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How Do I Obtain a License

Agricultural Products:

Food Safety:

Meat & Poultry Inspection:

Licenses issued under the Bureau of Meat and Poultry Inspection are renewable annually with an effective date of July 1 and an expiration date of June 30.

The annual fee for each license is $50.00.

The Licenses issued by the Bureau of Meat and Poultry Inspection are:

Type 1: Establishments issued a Type I License shall be permitted to receive live animals and or poultry and/or meat and poultry products for slaughter and processing, under inspection, by Department Personnel. Meat and/or poultry products that are produced, under inspection, and properly labeled are eligible for sale in intrastate commerce.

Type 2: Establishments issued a Type 2 License shall be permitted to receive live animals and/or poultry and/or meat and poultry products for slaughter and processing as a service only. Animals and poultry and/or animal and poultry products may be presented for slaughter and/or processing by the owner for the owner's own personal use in his or her household. Meat and/or poultry products processed and/or produced in a type 2 establishment are not eligible for sale in commerce.

Procedures for Obtaining a License

Persons purchasing a plant that is currently licensed under the Illinois Meat and Poultry Inspection Act, have the right to see any official documentation in the possession of the current plant owner(s), i.e., state reviews, Noncompliance Records (NR) etc., that contain pending plant deficiencies which have not yet been completed. ALL DEFICIENCIES MUST BE CORRECTED AND APPROVED BY THE DEPARTMENT BEFORE A NEW LICENSE WILL BE ISSUED.

  1. An Application for License form must be completed and sent to the Springfield Office along with the $50.00 application fee. The check should be made payable to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Meat and Poultry Inspection.
  2. A meeting should be held with the current owner(s) to review documentation of deficiencies, i.e., Plant Improvement Program, NR's, reviews.
  3. Three complete sets of professional, quality blueprints drawn to exact scale illustrating the plant and a material list, are required as the first step in the plant-approval process. All items must be addressed before blueprints may be approved. Blueprints should be mailed to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Meat and Poultry Inspection, P.O. Box 19281, Springfield, IL 62794-9281. To avoid confusion, it is suggested that blueprints be sent by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested.
  4. ANY REQUIRED CONSTRUCTION AND/OR RENOVATION PROJECT(S) THAT MAY BE REQUIRED, SHOULD NOT BEGIN UNTIL AFTER THE BLUEPRINTS ILLUSTRATING THE CHANGES HAVE BEEN APPROVED.
  5. Contact should be made with the Front Line Supervisor in charge of the area in which the plant is located about preparation and approval of labels (work on the label approval process may be done while any required remodeling/construction is underway). All construction/remodeling must be completed and labels approved before a license can be issued.
  6. A Sanitation Standard Operating Procedure (SSOP) and a HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) plan must be assembled and verified before the inauguration of inspection.
  7. Written procedures for the recall of any inspected meat/poultry​ food products must be prepared and be available for review prior to issuing license. These written procedures must specify how the licensed establishment will decide whether to conduct a product recall, and how the establishment will effect the recall, should it decide that one is necessary.
  8. The final step in the licensing process is a walk-through plant review, by the Front Line Supervisor and an official from the Springfield Office, to insure that everything has been completed. The Regional Administrator will schedule this.

Failure to complete this licensing process, within a year of the date of application, will cause the application to be deleted from the pending files and considered closed.

References: Code of Federal Regulations 9 CFR 200 Part 416.1 through 416.5 (these items may be requested from the Springfield Meat and Poultry Inspection Office).

Any person who believes he or she, or any specific class of individuals, has been subjected to discrimination by the Illinois Meat and Poultry Inspection Program or believes the Program is otherwise in noncompliance with applicable civil rights requirements may file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A complainant has 180 days from the date of the alleged discriminatory action or the time that they became aware of it to file a program discrimination complaint  with USDA.

U.S. Department of Agriculture
Director, Center for Civil Rights Enforcement
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250-9410
CR-INFO@ascr.usda.gov
Telephone: (866) 632-9992 (Voice and TDD)
Federal relay (800) 877-8339
Spanish relay (800) 845-6136

Grain Warehouses/Dealers:

Pesticide Applicator / Operator Licensing: