Food export certificates

If you have a food business and wish to sell your produce abroad, you may be required to have a food export health certificate by the destination country.

To apply for a food export health certificate, you will need to contact the embassy or consulate of the country you wish to export to and they will supply the details and format required for the certificate.

You should then contact us with this information. Before a certificate is issued we may make additional checks depending on the required wording of the certificate.

We will not supply a certificate unless you have registered your food business.

How much is it?

There is a £150 charge for each routine certificate.

Special requirements and obtaining certificates for exporting food

Special requirements and rules apply when exporting food. If you are commercially exporting food from the UK, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are aware of any restrictions and what export conditions apply. You need to do this before food can be exported.

Some countries require special health certificates (each country has different requirement regarding this). Most of these are available from DEFRA’s Rural Payments Agency (RPA) and / or Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

For further details and information on exporting goods and obtaining the certificates, see:

You may also need a health certificate from Wigan Council

Occasionally, in addition to or instead of DEFRA certificates, the country or importer will require a certificate from the local authority that inspects food hygiene where the goods are manufactured.

If the product is manufactured in Wigan Borough and you think you need this type of certificate, please contact our environmental health food team to discuss the certificate wording you require (which you will need to find out from the country or importer concerned) and our fees.

How to apply for a health certificate from Wigan Council

  • All requests must be made a minimum of 10 working days prior to the date the certificate is required. Where possible we may be able to complete them sooner by prior agreement.
  • All requests must be emailed to comm@wigan.gov.uk
  • A payment of £150.00 must be made BEFORE making a request. We will no longer invoice you for the cost of processing your requests - see how to make a payment
  • All requests sent to the email above should confirm the following:
    • Any order / invoice number(s) that needs to be included on the certificate when issued
    • Description of the food product(s) to be exported
    • Export destination
    • Any other information that needs to be included on the certificate when issued
    • Date of payment, including any payment reference.

It is your responsibility to ensure your request confirms all the information that you need us to include on the certificate when issued, and that this is clearly stated in your request.

Making a payment

You must make a payment BEFORE making a request. You can pay via the following two methods:

  • Pay online for a food export health certificate - we will receive immediate notification of this
  • Bank transfer - this will take 2 working days to process. Details for this payment method are:
    • Bank - Barclays Bank, 51 Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3HQ
    • Account Name - Wigan BC-Income
    • Sort Code - 20-55-58
    • Account Number - 63553698
    • Reference - Please quote EXPORT CERTIFICATE and your own reference to help us trace your payment.

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