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Health license and registration with Health Surveillance (Vigilância Sanitária)

Classification of the activity, adaptation of the space and follow-up of the application with Health Surveillance (Vigilância Sanitária), so restaurants, clinics, salons and other businesses can operate without risk of closure.

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Clean, organized neighborhood restaurant kitchen, with stainless steel counters, white tiled walls, a handwashing-only sink, a range hood and labeled containers on the shelves

Quick answer

Health license and Health Surveillance registration in São Paulo, in a few lines

In São Paulo, anyone who works with food, health, beauty or medicines, or who cares for children and the elderly, needs the Health Operating License (Licença de Funcionamento Sanitária), identified by the CMVS number. Since August 2025, the rule has been Ordinance SMS 266/2025: each activity has a risk level, and at high risk the application goes through a document review or an inspection before the license. Operating without a license can lead to a fine and closure. MTC classifies each activity, prepares the technical part and follows the case through to the license.

Updated on by the MTC technical team, based on the rules cited on this page.

Current rule
Ordinance SMS 266/2025, since August 11, 2025
Source: Ordinance SMS No. 266/2025 (health licensing)(opens in a new tab)
Medium risk
License integrated into the company's registration
Source: Ordinance SMS No. 266/2025 (health licensing)(opens in a new tab)
High risk
Document review or inspection before the license
Source: Ordinance SMS No. 266/2025 (health licensing)(opens in a new tab)
Fine
Up to R$ 500,000, adjusted 2004 value
Source: Municipal Health Code (Código Sanitário do Município), Law No. 13.725/2004(opens in a new tab)

What the health license is

Anyone who prepares or sells food, provides health or beauty services, cares for children or the elderly, or works with medicines and cosmetics carries out a health-related activity. In São Paulo, these activities need the Health Operating License (Licença de Funcionamento Sanitária), identified by the CMVS number, before they start operating.

Since August 2025, the rule has been Ordinance SMS 266/2025. Each activity (CNAE) has a risk level: at medium risk, the license is integrated into the company's registration; at high risk, the application goes through a document review or an inspection before the license. Operating without a license or outside the rules can lead to a fine of up to R$ 500,000 (adjusted 2004 value) and to closure.

The point that most often holds things up is the classification: an activity different from the one declared gets the license canceled during an inspection, and the same code can change risk level depending on what is done on site. MTC checks each activity, assesses the space, prepares the technical part with an engineer or architect, such as the DCFF with an ART or RRT, and follows the case through to the license.

What MTC does

  • Classification

    Each activity checked: license, risk level and documents.

  • Space assessment

    Floors, walls, sinks, exhaust and workflows within the standards.

  • Technical part

    Physical-functional design and DCFF with an ART or RRT, when required.

  • Follow-up

    Case put together, requirements answered and license issued.

Understand it in one image

Three paths, depending on the activity's risk

  1. Not on the list

    No health license

    The activity remains subject to inspection and to good practice rules.

  2. Medium risk

    Integrated license

    Issued with the company's registration, with no prior inspection. Restaurant, bakery, salon.

  3. High risk

    Review by Health Surveillance

    Declaration of conformity or inspection before the license; at many clinics, also the DCFF with an ART or RRT.

The declared activity decides the path. If an inspection finds a different activity, the license is canceled.

Illustrative diagram, based on Ordinance SMS 266/2025 (arts. 4, 5 and 8) and Ordinance SMS/COVISA 404/2024 (DCFF). The level of each activity is in Annex I of the ordinance.

What sets the path for your license

Getting one of these points wrong brings down the license at inspection.
  1. 01 · ActivityThe CNAE actually carried out on site
  2. 02 · RiskMedium or high, according to the official list
  3. 03 · SpaceFacilities suited to the activity
  4. 04 · Technical managerWhen the activity requires one
Who usually needs it:Restaurant and snack barBakery and pastry shopClinic and practiceSalon and aestheticsPharmacy and drugstoreDaycare and nursing home

The license path for each activity

The official list has about 190 activities. The risk level of each one decides the application, the documents and whether there is a prior inspection.

Risk levelWhat happensExamples
Not on the listWhat happens:No health license, but subject to inspection and good practice rulesExamples:Bar, canteen and gym without a pool
MediumWhat happens:Integrated license (CLI) with the company's registration, with no prior inspectionExamples:Restaurant, snack bar, bakery, beauty salon and medical practice for consultations only
HighWhat happens:Application to Health Surveillance, with a declaration of conformity (DCA) or inspection before the licenseExamples:Industrial kitchen, dental practice, drugstore, daycare, nursing home and tattoo studio
High, with a physical designWhat happens:Also the DCFF, signed by an engineer or architect with an ART or RRTExamples:Clinic with tests or surgery, laboratory and compounding pharmacy

The same activity code can change level depending on what is done on site, and an activity different from the one declared gets the license canceled during an inspection. MTC checks activity by activity before the application.

Source: Ordinance SMS No. 266/2025, Annex I (activities and risk level)(opens in a new tab)

Why regularize with Health Surveillance

From doors closed by inspectors to a business cleared to operate

Tap a problem to see how it is solved.

What happens to those operating without a health license

Any health-related activity can be inspected, with or without a license, and Health Surveillance can act on the spot when there is a health risk. At the agency, the path is usually as follows.

  1. 1

    Inspection and requirements

    A report with what to correct and the deadline to correct it.

    What can be done

    Bring the space and documents into compliance within the deadline.

