist in charge. Staff must also check a valid prescription before sending out prescription medicines.

What happens if a dark store’s licence is suspended?

The store must stop selling food until the authority lifts the suspension. That usually happens after the problems are fixed and the store is inspected again. In Telangana in September 2026, four stores were told to stop operations “in the interest of public health”.