By Mthokozisi Nkosi, Food Scientist, SAATCA Registered R638:2018 Lead Implementer (SAATCA register RG003), Lead Auditor registered with Exemplar Global and IRCA, Founder of ASC Food Safety Consultants. Updated November 2026.
Short answer: in Johannesburg the Certificate of Acceptability (COA) is issued by the Environmental Health Directorate of the City’s Health Department, through its regional Environmental Health offices. The City says the COA itself is free. You apply at the regional office for the area your premises are in, an environmental health practitioner (EHP) inspects, and the certificate is issued in the name of your person in charge. At a City workshop in February 2026, an EHP said the turnaround is “less than one week”, provided all required documents from the other departments have been approved. That condition is where most Joburg applications get stuck.
Our food safety training page for Johannesburg lists the regional Environmental Health offices, from Soweto to Midrand. For the national rules, read the 2026 COA municipal guide.
Who issues the COA in Johannesburg
The City’s Environmental Health Directorate sits in the Health Department and works through regional offices. In a 2022 statement the City said that applications go to the applicable regional Environmental Health office, where a business licence officer or designated staff member explains the legal requirements, Council policy and any fees.
The same statement said the issuing of a COA is free of charge. City EHPs carry official identification cards and must show them during inspections. No “rewards” may be given for services, because the City treats that as a bribe. People posing as EHPs have sold fake licences and COAs in Joburg, so never pay anyone to “speed up” a certificate.
How to apply in Joburg, in the right order
- Check your land use first. At the February 2026 workshop in Roodepoort, a City town planner told business owners to make sure “the correct land-use and business rights are in place” before they start trading.
- Train your person in charge. Regulation 10(1)(a) of R638 requires the person in charge to be suitably qualified or adequately trained in food safety and hygiene.
- Apply in writing at your regional office. Regulation 3(2) requires a written application to the local authority. Phone your regional Environmental Health office first and ask what it wants in the file. At the Roodepoort workshop, owners in that area were told they could submit COA and business licence applications at the Roodepoort Civic Centre in Florida North.
- The inspection. The EHP inspects and recommends the certificate if the premises comply. If not, regulation 3(5) allows up to six months to make the changes.
- Display the certificate. Regulation 3(7) requires it to be displayed, or a copy produced at once on request.
Our COA application checklist lists the documents most offices ask for.
Walk into your regional office with the training done
A Joburg EHP will ask who your person in charge is and what training they have. The ASC Food Safety Practices for Persons in Charge course is on the SAATCA register for R638 Person in Charge training, is HPCSA CPD accredited and is run by a FoodBev SETA accredited training provider. It is fully online, self paced, and ends in a video proctored assessment.
About the provider: ASC Food Safety is an Exemplar Global Recognised Training Provider, with 28 of its auditor, HACCP, GMP and ISO courses recognised.
What the Joburg EHP checks
In November 2024 the City reported on a workshop for traders at the Joburg Market, where a City EHP said a COA requires “strict adherence to hygiene standards in food premises, along with a valid business licence”. The EHP listed the basics: clean premises, safe food temperatures, thorough cooking, safe water, hand hygiene and keeping raw and cooked food apart. On the day, expect the EHP to look at:
- The premises. Regulation 5 requires a wash-up facility with hot and cold water, pest proofing, and hand-washing facilities with soap and disposable towels or another hygienic hand-drying method.
- Staff practice. Protective clothing under regulation 9 and the food handler duties in regulation 11.
- Training records. Regulation 10(1)(c) requires routine checks that training is working, and 10(1)(d) requires training programmes and records to be kept and shown to an inspector.
If the visit ends with a list of findings, read what the person in charge must do after EHP findings.
Where Joburg applications usually wait
Other departments. The “less than one week” figure only starts once the paperwork from other departments is approved. Land use sits with the City’s Development Planning department, not Environmental Health. Ask your regional office early which documents it needs from Development Planning.
Which comes first, licence or COA? City officials have linked the COA to a valid business licence, and in Roodepoort both applications go to the same civic centre. Ask your regional office which it wants first so you do not queue twice.
Inspector time. In October 2024 The Citizen reported that Joburg had 221 health inspectors, about one for every 27 000 residents. A complete file gets booked faster than one with gaps.
Changes after you have the COA. The Roodepoort EHP said the COA becomes invalid if the business relocates, changes its trading type or expands its operations. Plan renovations with that in mind. Our post on change of ownership and renovation covers it.
Why the person in charge trains before you apply
The COA is issued in the name of the person in charge, and regulation 10(1)(a) puts the training duty on that person. An untrained person in charge is a finding on day one, and that means a second visit from a stretched inspectorate. At the Joburg Market workshop, a City EHP said failing to produce a COA during an inspection can lead to a R5 000 fine. In Roodepoort, an official from the City’s Environmental Health business licence unit said penalties for non-compliance start at R2 500 and can include up to three months in prison.
Train your staff as well. Regulation 10(1)(b) covers everyone else who works on the premises. The Basic Food Hygiene Awareness for Food Handlers course is R420 and takes about four hours. Not sure who needs which course? Read Person in Charge or food handler: who needs which course. For group seats in the metro, see the Johannesburg training page.
Questions from Joburg owners
Does the City of Johannesburg charge for a COA? The City has said the issuing of a COA is free. Business licences and some permits have Council tariffs, which your regional office will explain.
I took over a restaurant in Sandton. Can I use the old COA? No. Regulation 3(9)(a) says a COA cannot be transferred between persons or premises, and the City’s EHPs say the same. See why the COA does not transfer to a new owner.
Can I open while I wait? No. Regulation 3(1) says no food may be handled on premises without a valid COA.
Enrol your person in charge on the R638 Persons in Charge course before you go to your regional Environmental Health office.
