Is Your Restaurant or Bar Larger than 200 Square Meter?

If it is, then you will need to apply for food and/or alcohol license from the local government. However, on the other hand, the smaller establishments will only require notifying the local authority.  The application for obtaining a license to sell food needs to be submitted at the district office that is responsible for the particular area your business is located. The process consists of the below mentioned steps;

1. Preparing the government forms with supporting documents must be submitted to the responsible district office. Note that the construction permit for the building, wherein the restaurant is situated allows for business operations.
2. After the application has been accepted by the officers, the appointment should be made in order to inspect the restaurant’s premises. However, for inspection, some additional documents may be requested by the officials at their discretion.
3. The Thai employees in the restaurant must go to the district office in order to take a test. They are likely to answer 50 multiple choice questions, out of which minimum 40 questions should be answered correctly.  The questions aren’t difficult much as they are mostly on maintenance of hygiene and standards in the restaurant. You will receive a booklet that the employees may study before the test. However, the employees will also require submitting a medical certificate.
4. As soon as the officials confirm the documents and employees test result and have got over with the inspection of the restaurant, a license must be issued. However, the issuance of the license is likely to take up to a little longer, say suppose more than a month based on various factors that include the availability of the officials for inspection and the state of the restaurant, etc.
5. Note that the food license must be renewed every year, from the issuance of the date. For the same, company registration documents, authorized director’s passport/Thai ID copy, documents from the property owner and the below-mentioned information and documents must be submitted along with the renewal application;

• Commercial name of the restaurant that may be different from name of the company
• Front and inside photos (print out) of the restaurant
• Layout of the restaurant, including interior and floor plan
• Total size in square meters of the whole restaurant, which must include counter, tables, and kitchen, etc

However, if you are wondering about the government fee, for your information you must know that it is calculated depending on the square meters of the restaurant.