Tell your council when you stop trading
Across the UK, the law requires you to notify the council’s food-safety team when your food establishment closes, and keep it informed of significant changes.
Our suggested closure sequence:
- Find the council responsible for your restaurant’s address. Use its food-business contact details or its closure form if it provides one.
- Give the trading name, address, operator’s name and last trading date. Say whether the closure is permanent, temporary or a handover.
- Ask for written confirmation about registration, the rating listing and displayed materials. Arrange your final food-service and premises tasks.
For example, Somerset Council asks a closing food business to update its details through its general enquiries online form. Follow your own council’s route.
Suggested message: “I operate [name] at [address]. We will stop trading on [date]. This is a [permanent closure / temporary pause / handover]. Please confirm how to update our food-business registration and rating listing, and what to do with our displayed rating.”
For Scotland, use the Food Standards Scotland council directory below. Elsewhere, use the food-safety team finder. Ask the council to correct a stale listing and confirm how it will record your closure.
Stop trading with a low rating
Yes, you can stop trading with a low food hygiene rating. Tell the council you are closing, and check the separate company strike-off rules below.
A low rating and enforcement closure are different. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the food-safety officer can take enforcement action where food may be unsafe, including stopping part of the business or closing it until it is safe to reopen.
For example, in England a court can make a hygiene prohibition order where the legal conditions are met. If you have a prohibition order or another enforcement notice, our advice is to ask the council what it means for your premises, equipment and any reopening plans.
Finish food service and prepare the premises
For England, Wales and Northern Ireland, food businesses must dispose of waste securely and properly.
Our practical advice for your final trading day:
- Plan what to do with remaining stock and ask the food-safety team about anything you are unsure about.
- Arrange waste collection and cleaning before handing back the keys.
- Check storage areas and bins for food or rubbish left behind.
- Ask your waste contractor about chemicals or other materials it will not collect.
- Send the council your final trading date if your plans change.
For Scotland, ask your council for the food-safety steps appropriate to your premises. Use the practical list above as a planning aid.
Check your rating display and listing
The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Its ratings run from 0 to 5 and describe standards found at inspection.
In England, the FSA says you can display the rating in your window or door. In Wales and Northern Ireland, display at or near each customer entrance is legally required while open for business.
Scotland uses the Food Hygiene Information Scheme, with outcomes including Pass, Improvement Required and Awaiting Inspection.
Our advice: ask the council what to do with stickers, certificates, online rating images and your listing when you close. Ask it to confirm any listing update rather than assuming the rating will disappear on your last trading day.
Deal with a temporary closure
Tell the council that you are pausing rather than closing permanently, and give your expected reopening date if you have one. Ask whether your registration details need updating and what rating information to display when you reopen.
If an officer has sent you instructions, take those documents into the conversation. Ask what work and checks are needed before reopening, and keep the council’s written reply with your reopening plan.
Plan a handover or change of name
For a new operator in England, the FHRS Brand Standard says the establishment should be registered and treated as new, with a new rating given at its first inspection, partial inspection or audit. The old operator’s rating is not the new operator’s rating.
In Scotland, food businesses must register at least 28 days before opening. A change of operator at the same address requires a fresh FHIS assessment.
For England, the FSA’s Brand Standard says that changing only the establishment’s name, with the same operator, does not produce a new rating. If you are rebranding in Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland, ask your council how to update the name and display materials.
Our advice is to record clearly who is handing over, who is taking over and the date. Ask the incoming operator to arrange their own council contact rather than relying on the old sticker.
Act promptly if you dispute a recent rating
For England, Wales and Northern Ireland, you must make your appeal in writing within 21 days of notification of the rating, including weekends and public holidays.
If you think the rating is wrong, read your notification letter and contact the officer promptly. Ask which appeal form applies to your location. If you want advice about improvements or another inspection, discuss that separately with the council. For a Scottish assessment, ask your council about the FHIS safeguards.
Keep your closure paperwork together
Our recommendation is to keep the inspection report, your closure or handover dates, messages to and from the council, and its confirmation about registration and rating information.
Close your limited company separately
Closing your restaurant and updating its food registration do not dissolve your limited company. To apply for voluntary strike-off, your company must not have traded or sold stock in the last 3 months; other eligibility conditions also apply.
The law allows activities needed to conclude the company’s affairs, meet statutory requirements or make a strike-off application during that period. Paying an existing liability is not treated as trading for this rule.
Within 7 days from the day you apply for strike-off, send a copy of the application to every member, creditor, employee, manager or trustee of an employee pension fund, and director who did not sign it. Creditors include a landlord, staff or voucher holders where the company owes them money. The initial copy duty ends if you withdraw the application before its copy deadline.
While the application is pending, the directors must send a copy within 7 days from the day someone newly enters one of those categories. This duty ends if the application is finally dealt with or withdrawn before that copy deadline.
Our advice is to check any debts, objections and enforcement matters before choosing the company-closure route. Use the restaurant guide to plan that work alongside the premises handover.