Online Registration of Food Facilities

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• Registration of Food Facilities Start
• Section 1 – Type of Registration
• Section 2 – Facility Name / Address Information
• Section 3 – Optional: Preferred Mailing Address Information
• Section 4 – Parent Company Name / Address Information
• Section 5 – Facility Emergency Contact Information
• Section 6 – Trade Names
• Section 7 – United States Agent
• Section 8 – Seasonal Facility Dates of Operation
• Section 9 – General Product Categories – Human/Animal/Both
• Section 9a – General Product Categories – Food for Human Consumption; and Type of Activity Conducted at the Facility
• Section 9b – General Product Categories – Food for Animal Consumption; and Type of Activity Conducted at the Facility
• Section 10 – Owner, Operator, or Agent in Charge Information 
• Section 11 – Inspection Statement
• Section 12 – Certification Statement
• Review - Registration Review
• Success - Registration Successful/View Complete Registration
• Save and Exit - Save a Partially Completed Registration  

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Register a Food Facility

After you have logged in to FDA Industry Systems (FIS), choose "Food Facility Registration" from the list of available systems on the FDA Unified Registration and Listing System (FURLS) Account Management Home Page (Figure 1).

Figure 1

Once in the Food Facility Registration (FFR) system, choose the “Register a Food Facility” main menu option to register a food facility (Figure 2). From the FFR main menu you may also complete a draft registration, update a facility registration, cancel a facility registration, link a registration to your account, search for one of your facility registrations, manage registrations among your accounts, link registrations to your accounts, confirm receipt of a mailed notification, retrieve your registration’s unique PIN if it is ever lost or forgotten, and renew your registration(s) during biennial renewal periods every two years.

Figure 2

At the top of every page a status bar will track your progress through each step of the online application process (Figure 3). The help link (i.e., the red question mark at the top of every page) will provide page specific help if needed. For an overview of all the help files available see the FDA Industry Systems Index of Help Pages.  At the top right of each page, the "FURLS Home" link will take you back to the FIS/FURLS home page (Figure 1) and the "FFR Home" link will take you to the Food Facility Registration main menu (Figure 2). Choose FURLS Home to log out of your account.

Figure 3

Each screen also includes navigation buttons such as the following (Figure 4):

Figure 4

• Previous - go back one screen and continue entering registration information. Information entered on the current screen will not be saved.
• Next - go to the next screen and continue entering registration information.
• Save and Exit – save a partially complete registration. (See Save and Exit-Save a Partially Completed Registration for more details) 

Broker Identification

This section is required.  If you are creating a registration for the first time, the following questions will be displayed before Section 1 of the registration process. These questions will identify whether you need to register your facility.

Figure 4b

Regardless of the answers chosen, you may continue to register your food facility. You may also view your responses on the registration review page.

Fields Included in this Section

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Section 1 - Type of Registration 

This section is required.

Indicate the location of the facility being registered and whether you are submitting a registration as a new owner of a previously registered facility (Figure 5). (Subaccounts have the option of determining if their account will be automatically linked to this registration or not).  Continue with the registration when complete.

Figure 5

Fields Included in this Section

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Section 2 - Facility Name / Address Information

Enter the name and address of the facility being registered. As an option, you may also enter information about a Preferred Mailing Address if that address is different from the Facility Address.

This section is required.

Enter the name, address, phone number, FAX number, and e-mail address of the facility being registered (Figure 6a).

If you would like to have the system fill in this section using the information you entered when you created your Online Account Administration (OAA) account, select the “Autofill from Account Information” option. Select “Clear” to clear all information entered on the screen.

Figure 6a

Fields Included in this Section

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Section 3 - Preferred Mailing Address Information (Optional)

This section is optional but if your facility has a preferred mailing address then enter the information in Section 3 (Figure 6b).

Figure 6b

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Section 4 - Parent Company Name/Address Information

This section is optional; enter if applicable and if different than information entered in Sections 2 or 3.

The company that owns the facility being registered is referred to as the Parent Company. (Figure 6c);

The Facility Address and the Parent Company Address do not need to be in the same country/area. 