  2. 2

    Violation notice

    Issued on the spot, with 10 days to file a defense.

    What can be done

    Defense within the deadline and a compliance plan.

  3. 3

    Fine

    From R$ 100 to R$ 500,000, adjusted 2004 values, depending on severity.

    What can be done

    Appeal within 10 days and regularization of the activity.

  4. 4

    Closure

    Partial or total closure and cancellation of the license.

    What can be done

    Meet the requirements and request release.

Beyond Health Surveillance: what the lack of a license costs

In operations

  • Closed doorsClosure in the middle of business hours.
  • Seized productsFood and equipment rendered unusable.

In business

  • Contracts on holdOutsourced suppliers need a valid license.
  • AnvisaPharmacies need the license before the authorization.

In finances

  • FinesAmounts adjusted every year.
  • Renovation redoneSpace adapted after it is already built.

Opening, moving or received a requirement from Health Surveillance? Contact MTC.

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What an up-to-date license brings

  • Safe operation

    Licensed activity, with no risk of closure.

  • Approved space

    Facilities that meet health standards.

  • More contracts

    A license required of anyone who supplies businesses.

  • Customer trust

    License posted in a visible place.

  • Planned changes

    A new address or an expansion without stopping the business.

  • Renewal on time

    Expiry dates tracked.

When it is needed

  • Opening a restaurant, clinic, salon or pharmacy
  • Change of address or expansion
  • New activity or change of CNPJ
  • Requirement, violation notice or closure
  • License about to expire
  • Contract that requires a licensed supplier

Documents that help you get started

You do not need all of them. The team will tell you what is missing.

  • Articles of incorporation and CNPJ, with the activities (CNAE)
  • Address and photos of the premises
  • Floor plan or sketch of the space, if any
  • Technical manager's details, if the activity requires one
  • Previous license, if any
  • Health Surveillance report or notice, if any

How we handle your case

  1. 1

    Classification

    CNAE, risk level and required documents.

  2. 2

    Space assessment

    Facilities and workflows checked on site.

  3. 3

    Technical part

    Physical-functional design and DCFF, when required.

  4. 4

    Application

    Complete case and follow-up of requirements.

  5. License issued

    Activity cleared, with the license on site.

Important
  • The declaration of conformity (DCA) is signed by the company's legal representative, who is responsible for what is declared.
  • When the activity requires a health technical manager, such as a pharmacist or a dentist, the company hires that professional.
  • Changing address or expanding the activity requires new licensing.
  • The license must be kept where the public can see it.

Questions about the health license and Health Surveillance registration

The questions that come to the team and show up in searches most often, with the answer and the source.

See all questions

It depends on the activity (CNAE). The activities on the official list of Ordinance SMS 266/2025 need one; the list also states the risk level, whether there is an inspection and which documents to submit. All others remain subject to inspection by Health Surveillance (Vigilância em Saúde).

Source: São Paulo City Hall (Health): health licensing (opens in a new tab)

It is the number in the Municipal Health Surveillance Registry (Cadastro Municipal de Vigilância em Saúde), which identifies the establishment's Health Operating License. Under the old rule there was a registration and a license; since August 2025, the CMVS is the license number.

Source: Ordinance SMS No. 266/2025 (health licensing) (opens in a new tab)

Yes. Restaurants, snack bars and coffee shops are medium-risk activities, with the license integrated into the company's registration. In addition to the license, the kitchen must follow good practice rules, such as the manual and the hygiene procedures, which are checked during inspections.

Source: São Paulo City Hall (Covisa): food FAQ, 2026 (opens in a new tab)

Yes, in most cases. A medical practice for consultations only is medium risk. Clinics with tests, clinics with surgery and dental practices are high risk, with a declaration of conformity or an inspection, and clinics with tests or surgery also submit the DCFF.

Source: Ordinance SMS No. 266/2025, Annex I (activities and risk level) (opens in a new tab)

The DCFF (Declaração de Conformidade Físico-Funcional, a physical-functional conformity declaration) states that the property meets the health standards for buildings and facilities. It replaced the LTA on June 21, 2024 and is signed by the legal representative and by the project's engineer or architect, with an ART or RRT and a descriptive report.

Source: Ordinance SMS/COVISA No. 404/2024 (DCFF, which replaced the LTA) (opens in a new tab)

It depends on the activity: the official list states the validity of each one. Drugstores and compounding pharmacies, for example, have 3 years. Renewal can be requested from 90 days before expiry, and missing the deadline is subject to penalties.

Source: Ordinance SMS No. 266/2025 (health licensing) (opens in a new tab)

The Health Code sets a fine of R$ 100 to R$ 500,000, in 2004 values adjusted every year by the IPCA (national inflation index), depending on severity. There may also be closure, seizure of products and cancellation of the license.

Source: Municipal Health Code (Código Sanitário do Município), Law No. 13.725/2004 (opens in a new tab)

At medium risk, the license is integrated into the company's registration. At high risk, Health Surveillance has 30 to 120 days to decide, depending on the activity, and the deadline only starts to run once the documentation is complete. Some activities, such as nursing homes and compounding pharmacies, are decided only after the inspection.

Source: Ordinance SMS No. 266/2025 (health licensing) (opens in a new tab)

Legal basis and sources

Informational content, reviewed on November 11, 2026. The rules may change; the analysis of each case considers the rule in force on the date of the application. MTC is a private company, not affiliated with government agencies.

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