Factories / OEM

Home-based food production in Thailand: the non-factory permit

8 min read · Updated 9 Nov 2026

Can you produce food at home and get Thai FDA permission?

Home-based food production in Thailand is possible, but the law does not sort premises by whether they are a home. It sorts them by size, factory or non-factory, and every place that produces food for sale must follow the good manufacturing practice (GMP) rules in Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 420 B.E. 2563 (2020). If a space in your house can meet those rules, you can apply for a production premises number.

Most small premises are non-factory food production premises. They apply on Form Sor Bor 1 and receive a non-factory premises certificate (Form Sor Bor 1/1). What usually stops home kitchens is GMP 420 basic requirement 1.6, which requires the production area to be separated from living quarters, not the fact that the building is a house.

This article focuses on small premises and home production. For the full licensing procedure see food production licence in Thailand, and for every GMP clause see GMP 420 requirements.

The non-factory permit: the 50 horsepower and 50 worker test

Section 14 of the Food Act B.E. 2522 (1979) requires a licence before setting up a food factory, and a factory means a factory under the factory law. When the Factory Act (No. 2) B.E. 2562 (2019) defined a factory as a place using machinery of 50 horsepower or more in total, or 50 or more workers, the Thai FDA issued guidance effective 27 October 2019 that splits applications into two routes:

• Factory premises (50 hp or more, or 50 workers or more): apply on Form Or.1 for a food production licence (Form Or.2), valid until 31 December of the third year after issue and renewable before expiry.
• Non-factory premises (under 50 hp and under 50 workers): apply on Form Sor Bor 1 for a Sor Bor 1/1 certificate, which the Food Division's product permit guide says has no expiry date.

The same guidance let existing licence holders whose premises are non-factory switch to Sor Bor 1/1 instead of renewing, keeping their premises number and all existing food serial numbers.

The Thai FDA's sample Sor Bor 1/1 shows that the certificate covers only the production and storage sites listed, must be displayed openly at the premises, and has an attachment listing food types, processes, the GMP requirements applied, total machine horsepower and number of workers. What you declare in the application ends up on the certificate.

How horsepower and workers are counted

The Food Division's guide on checking machine horsepower is used to decide whether premises are a factory. Key points:

• Count only machines and equipment used to make the food being licensed, not every appliance in the house or building.
• Read the name plate or catalogue; otherwise calculate from electrical power, with 1 hp equal to 746 watts.
• Electric heating equipment such as heaters and sealers is counted at 60% efficiency.
• Ovens and stoves have set conversions, for example a general oven of 1 cubic metre counts as 2 hp, and a gas stove counts as 3.8 times the kilograms of gas used per hour.
• The guide recommends asking machine sellers for horsepower data when you buy.

A small kitchen with a few gas burners, a mixer, a sealer and an oven is usually far below 50 hp, but still prepare a real machine list with horsepower. It is a required attachment, and the total appears on the certificate.

GMP 420 points that home kitchens must meet

Clause 2 of GMP 420 applies to all food produced for sale, with exceptions such as restaurants serving food for immediate consumption, food stalls in public places, edible salt producers and fresh produce packing sites covered by their own notification. The Thai FDA's explanation adds that restaurants producing specifically controlled food, food with prescribed standards or food that must be labelled, using 5 hp or more or 7 or more workers, must still comply.

For home production, these basic requirements are the usual sticking points:

• 1.1 Location away from contamination sources such as waste, hazardous substances, animal pens, dust and standing water, or effective protective measures if nearby.
• 1.5 The building keeps animals and insects out of production areas, including household pets.
• 1.6 Enough production space, separated from living quarters, non-food production and eating areas.
• 1.7 and 1.8 Areas laid out along the process flow to avoid cross-contamination, and a packing room or packing-area controls to prevent recontamination.
• 4.2 and 4.4 Toilets separate from, or not opening directly into, production areas, and hand-wash basins with liquid soap and hand-drying in the production area.
• Section 3 Finished product tested by a government or accredited laboratory at least once a year, records kept at least one year after the end of the labelled shelf life, and an internal audit at least once a year.