Fields Included in this Section

If the facility conducts business under a name other than that entered in Section 2: Facility Name / Address Information then complete this section as identifying any alternate trade names will be required. For example, complete this section if you describe your facility as "also doing business as ..." or "facility also known as ..."

Figure 6c

Note: After completing the Section 2, Section 3 and Section 4 in the Step 2 (Contact Information), the system performs address validation for the section 2 and section 3 when the user clicks “NEXT” button

Note: The messages, "Facility Address is invalid" or "The address submitted has been validated with corrections" means that the system was unable to verify the address entered. You are advised to re-check the address entered and if they are incorrect, select "Edit Address" to correct the information. If the changes made by the system are correct select "Accept Validated Address." If you wish to keep your original address as entered, select "Accept Provided Address" and continue with the registration process (Figure 7a).

Figure 7a

Note: If you receive the following message after your address has been validated, then the system has determined that the new registration that you are attempting to create may be a possible duplicate to an existing registration (Figure 7b). While you may continue to create your new registration, please be aware that it has been flagged and will be reviewed by the FDA.

Figure 7b

Note: The messages, "Facility Address is invalid" or "The address submitted has been validated with corrections" means that the system was unable to verify the address entered. You are advised to re-check the address entered and if they are incorrect, select "Edit Address" to correct the information. If the changes made by the system are correct select "Accept Validated Address." If you wish to keep your original address as entered, select "Accept Provided Address" and continue with the registration process (Figure 8).

Figure 8

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Section 5 - Facility Emergency Contact Information

Enter the Facility Emergency Contact Information (Figure 9). FDA will use this information in case of emergency to notify the facility of the nature of the emergency. Unless foreign facilities choose to designate another emergency contact, FDA will use their U.S. agent as the emergency contact. If you are registering a foreign facility, the system will prompt you to indicate whether your Emergency Contact information is the same as the U.S. Agent Contact information.

Fields Included in this Section

Figure 9

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Section 6 - Trade Names

If this facility uses alternate trade names in addition to the name provided in Section 2, you can list them in Section 6: Trade Names (Figure 10).

Fields Included in this Section

Figure 10

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Section 7 - United States Agent

This section is required for the successful registration of foreign facilities.

Enter information about the United States Agent for the facility being registered (Figure 11). Every foreign facility must have a U.S. Agent who acts as the domestic communications representative for that facility (domestic facilities do not require a U.S. Agent).  The system will provide address validation upon continuing with the registration.

Fields Included in this Section

Note: The U.S. Agent should not be confused with the Agent in Charge, which is another type of submitter for either domestic or foreign facilities.

Figure 11

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Section 8 - Seasonal Facility Dates of Operation (Optional)

Indicate the approximate dates during which this facility operates if it operates on a seasonal basis. You may select up to two different Harvest periods with a start and end month (Figure 12).

Figure 12

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Section 9 - General Product Categories – Human/Animal/Both

Based on your facility’s activities, you may choose Food for Human Consumption and/or Food for Animal Consumption as shown in (Figure 13).

This section is required.

Figure 13

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Section 9a – General Product Categories – Food for Human Consumption; and Type of Activity Conducted at the Facility

This section is required.

All facilities that are registering must complete section 9a, 9b, or both sections if applicable. Select as many of the categories as appropriate.

If your facility does not manufacture, process, pack or hold food for human consumption, select box 37: "… NONE OF THE ABOVE FOOD CATEGORIES APPLY”. You may then enter in your own description in the text box provided.

The Type of Activity Conducted at the Facility selections is optional. You may check all types of operations that are performed at this facility regarding the manufacturing/processing, packing or holding of food. For example, if the Product Category “alcoholic beverages, number 1” is selected, and you perform as a “manufacturer/processor” you would select that option on line 2 in the eighth column.

“Select all” and “Unselect All” options are also available which enables the user to select all the options available and unselect all the options selected at once.

Examples for Section 9a (Figure 14a and Figure 14b).
Examples for Section 9b (Figure 15a and Figure 15b).

Figure 14a 

Figure 14b

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Section 9b – General Product Categories – Food for Animal Consumption; and Type of Activity Conducted at the Facility

Select as many of the 32 categories as appropriate. (See Figure 15) If none of the mandatory categories apply, select box 33: "… NONE OF THE ABOVE FOOD CATEGORIES APPLY”. You may then enter in your own description in the text box provided.

