Food and international trade
FDA food facility renewal 2026: prepare your Mexico shipments
The FDA food facility registration renewal window is open. Check the dates, confirm who owns the process and coordinate with your Mexican food suppliers.
The FDA's biennial food facility registration renewal window opened October 1 and closes December 31, 2026. It covers domestic and foreign facilities required to register that manufacture, process, pack or hold food for people or animals in the United States. The agency published its reminder on September 29.
For a U.S. buyer sourcing food from Mexico, this is a good time to contact suppliers. The person confirming a purchase order may not be the person managing the plant's registration. Make sure both teams know what needs to happen and who will confirm completion.
Updating a registration is different from renewing it
A change made during the year does not replace biennial renewal. FDA's guide distinguishes the two functions and states that a registration expires if it is not renewed by the deadline. Facilities also need an accepted unique facility identifier; FDA currently recognizes the DUNS number. Read the renewal guide.
Assign someone to check that the process was completed. An account login or an email to a consultant is a useful first step, but it is not the confirmation your logistics team needs.
Review each facility, not just the supplier's brand
We suggest keeping a short shared list for purchasing, quality and trade compliance:
| Review point | Question to resolve |
|---|---|
| Facility | Which location makes, packs or holds the product in this order? |
| Details | Are we using consistent names and addresses in our records? |
| Account access | Can the person responsible sign in and complete the process? |
| Ownership | Who will resolve discrepancies and follow up? |
| Evidence | Where will the team keep the renewal confirmation? |
| Shipments | Which upcoming orders depend on this facility? |
This is an internal coordination list. Whether a facility must register or falls within an exemption depends on its activities and products and should be checked with the compliance lead.
Take a Mexican sauce brand that uses a contract manufacturer. The sales contact may have the brand's commercial details, while the production company manages the plant registration. Ask the person responsible for that facility to confirm its status, then associate the response with the correct supplier record.
If your purchasing team uses more than one producer for the same item, handle each separately. That makes it easier to know which open task affects which order.
Does FDA charge a renewal fee?
FDA does not charge for food facility registration or renewal. Submissions go through FDA Industry Systems electronically unless the agency has granted a waiver. Source: FDA reminder.
If you hire assistance, ask the provider to identify its service fee and scope. It should be clear who submits the renewal, who answers follow-up requests and what confirmation your team will receive.
Keep the facility review separate from the shipment review
Food facility registration is one part of U.S. import preparation. FDA also identifies Prior Notice, food safety and labeling requirements, and inspection at entry. A renewed registration is not product approval or a guarantee that an individual shipment will be released. FDA's food import guidance.
Keep a second working list for the shipment itself: product, pack format, supplier, importer, route and expected arrival. For refrigerated goods, share the planned temperature and storage needs with the people arranging transportation and receiving the load.
The distinction is useful when a delivery date changes. The facility record may already be settled, while the shipment plan still needs attention.
What to share with your customs team
Tell us what the product is, who makes it, its origin and destination cities, the expected shipping date and whether it needs refrigeration. Those details let us discuss U.S. customs coordination and, where relevant, clearance for perishable goods.
Request a quote for your shipment with the product, origin, destination and shipping date. Reviewing the route and records before loading helps your team identify open items while there is still time to resolve them.
Reviewed October 2, 2026. This article concerns food facility registration; other FDA-regulated products follow different registration requirements.