In practice, many small producers meet clause 1.6 with a dedicated room or extension that has its own entrance and walls separating it from the home, used only for production. A family kitchen also used for daily cooking rarely passes, so check the whole section before investing in building work.

Applying for the non-factory permit step by step

Both Or.1 and Sor Bor 1 are filed through the Thai FDA e-Submission system. The Food Division's premises application manual (amendment 1, 4 September 2026) and the citizen's guide set out the sequence:

1. Have an Open ID account or use the ThaiD app.
2. Request system access: Bangkok premises at the Thai FDA OSSC service centre, provincial premises at the Provincial Public Health Office.
3. Have the premises inspected by Thai FDA or provincial officers, or by an inspection body registered with the Thai FDA, and attach an audit report no older than one year covering the food types requested.
4. File Sor Bor 1 with a location map, layout, floor plans of every floor, machine list with horsepower, process description, water source, a formula adding up to 100% and colour photos. Attachments must be signed PDF files.
5. List storage sites, which can only be added in the same province as the production site at this stage; storage in another province is added after approval.
6. Answer officers' queries within the deadline shown in the system or the application is returned. Approval produces an electronic Sor Bor 1/1.

An individual can apply in their own name with an ID card and commercial registration. A company needs a power of attorney appointing the operator, and if you do not own the property, a consent letter or lease.

Sor Bor 1/1 and the food serial number

Sor Bor 1/1 permits the premises, not the products. Each product then needs a food serial number according to its food group. The Food Division's guide summarises:

• Specifically controlled food: register the food formula (Form Or.17).
• Food with prescribed quality or standards that requires a formula: register the food (Form Sor Bor 5).
• Food that does not require a formula: food detail notification (Form Sor Bor 7).

The 13-digit food serial number has five groups; the first is the province and the third is the premises number and year of permission, under the Thai FDA regulation on food serial numbers of 2024. Every number is therefore tied to licensed premises. After receiving a number you must keep the 100% formula, process and packaging type at the premises for inspection.

The same regulation says that if a Sor Bor 1/1 is cancelled, every food serial number under it lapses. Keeping the premises up to standard matters as much as passing the first time. See Thai food registration number for how the 13 digits work.

When no permit is needed, and labels for online sales

The Food Division's product permit guide (5th edition, 2026) lists cases exempt from applying for permission:

• Soy milk in hermetically sealed containers and honey, made at non-factory premises and sold by the producer directly to consumers.
• Food whose producer can give consumers information at the time of sale, such as hawkers, stalls or e-commerce.
• Fresh food not processed, or only shelled, butchered or trimmed and packed so the food can be seen.
• Food made and sold as a service in restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals and similar places, including delivery.
• Food made only for export, except specifically controlled food.

On labels, the Food Division's Q&A on labelling Notification No. 450 explains that producers selling directly through their own Facebook, Line, TikTok or Instagram are exempt from labelling, but goods consigned to marketplace platforms or sold by others are not.

Notification No. 474 B.E. 2569 (in force 31 October 2026) rewrote this exemption. Direct sales, including e-commerce, remain exempt, but nine groups are excluded, such as food containing food additives, dietary supplements, infant and young child food, and food with added extracts, nutrients or synthetic substances. Home producers of snacks or sauces sold online should check their formula against this list before assuming no label is needed. Use our product classification tool to check the category.

As the business grows: moving, adding products or becoming a factory

• Adding food types, changing the floor plan or machinery: Sor Bor 1/1 holders file an amendment on Form Sor Bor 2, plus a premises inspection request if the change affects the audit.
• Moving: the Food Act prohibits producing or storing food outside the premises named in the permission, and moving requires prior approval.
• Growing into a factory: at 50 hp or 50 workers the premises must file Or.1 and hold an Or.2 licence, which expires and must be renewed.
• Business customers asking for a GMP certificate: Sor Bor 1/1 holders can apply to a certification body listed with the Thai FDA for a certificate of production system standards under the law, valid for three years with an annual surveillance audit.