“Select all” and “Unselect All” options are also available which enables the user to select all the options available and unselect all the options selected at once.

Note: For more information on the use of food product categories in registration of food facilities see Guidance for Industry: Necessity of the Use of Food Product Categories in Registration of Food Facilities. For more information about each of the categories included in Sections 9a and 9b, see the Product Code Builder and the relevant regulation (21 CFR 170.3).

Figure 15a

Figure 15b

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Section 10 – Owner, Operator, or Agent in Charge Information 

This section is required. 

If the contact information for the owner, operator, or agent in charge is the same as that in another section of the form, choose the circle corresponding to that section;
Otherwise enter the information as requested (Figure 16). 

Figure 16

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Section 11 – Inspection Statement

This section is required.

Select the check box that you acknowledge the FDA will be permitted to inspect the facility at the time and in the manner permitted by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act (Figure 17).

Figure 17

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Section 12 – Certification Statement

This section is required.

Enter information about yourself as the submitter of this registration, the person who authorized submission of this registration, and certify its truth and accuracy (Figure 18a and Figure 18b). Once you have completed this section, you will be given the opportunity to review your registration and make any changes before submitting it for processing.

The owner, operator, or agent in charge of the facility, or an individual authorized by the owner, operator, or agent in charge of the facility, must submit this form.
If option B is selected then a screen will pop up and all the details have to be filled.

By submitting this form to FDA, the owner, operator, or agent in charge or the individual authorized by the owner, operator, or agent in charge, certifies that the information submitted is true and accurate and that the facility has authorized the submitter to register on its behalf. Under 18 U.S.C. 1001, anyone who makes a materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement to the U.S. Government is subject to criminal penalties. 

Fields Included in this Section

Figure 18a

Figure 18b

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Registration Review

Review your registration before submitting it for processing. (Figure 19, partial view) Selecting the EDIT button for a section brings up the corresponding data entry screen from which you can edit and save changes.

Select Submit to submit the registration or Cancel to cancel the submission.

Note: The Facility Location under Section 1: Type of Registration (in which you indicate whether this is a domestic or foreign facility) cannot be changed at this point. If you wish to change the Facility Location, you must Cancel this registration and begin a new registration.

Figure 19

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Registration Successful

A message indicates that your registration was submitted successfully, and your Registration Number and PIN are displayed (Figure 20). Record these numbers for your records.

If you plan to have another account owner update this registration, you may give this person the registration number and PIN to gain access. Note, however, that providing this person with the registration number and PIN also allows that person to cancel the registration.

View Complete Registration

To view the entire registration in its final form, select View Complete Registration. Using the buttons at the bottom of the screen, you can print a copy of the registration for your records. Or, you can return to the FFRM Main Menu to enter another registration or complete other registration tasks.

Note: The registration number and PIN are displayed at the top of the registration form.

Fields Included in this Section

The system displays this message only if it is Domestic Registration Submitted by Owner operator.

Figure 20

This message pops up for other scenarios.

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Save and Exit - Save a Partially Completed Registration

Upon completing at least up to Section 2 of the Registration, the system will allow the user to save their registration as a draft. This will allow you to save a partially completed registration and return at a later time to complete the registration.

Please Note – the registration will be saved up to 7 days after the initial draft was completed. You must complete and submit the registration within 7 days or your draft will be deleted from the system.

When you choose to Save and Exit, the system will advise you that a reference number has been assigned (Figure 21). This is temporary and may be used as a reference to complete your registration.

Figure 21

To access your draft registrations, select the Complete Draft Registration button from the FFRM main menu. Note: This button will only show up on the FFRM Main Menu if you have saved at least one draft registration using the save and exit option.

After choosing the Complete Draft Registration button the system will display all draft registrations that are available for you to complete (Figure 22).

Figure 22

Select the draft you wish to complete by clicking on the reference number. The system will display the registration with all the information that was previously entered (Figure 23). You may select the “Edit” option next to the section you wish to complete. The system will walk you through the remainder of the registration.

Figure 23

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