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Getting a Thai FDA food serial number: what you need, step by step

9 min read · Updated 27 Oct 2026

What a Thai FDA food serial number is, and which foods need one

A Thai FDA food serial number is the 13-digit number the Thai Food and Drug Administration (Thai FDA) or a provincial health office issues to a food product. It appears inside the Thai FDA frame on the label and is tied to a licensed manufacturing or import premises. The current rules are the Thai FDA Regulation on food serial numbers B.E. 2567 (2024) and its amendment No. 2 of B.E. 2569 (2026).

Clause 4 of the 2024 regulation lists four groups of food that need a serial number:

1. specially controlled foods;
2. foods with prescribed quality or standards;
3. foods that must carry a label;
4. other foods from premises that have passed a standards inspection, where the operator chooses to show a serial number.

Groups 2 to 4 made only for export and not sold in Thailand are exempt. For specially controlled foods, section 31 of the Food Act B.E. 2522 (1979) requires the licensee to register the food formula and receive a certificate before producing or importing it, and section 37 says the certificate stays valid until revoked.

This guide follows the order of the real work: classify the food, confirm a licensed premises, prepare the data, file, and look after the number afterwards. For what each digit group means, see reading the 13-digit Thai FDA number.

Food categories for Thai FDA: classify before you file

The application form depends on the food category, and the system manuals say the food type cannot be changed once an application is filed. Getting the category right is the first job.

The classification sequence

The food division’s guidance on classifying food for permits (August 2026) sets out six steps:

1. Is the product intended as food? A product presented as relieving or curing disease is not a food, and such claims are not allowed.
2. Check ingredients and process: ingredients should have at least 15 years’ history of use as food, and the process should not be new.
3. Check whether a specific notification covers that food.
4. If none does, it is a general food.
5. Check categories that depend on the container.
6. Check whether it is a food in a hermetically sealed container.

If an ingredient is in none of the reference lists, it must be checked or assessed as a possible novel food. The food-type diagnosis manual for the Sor Bor 7 group says a novel food must complete a safety assessment before a serial number can be requested.

Groups and forms

The table below combines the serial-number regulation, the classification guidance and the Thai FDA food product permit guide. Use it as a starting point, then check the specific notification for your food. You can screen a product with the product classification tool.

Foods exempt from a serial number

Not every food needs a number. The Thai FDA food product permit guide lists cases that need no permit, for example:

• soy milk in sealed containers and honey made at non-factory premises and sold directly to consumers;
• food where the producer can inform the consumer at the point of sale;
• fresh food whose condition is visible;
• food prepared for service in restaurants, hotels, schools or hospitals;
• food made only for export, except specially controlled foods.

General food

The Sor Bor 7 diagnosis manual says general foods do not have to obtain a serial number, including extracts or synthetic substances used as raw materials, such as ginseng extract, lingzhi, collagen and coenzyme Q10. The classification guidance adds flour, noodles, simple seasonings, sugar, spices and bagged rice.

One exception matters. The same manual says that general or certain processed foods packed in airtight containers and heated, with water activity above 0.85, pH above 4.6 and stored at room temperature, are foods in hermetically sealed containers under Notification No. 469 (2026) and must be filed on form Sor Bor 5.

No number does not mean no duties

Food without a serial number must still be produced under good manufacturing practice under Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 420 (2020), which covers all food produced for sale, with limited exceptions such as restaurants and street stalls. See GMP 420 explained.

You need a licensed manufacturing or import premises first

A serial number is always issued under a licensed premises. Sections 14 and 15 of the Food Act require anyone setting up a factory to produce food for sale, or importing food for sale, to obtain a licence first. The food product permit guide splits manufacturing premises by size:

• Factory scale: machinery totalling 50 horsepower or more, or 50 or more workers. File form Or 1 and receive a food manufacturing licence (Or 2).
• Non-factory scale: file form Sor Bor 1 and receive a non-factory premises certificate (Sor Bor 1/1).

Importers need a food import licence (Or 7). The 2024 regulation says that if an Or 2, Or 7 or Sor Bor 1/1 is cancelled, every serial number under it lapses.

The licence must cover the food type

Premises must pass GMP 420, and the licence lists the food types produced. Food division guidance under Notification No. 469 says a new food type is added with form Sor 4 for factory-scale premises or Sor Bor 2 for non-factory premises. Before contracting a manufacturer, ask whether its licence covers your product.

Brand owners without a factory

A brand that outsources production receives the serial number under the contract manufacturer’s premises, or under a licensed importer. The digits identify the premises, not the brand. See hiring a supplement OEM factory and applying for a Thai food manufacturing licence.

