Livestock Product Storage Business Permit Requirements and Procedure — Freezer and Cold Storage Facility Standards and the 8-Day Processing Period

Procedure

1. 1. Check whether a permit is required

   A business that stores livestock products in a frozen or chilled state needs a livestock product storage business permit. Exceptions are storage by a livestock product processing or meat packing business operator for use as raw materials, and storage by a milk sales business operator with refrigeration or freezing facilities for delivering livestock products sold by a mail-order seller. Permits are granted per workplace, so a separate application is needed for each warehouse.

2. 2. Check the building and location

   The workplace must be a separate building or be separated from facilities used for other purposes. Exceptions apply when it is used together with the facilities of an imported food storage business, or when sealed livestock products and sealed foods are stored separately without mixing. Because the permitting authority checks the building register and land use plan confirmation, check the building's designated use and whether it is marked as an illegal building before signing a lease.

3. 3. Meet the facility standards

   Install facilities for loading and unloading livestock products hygienically, such as a loading dock, along with a pre-freezing room, freezer room and cold room, each separated or partitioned (rooms for product types not handled may be omitted). Each room must allow temperature control and have a thermometer mounted outside so the temperature can be read without opening the door, and the workplace needs waterproof flooring, lighting of at least 75 lux, ventilation, rodent and insect barriers, and a flush toilet with a septic tank. Arrange the space so that livestock products that may contaminate each other can be stored separately.

4. 4. Hygiene training and health checkups

   A person who intends to operate the business completes 6 hours of livestock product hygiene training in advance. Operators and employees directly engaged in storing livestock products must have a health checkup before starting work and every year thereafter, but persons who store only fully packaged livestock products are excluded from the checkup requirement.

5. 5. File the application and receive the permit

   Submit the business permit application with a facility list and layout of the workplace to the city, county or district office where the workplace is located, and include a copy of the drinking water quality test report if groundwater is used. The permitting authority gives notice of its decision within 8 days and issues the permit (Form No. 17), and the fee is 10,000 won (9,000 won online). To change the freezer or cold rooms or the business location after the permit is granted, a change permit is required.

Required documents

• Business permit application (Enforcement Rule of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Form No. 16)
• Facility list and layout of the workplace
• Copy of the drinking water quality test report (when groundwater or other non-tap water is used)
• Self-quality control standards (only for businesses subject to them)
• Copy of the health checkup certificate (if the applicant does not consent to verification through shared administrative information)
• Corporate registration certificate, building register and land use plan confirmation (checked by the permitting authority through shared administrative information)
• Letter of authorization (when submitted by an agent)

Fees

Industry fees generally range from several hundred thousand won to around one million won. The fee is provided after consultation, depending on the warehouse size, the configuration of freezer and cold rooms, the extent of facility improvements, and whether a change permit is involved. Government fees (10,000 won for the permit, 9,000 won online) and costs for facility construction, health checkups and hygiene training are separate.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Article 21
• Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Article 22
• Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Article 29
• Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Article 30
• Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Article 45
• Enforcement Decree of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Article 21
• Enforcement Decree of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Article 22
• Enforcement Rule of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Article 29
• Enforcement Rule of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Article 30
• Enforcement Rule of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Article 44
• Enforcement Rule of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Article 49
• Enforcement Rule of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Article 50
• Enforcement Rule of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Annex 10
• Enforcement Rule of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Annex 15
• Enforcement Rule of the Livestock Products Sanitary Control Act, Form No. 16

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-12

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

• Before leasing a warehouse, check the building register for its designated use and any illegal building marking, and whether the structure can be separated from facilities used for other purposes, to reduce the need to rebuild facilities at the permit stage.
• Logistics warehouse business registration and the livestock product storage business permit are separate procedures under different laws and handled by different authorities, so if livestock products are stored in a freezer or cold logistics warehouse, check both procedures separately.

Frequently asked questions