Selling hot drinks from a Christmas market stall: registering as a food business, and the 28 days

A stall that sells mulled drinks, hot chocolate or coffee at a winter market is a food business on the wording of the Food Standards Agency. The Food Standards Agency's guidance says such businesses register with their local authority, and it sets a timing rule that catches stall holders who leave it to the last month. This article sets out what the FSA's pages say about registering a temporary stall, what the guidance says about facilities, and what it leaves to other rules, including the cups a stall serves in.

Who has to register

The FSA's food business registration page says that if you sell, cook, store, handle, prepare or distribute food, you may be considered a food business and need to register with your local authority. It says registration applies to all types of business who sell food and drink, regardless of where they operate from, and lists businesses trading from a mobile unit or temporary premises such as a stall or van. The starting a food business page adds that if you supply food regularly, for free or otherwise, to the public, you need to register.

The registration page also says a food bank or charity that provides food to the community, even if free, may need to register. A one-off charity stall at a school fair is not addressed by name. In our reading, it is worth asking the local authority rather than assuming it is outside the rule.

The 28 days

For England, Wales and Northern Ireland, both pages say you are required to register at least 28 days before trading, and that the FSA recommends not registering too early but waiting until 28 days before you are ready to start. By our arithmetic, a stall whose first trading day is Saturday 5 December 2026 should register no later than Saturday 7 November 2026. A stall that opens on 1 December needs to register by 3 November.

The starting a food business page says registration is free and cannot be refused. It also says that if you operate in more than one location you register each site with the local authority in which it is located, and that you tell the local authority if you cease trading. A stall holder who works several markets in different council areas should read that as a reason to ask each council how it wants to be told.

Stalls, marquees and the overnight location

The FSA's guidance for businesses that supply or produce food on the move lists marquees, stalls, vans and trailers as movable and temporary premises, and says that where food is sold direct to consumers these premises must be registered with local authorities. For a movable, temporary or domestic business it says to register the food business at the location where the food is stored overnight. For a stall holder who lives in one council area and trades in another, that is the starting point for the question of where to register.

Facilities, rating and training

The same guidance says surfaces that come into contact with food must be easy to clean and kept in sound condition, and lists suitable materials as smooth, washable, corrosion-resistant and non-toxic. Its list of facilities includes an adequate supply of hot and cold water, adequate facilities for cleaning and disinfecting, and storage for utensils and equipment made of corrosion-resistant materials.

A business supplying food direct to consumers receives a food hygiene rating once inspected. The guidance says the business is encouraged to display it, and that displaying it is a legal requirement for premises in Wales and Northern Ireland. The starting a food business page says food businesses must use hazard analysis and critical control point procedures or a system based on them such as Safer food, better business, must provide allergen information, and that a food hygiene certificate is not compulsory but recommended. Our guide to allergen information for drinks poured into cups covers the allergen side.

Alcohol and the street

Registration is a food safety step. The Food Standards Agency pages read for this article do not mention alcohol or street trading, which are separate questions. For those, see our guides to Temporary Event Notices and to street trading consent in England and Wales.

Cups on a stall

Reusable cups are equipment that has to be cleaned. The cup hire page says hire cups are dishwasher safe and that they are collected and serviced, so that you do not need to wash them on site. A stall that owns its cups has a wash-up to plan, and our guide to washing reusable cups between events sets out what the hygiene guidance asks of a wash-up. In our reading, a reusable cup counts as utensils or equipment for the purposes of the facilities list, but the guidance does not mention cups, so a local authority officer is the person to ask. To price a winter run, ask for a quote.

Where this stands

This was checked on 6 October 2026. The registration page is dated 25 June 2026 and the starting a food business page 19 August 2026. The on-the-move page is dated 8 January 2018 and is the oldest page cited. All three are guidance, not the regulations themselves, and they apply to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scottish businesses are directed to Food Standards Scotland.