Free tool
Licence & Compliance Checklist
State + format → FSSAI / GST / fire NOC / trade / signage / music / liquor / professional tax: cost, duration, authority. Gated PDF download.
State / UT
Format
Your licence checklist
Everything a casual dining in Maharashtra needs before opening day.
| Licence | Authority | Cost (₹) | Validity | Lead time | Critical? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSSAI State Licence | Food Safety and Standards Authority of India | 2,000 – 5,000 | 12m | 10–21 d | Yes | Mandatory for any food business above ₹12L turnover. Cost varies by validity period (1-5 years). |
| GST Registration | GSTN (Goods and Services Tax Network) | 0 – 0 | Permanent | 3–7 d | Yes | Free of cost. Mandatory above ₹40L turnover (₹20L for some states/categories). |
| Trade Licence | Local Municipal Corporation | 3,000 – 15,000 | 12m | 15–45 d | Yes | Cost depends on city, area sqft, and category. Renewable annually. |
| Fire NOC | State Fire Department | 5,000 – 25,000 | 12m | 21–60 d | Yes | Required for premises >100 sqm seating or kitchens with LPG bank. Fire-safety equipment install adds ₹40K-₹2L capex. |
| Signage / Hoarding Licence | Local Municipal Corporation | 1,500 – 12,000 | 12m | 7–30 d | No | Cost varies by signage area (per sqft) and visibility class. |
| Music / Performance Licence | PPL India + IPRS (joint) | 12,000 – 60,000 | 12m | 3–14 d | No | Required if recorded or live music is played in the premises. Cost depends on seating + city tier. |
| Liquor Licence (FL-3 / restaurant bar) | State Excise Department | 2,00,000 – 7,00,000 | 12m | 60–180 d | Yes | Maharashtra FL-3 (restaurant bar) — separate from FL-4 (beer/wine). Cost driven by Bombay Suburban / Pune urban classification. |
| Eating House Licence | Police Commissioner / Local Police | 3,000 – 15,000 | 12m | 14–45 d | No | Required in many states (e.g. Delhi). Combines with trade licence in some others. |
| Pollution NOC (Consent to Operate) | State Pollution Control Board | 3,000 – 25,000 | 60m | 30–90 d | No | Required for kitchens above 100 sqm or with significant exhaust. Renewable every 5 years. |
| Shop & Establishment Registration | State Labour Department | 500 – 5,000 | 12m | 5–21 d | Yes | Mandatory for any commercial premises. Cost depends on number of employees. |
| Professional Tax Registration | State Commercial Tax Department | 0 – 2,500 | 12m | 3–14 d | No | Applies in Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat (and a few more). Capped at ₹2,500/year/person under Article 276. |
What it takes
LiveTotal licence cost
₹2,30,000–8,64,500
11 licences for a casual dining in Maharashtra
Lead time (worst case)60–180 days
Closure-level renewals6 licences
Maharashtra
Professional tax applicable; FL-3 + FL-4 framework for liquor. Single-window: MAITRI Portal.
Track these renewals in Forkcast Book Demo →
Forkcast alerts at 60 / 30 / 14 / 7 / 3 / 1 days before each expiry — closure-level licences pre-filled for Maharashtra.
Dhaba / Casual Highway licences in Karnataka
Opening a dhaba / casual highway in Karnataka requires 9 licences. 5 of them are closure-level — miss the renewal and the shop seals.
Karnataka specifics: Professional tax applicable; bar licence under KSBCL. Use the Karnataka Udyami Mitra single-window portal where possible to compress the timeline by 30-40%.
Use the table below for the full list with deep-links. Then check the opening cost calculator and the 90-day playbook.
More free calculator tools
Run the next number while this one is fresh.
Related reading
- pre launchLicenses required for a restaurant in India (11-item list)Indian restaurants need 9-11 licences depending on state, format, and liquor status. Most owners discover #10 in month four. Here is the complete checklist with cost, validity, authority, and lead time for each.
- pre launchFSSAI licence in Maharashtra: cost, timeline, documentsFSSAI is the single most-asked-about licence for new restaurant owners. The actual process is simpler than the fixers around FoSCoS suggest. Here is what you actually pay, what you actually upload, and what trips up first-time applicants.
- pre launchFire NOC for restaurants: cost and timeline by stateFire NOC is the licence that blocks everything else — no Trade Licence, no aggregator listing, no opening without it. Cost and timeline vary sharply by state and premises size. Here is the 2026 breakdown and the filing sequence that avoids a 60-day delay.
- pre launchHow to open a cloud kitchen on Zomato (India 2026)Zomato onboarding is paperwork plus a kitchen that photographs as commercial. Here is the document list, commission reality, and how to avoid going live with negative margin on your bestseller.
Common questions
Other free tools