Between October 1 and December 31, 2026, every food facility required to register with FDA must renew, and under 21 CFR 1.230(b) the renewal must contain the information required by 21 CFR 1.232. FDA's renewal user guide explains that the renewal screen shows the existing registration: you review it, change only sections that show an “Edit” button, visit Section 10 and submit. The registration number stays the same. Deadlines and general steps are in the 2026 food facility registration renewal guide, and the confirmation step for a newly named U.S. agent is explained in U.S. agent confirmation in the 2026 renewal.
Facility identity and the UFI
The renewal gives the facility's name, full address and phone number; FDA's field guide asks for the complete legal name and the physical location. It must include the facility's unique facility identifier (UFI): FDA currently recognizes the DUNS number, and each facility needs its own. If you change the UFI in the renewal, FDA checks that it is accurate and that its facility-specific address matches the registration before confirming the renewal. Add any different preferred mailing address, the parent company's name, full address and phone number if the facility is a subsidiary, and every trade name; FDA ties trade names to facilities and brand names to products. DUNS matching is covered in what a UFI number is in food facility registration.
Owner, operator or agent in charge, and the submitter
The renewal names the owner, operator or agent in charge with full address, phone number and email address; the email may be omitted only under an FDA waiver. FDA's update guide notes that the agent in charge is not the U.S. agent. If someone else submits, the renewal must include that person's certification that the information is true and accurate and that they are authorized, and identify the authorizing individual by name, address, telephone number and email. Unless it has verified that authorization before, FDA checks it with the authorizing individual before confirming the renewal.
Product categories and activity types
The renewal lists the applicable food product categories, as identified on Form FDA 3537, for any food manufactured or processed, packed or held at the facility, with the type of activity for each category. The regulation lists fourteen activity types, such as manufacturer/processor, packer/repacker, labeler/relabeler, acidified or low-acid food processor and human food warehouse/holding facility, and more than one may be selected per category. FDA's guidance adds practical rules:
- Select categories for the foods you produce, not your ingredients: a cookie manufacturer selects bakery products, not butter.
- A facility making both thermally processed low-acid foods in hermetically sealed containers and acidified foods selects both processor activity types.
- A foreign facility gives activity type information only for food it manufactures or processes, packs or holds for consumption in the United States.
- A warehouse whose product mix changes often may select all categories normally part of its operations.
- Human food by-products packed or held for use as animal food need the applicable animal food categories.
U.S. agent and emergency contact
A foreign facility's renewal must include its U.S. agent's name, full address, phone number and email address, plus an emergency contact phone number and email address. FDA uses the emergency contact to notify the facility of an emergency and, unless a foreign facility names someone else, uses the U.S. agent. FDA's field guide describes the emergency number as one FDA can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The emergency contact may have a number outside the United States; the U.S. agent needs a U.S. number. If the renewal changes the agent information, FDA confirms the renewal only after the agent confirms it agreed to serve.
Inspection assurance, certification and language
Every renewal must include a statement in which the owner, operator or agent in charge assures FDA that it will be permitted to inspect the facility at the times and in the manner permitted by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. FDA's guidance says this assurance, added by FSMA, is required to complete registration. The renewal also certifies that the information is true and accurate, and FDA's guide to the form notes that materially false statements to the U.S. government are subject to criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. 1001. Information must be in English, although names of individuals, companies and streets and trade names may be in another language, and all of it must use the Latin alphabet.
No changes, or changes since the last filing
If none of the 21 CFR 1.232 information has changed since your last registration, renewal or update, 21 CFR 1.230(c) allows an abbreviated renewal: you confirm that nothing has changed, certify that the information is truthful and accurate, and include the submitter's name. If something has changed, FDA's guidance lets you include the change in the renewal, provided it is submitted within 60 calendar days of the change; FDA's user guide notes that during the renewal period the “Update” button does not appear until the registration is renewed. Information that was incorrect when submitted must be updated immediately. A new owner is not an update: the former owner cancels within 60 calendar days and the new owner registers, as explained in how to keep your food facility registration in good standing.
How FDABridge helps
FDABridge's food facility registration page lists the information a facility should prepare, including, for renewal, the existing registration number and authorized access to FDA Industry Systems. The service includes a facility-specific DUNS/UFI review and coordinated submission through FDA Industry Systems. Renewal with a U.S. agent transfer is requested through the renewal and U.S. agent transfer request form and agent scope is described on the U.S. Agent page. Do not include FURLS passwords or PINs; if you no longer have access to your FDA account, see what to do if you are locked out of your FDA account before the renewal. For a submission and recordkeeping checklist, see biennial renewal deadlines, process and what happens if you miss it. Registration is not FDA approval.
Sources: 21 CFR 1.227 and 1.230 to 1.234 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-1/subpart-H); FDA, Questions and Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration (Seventh Edition), sections C.7, D, E.5, F and H.2 (https://www.fda.gov/media/85043/download); FDA, Food Facility Registration User Guide: Biennial Registration Renewal (https://www.fda.gov/food/online-registration-food-facilities/food-facility-registration-user-guide-biennial-registration-renewal); FDA, Food Facility Registration User Guide: Update Facility Registration (https://www.fda.gov/media/161191/download); FDA, Food Facility Registration User Guide: Summary of Fields (https://www.fda.gov/food/online-registration-food-facilities/food-facility-registration-user-guide-summary-fields); FDA renewal reminder of September 29, 2026 (https://www.fda.gov/food/hfp-constituent-updates/fda-reminds-food-facilities-biennial-renewal-requirements).