Food serial number application: the e-Submission steps

The 2024 regulation allows filing with the Thai FDA, a provincial health office, or online at privus.fda.moph.go.th, with the evidence in Schedule 2. The system manual for form Sor Bor 7 sets out the sequence:

1. Create a digital identity (Open ID) with the Digital Government Development Agency.
2. Request access to the food system. Bangkok premises submit documents at the Thai FDA One Stop Service Center; provincial premises at the provincial health office.
3. Choose the application type: domestic production, export only (not for sale in Thailand) or import. Imports need a reference number for the foreign plant certificate (Ref.cer) first.
4. Complete the application in the web application, download it as a PDF and upload it with the required attachments.
5. Create a payment slip and pay. The application counts as filed once paid; some applications that meet auto-permission conditions receive a number from the system.
6. Answer clarification requests on time. If you miss the date the system shows, the application is returned automatically and must be filed again.
7. Receive the permission record, such as a food registration Sor Bor 5/1 or food details notification Sor Bor 7/1.

The 13-digit field in the form is used only to reference the formula of a product your own company already holds a number for, or for repacking.

Data and documents to prepare

The Sor Bor 7 diagnosis manual lists 11 items officers use to assess a food. They make a sound baseline for any application:

1. food name;
2. description;
3. formula in percent, with common and scientific names and the part used for plants, animals, microbes or enzymes, and the solvent and key substance for extracts;
4. detailed manufacturing process;
5. intended use;
6. how it is consumed;
7. amount consumed;
8. container;
9. pack size;
10. storage;
11. specific characteristics, such as caffeine content.

Extra items by food group

• Extracts: Schedule 2 of the serial-number regulation requires the solvent, key substance and extraction ratio of raw material to 1 gram of extract.
• Analysis reports: amendment No. 2 (2026) requires cow’s milk, flavoured and fermented milk, dairy products, ice cream, beverages and foods in hermetically sealed containers, coffee, electrolyte drinks, dietary supplements and royal jelly to submit an original analysis report on first production or import for sale, from a government body, a government-recognised body or a laboratory accredited to international standards.
• Ingredients in the database: the e-Submission manual on searching and adding substances says each ingredient needs an FDA Number in the database; if it is missing, a request to add the ingredient must be completed first.
• Label: prepare a Thai label consistent with the application, and screen it with the label checker.

Dietary supplements need further documents; see registering a dietary supplement in Thailand.

After you get a food serial number

The 2024 regulation sets continuing duties:

• Display it correctly: inside the prescribed frame, digits in a colour that contrasts with the frame background, at least 2 mm high.
• Keep records at the premises for inspection: the 100% formula, the manufacturing process, container type, and the raw material specification where a key substance is added.
• Submit the original analysis report for the listed groups. Thai FDA guidance on post-number analysis says any lot may be used if the product, formula and manufacturer are the same, and a report already attached to the application need not be sent again.

Label changes after the number is issued

Amendment No. 2 (2026) says label changes that do not affect benefits, quality, properties or safety are filed on form Or 19 or the online amendment form, listing only the changed parts. Examples include adding “Product of Thailand”, a QR code, a Halal or HACCP mark, or changing colours, font size, layout or images. The words “new” or “new look” may appear for no more than one year.

Grounds for cancellation

The 2024 regulation lists 18 grounds on which a serial number can be cancelled, for example adulterated or counterfeit food, label claims that make the food look like a drug or cosmetic, false advertising, no 100% formula available for inspection, or a novel food that has not passed safety assessment. The licensee must be given a chance to respond first. Before advertising, read Thai food advertising permits.

Common sticking points and how to avoid them

Based on the rules and manuals cited here, check these before you file:

For help with classification, data preparation and filing, see our registration service or contact our team. Costs and lead times depend on the application type and are given in our quotation.

Sources

1. Food Act B.E. 2522 (1979) · Open source · Search our archive
2. Thai FDA Regulation on food serial numbers B.E. 2567 (2024) · Open source · Search our archive
3. Thai FDA Regulation on food serial numbers (No. 2) B.E. 2569 (2026) · Open source · Search our archive
4. Thai FDA guidance on classifying food for permits (August 2026 update) · Open source · Search our archive
5. Thai FDA food-type diagnosis manual for the Sor Bor 7 group (revised 20 August 2026) · Open source · Search our archive
6. Thai FDA guide to food product permits · Open source · Search our archive
7. Thai FDA e-Submission manual: food registration and notification (Sor Bor 7 and Sor Bor 8) · Open source · Search our archive
8. Thai FDA e-Submission manual: searching and adding substances for food applications · Open source · Search our archive
9. Thai FDA guidance on import and manufacturing premises permits (Notification No. 469) · Open source · Search our archive
10. Thai FDA guidance on submitting analysis reports after a food serial number is issued · Open source · Search our archive
11. MOPH Notification No. 420 B.E. 2563 (2020) on production methods, equipment and storage of food · 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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