Restaurant License (Food & Alcohol)

Do you want to open up a restaurant in Thailand? Of course, for that, you’d first have to obtain a restaurant license in Thailand. Nevertheless, applying for and obtaining a restaurant license in Thailand requires a lot of documents, adherence to a lot of procedures, rules, and regulations, etc. As specialists, BLS would help you with the entire procedure. We’d help you with the documentation and procedural part to obtain a restaurant license in Thailand, thus ensuring that you don’t really have to go through a lot of hassles in the wake of getting a license to open a restaurant in Thailand. Here’s more to the process.

Thailand isn’t an exception to the growth spree that the restaurant industry is on across the globe. Given the fact that Thailand is a growing economy when it comes to tourism, entertainment, along with a lot of other businesses, it is a hotspot for people who look forward to investing in the restaurant business in Thailand. Thailand is home to a large number of restaurants. Right from street food eateries to top-class restaurants, you’d find every type of food joint in the country. Annually, the restaurant business witnesses investments of billions of Thai Baht from various parts of the world, out of which, besides Thailand, The United States and Japan are the leading ones.

At the outset, let us take a look at some of the conditions associated with the restaurant license in Thailand.

• Applicants intending to establish a restaurant over 200 square meters must apply for a restaurant license. Smaller establishments would only be required to notify about the presence to the local authority that will issue a certificate of notification.
• The license shall be issued by the local authorities within 30 days of the receipt of the application.
• The validity of the license is 1 year from the date of the issuance.
• The license should be displayed openly, and must be noticeable within the premises of the establishment, and can be used exclusively within the jurisdiction of the issuing government agency.
• In case the license owner fails to adhere to the provisions of ministerial regulations issued under the law of public health, or with the stipulated terms and conditions of the license, the concerned local authorities would have the right to suspend or withdraw the license for a definite period, but not more than 15 days.

• The Certification of Notice is applicable for applicants who intend to set up a food joint of an area less than 200 square kilometers. Such establishments only need to be notified to the local government as per Section 38 of the Public Health Act.
• Supporting the notification requires the following documents
• Lease agreement
• Applicant’s ID card.
• Staff’s medical certificate
• Any other associated license from a government agency
• The concerned authorities shall issue the certification of notification within 7 days of the receipt of the application.
• The certificate must be displayed openly and noticeably within the business premises.
• The license owner must renew the license before the expiration date.
• In case the authorities refuse to renew the license, the license owner can appeal within 30 days from the date of refusal.

Generally, applying for a restaurant license encompasses the application for a liquor license and a construction permit.

• It allows the license owner to sell liquor legally.
• To get a liquor license under the Liquor Act, the applicant must apply it with the District Office or the Local Excise Department.

• The restaurant premises must be compliant with the building regulations of the Building Control Act 1979.
• The applicant would apply for a construction or an amendment/ modification permit for the restaurant.
• A decision such as the rejection or the approval of the construction or modification is given within 45 days of the receipt of the application.
• Documents required for this permit are plans for the building’s design, the names of the architects, engineers, or the contractors.
• Laws associated with the construction permit vary based on the type of construction.

Operating without a license is considered to be a violation of the concerned laws and regulations, and therefore attracts a penalty and/ or imprisonment under the Public Health Act, the Building Control Act, and the Liquor Act.