If you plan to grow, design the production room from the start so areas can be separated along the process flow. Rebuilding later is usually harder than getting it right at the beginning.

Checklist before applying from home

1. Count the horsepower of production machines and the number of workers to confirm non-factory status.
2. Draw a plan of the house and mark a production area separate from living space, eating areas and toilets.
3. Go through all five sections of GMP 420 basic requirements, especially pest control, hand-wash basins and the packing area.
4. Prepare the 100% formula, process, water source and machine list with horsepower.
5. Identify each product's food group to plan the serial number applications.
6. If selling online, check whether the product falls into a group that still needs a label under No. 474.

Our factory setup and GMP service can review your space and prepare documents, or talk to our team before you start building work.

Sources

1. พระราชบัญญัติอาหาร พ.ศ. 2522 · Open source · Search our archive
2. เรื่อง แนวทางการยื่นคำขออนุญาตสถานที่ผลิตอาหาร บังคับใช้ (In_force) 27/10/62 · Open source · Search our archive
3. คู่มือการขออนุญาตผลิตภัณฑ์อาหาร · Open source · Search our archive
4. คู่มือการยื่นคำขออนุญาตสถานที่ผลิตอาหาร · Open source · Search our archive
5. 1.1 การขออนุญาตผลิตอาหาร (เป็นไปตามหลักเกณฑ์และเงื่อนไข) · Open source · Search our archive
6. ประกาศกระทรวงสาธารณสุข (ฉบับที่ 420) พ.ศ. 2563 ออกตามความในพระราชบัญญัติอาหาร พ.ศ. 2522 เรื่อง วิธีการผลิต เครื่องมือเครื่องใช้ในการผลิต และการเก็บรักษาอาหาร · Open source · Search our archive
7. เรื่อง คำชี้แจงประกาศกระทรวงสาธารณสุข (ฉบับที่ 420) พ.ศ. 2563 เรื่อง วิธีการผลิต เครื่องมือเครื่องใช้ในการผลิต และการเก็บรักษาอาหาร บังคับใช้ (In_force) 08/03/64 · Open source · Search our archive
8. การตรวจสอบแรงม้าของเครื่องจักร และ วิธีคำนวณแรงม้าเปรียบเทียบ · Open source · Search our archive
9. ใบสำคัญเลขสถานที่ผลิตอาหารที่ไม่เข้าข่ายโรงงาน (สบ.1/1) · Open source · Search our archive
10. 2) ระเบียบสำนักงานคณะกรรมการอาหารและยา ว่าด้วยการดำเนินการเกี่ยวกับเลขสารบบอาหาร พ.ศ.2567 · Open source · Search our archive
11. 1) ประกาศกระทรวงสาธารณสุข (ฉบับที่ 450) พ.ศ.2567 เรื่อง การแสดงฉลากอาหารในภาชนะบรรจุ · Open source · Search our archive
12. ประกาศกระทรวงสาธารณสุข (ฉบับที่ 474) พ.ศ. 2569 เรื่อง การแสดงฉลากของอาหารในภาชนะบรรจุ (ฉบับที่ 2) · Open source · Search our archive
13. 1.5 ประเด็นถาม-ตอบ เกี่ยวกับประกาศกระทรวงสารณสุขว่าด้วยการแสดงฉลากของอาหารในภาชนะบรรจุ · Open source · Search our archive
14. เรื่อง การออกหนังสือรับรองมาตรฐานระบบการผลิตตามหลักเกณฑ์ของกฎหมาย พ.ศ. 2564 Re: Issuance of a certificate of food production system standards according to the legal criteria B.E.2564 (2021). บังคับใช้ · Open source · Search our archive
15. 1) กรณีขอใหม่ · Open source · Search our archive
16. แนวทางการดำเนินการเกี่ยวกับการอนุญาต ด้านสถานที่นำหรือสั่งอาหารเข้ามาในราชอาณาจักร และสถานที่ผลิตอาหาร · Open source · Search our archive

This article is for general information. It is not a Thai FDA ruling or legal advice, and rules change — check the latest notification or ask an expert before filing or producing.

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