JAKIM halal certification in Malaysia: steps, fees and timeline in 2026

The short answer

In Malaysia, a business gets the Malaysia Halal Certificate (Sijil Pengesahan Halal Malaysia, SPHM) by applying online through MYeHALAL, the system run by JAKIM on halal.gov.my. The rules are in JAKIM’s Malaysia Halal Certification Procedure Manual (Domestic) 2020, amended by JAKIM circular 1/2026 and in force since 1 April 2026 (JAKIM, circular 1/2026).

• Fees are low and set by turnover. For products and services, the yearly fee is RM100 for a micro firm (turnover under RM300,000), RM400 for a small firm, RM700 for a medium firm and RM1,000 for a large firm (turnover over RM50 million). A restaurant pays RM100 per outlet per year. Every application also pays a RM20 processing fee (manual, p.13-14).
• A certificate lasts 1 to 3 years: 1 year for abattoirs, 2 years for food products and food premises, 3 years for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, logistics, OEM and medical devices (manual, p.80-81).
• Staff rules matter more than the fee. Every applicant needs at least one permanent Muslim Malaysian employee on each shift. Medium and large firms need two, plus a Halal Executive and an Internal Halal Committee.
• Timeline: the manual sets deadlines for each step but no total. JAKIM’s fast-track initiative aims for 30 days, and the government said 96% of applications handled under it from January to July 2024 met that target (Sinar Harian, 18 Sep 2024).

Certification is voluntary. Calling a product or a restaurant halal without it is an offence.

Who issues the certificate: JAKIM or the state

Two kinds of authority certify halal in Malaysia: JAKIM (the federal Department of Islamic Development) and the state Islamic religious councils and departments (MAIN and JAIN). The Trade Descriptions (Certification and Marking of Halal) Order 2011 names JAKIM and the state Islamic religious councils as competent authorities (P.U.(A) 431/2011, para 3), and JAKIM’s portal lists JAKIM, JAIN and MAIN as the recognised authorities (halal.gov.my, Procedure).

• JAKIM’s portal says applications for national and international markets go to JAKIM, and applications for the local market go to the relevant state body (halal.gov.my, Procedure).
• In practice, MYeHALAL assigns the authority from the scheme and the factory address. JAKIM always handles central kitchens, restaurant chains, and two or more outlets of one brand in different states. You cannot ask to switch authority (manual, procedure 21(8)-(11), p.58).
• Whoever handles the file, JAKIM prints the certificate after the Malaysia Halal Certification Panel decides (manual, procedure 34, p.79-80).

The nine certification schemes

The manual opens certification to nine schemes (procedure 4, p.10):

1. Food and beverage products (makers, repackers, central kitchens, brand owners)
2. Cosmetic products
3. Pharmaceutical products
4. Food premises: hotels, restaurants and cafes, canteens, bakeries, chains, caterers, convention kitchens, mobile premises, food courts and kiosks
5. Consumer goods (now assessed against MS 2738:2023, applied from 1 April 2026)
6. Logistics services: transport, warehousing and retail
7. Abattoirs (slaughterhouses)
8. Contract manufacturing and OEM
9. Medical devices

Who cannot apply. The manual excludes, among others: firms that make or sell both halal and non-halal products (including food delivery services); one brand used for halal and non-halal goods; unprocessed fresh produce such as fresh fish, vegetables or eggs; finished goods simply relabelled in Malaysia; premises serving any non-halal menu; hotels with a kitchen serving pork dishes; cigarettes, shisha, hair dye and nail polish; products still in R&D; and products that have no need for halal certification, such as fertiliser, paper, cement or tiles. Names linked to non-halal food, such as “ham”, “bacon”, “beer”, “hot dog”, “char siew” or “bak kut teh”, also disqualify an application (procedures 5-6, p.10-12).

The conditions before you apply

• Registration and licences. A valid SSM or co-operative registration, a local council licence, and where relevant MOH food premises registration, a DVS veterinary certificate, an NPRA manufacturing licence or an MDA establishment licence.
• Three months of operation. The business must have run fully for at least three months before a first application, or one month at a new site after a move (procedure 5(7)-(8), p.11).
• Every product or menu item. You must apply for everything made at the site, not a selection.
• Certified ingredients. Animal-based ingredients need a valid halal certificate from a Malaysian authority or a recognised foreign body. Imported meat, chicken or gelatin must come from a plant approved by the Department of Veterinary Services. Other ingredients need full documents on composition, process and source (procedure 17(1), p.18).
• Capsules, gelatin, collagen and marshmallow. Since November 2025, firms using these must have them DNA-tested (pig, cattle and buffalo) by a lab accredited to MS ISO/IEC 17025 and send the results to JAKIM (JAKIM circular 1/2025, 28 Nov 2025).
• Training. New staff take halal awareness training within three months of joining, and all staff involved in processing repeat it at least every three years. Internal Halal Committee members take halal competency training every three years. Both are given by providers registered with JAKIM (procedure 17(12), p.27-28).

Muslim staff, Halal Executive and Halal Committee

The table in the tool above sums up the staff rules by size and scheme. In short, for products and services (procedure 18, p.31-32):

Firm size	Muslim staff (permanent, Malaysian, every shift)	Halal Executive	Internal Halal Committee
Large and medium	At least 2	Yes, at every branch	Yes
Small	At least 1	No, a Halal Supervisor	No
Micro	At least 1	No	No

A Halal Executive must be Muslim, a Malaysian citizen, permanently employed, and hold at least a Diploma in Halal Management (or five years’ experience in halal management) plus a Halal Executive certificate from a provider registered with JAKIM. A Halal Supervisor is a permanent Muslim Malaysian employee who supervises the processing area (definitions, p.3-6).

For restaurants, cafes, canteens and bakeries, the rule is one permanent Muslim Malaysian employee per outlet on every shift, plus a Halal Supervisor. A business with three or more outlets under one brand is treated as a chain and needs a Halal Executive and a committee at head office or central kitchen level. Hotels need two Muslim staff per kitchen and a Halal Executive per hotel (procedure 18(4), p.36-37).

The MYeHALAL steps

These are the steps in JAKIM’s flow chart, with the deadlines the manual sets (Appendix D, p.108; procedures 21-34):

1. Register a MYeHALAL account with your SSM number. JAKIM verifies it within 24 working hours.
2. Fill in the online form. Pick the right scheme, list every ingredient by its real name and maker, and copy product names exactly as on the label or menu. One application can hold up to 100 products, except for food premises, logistics and OEM.
3. Send supporting documents within 5 working days. Incomplete files are rejected.
4. Desk review. An officer checks the file and may ask for more. Its length depends on the number of products and premises.
5. Pay the fee within 14 working days of the fee letter. Late payment means rejection and a new application. Fees are not refunded.
6. On-site audit by at least two officers, with possible sampling and lab analysis. You answer any non-conformity in writing, with evidence. Only one follow-up audit is allowed.
7. Panel decision. The certificate is issued within 5 working days of approval.

The manual also says the authority deals with the company directly, “without going through a third party or middleman such as a consultant” (procedure 21(12), p.58). Firms may still hire outside help to prepare, but the application and audit are between the company and the authority.

Official fees in 2026

The fees below are JAKIM’s official rates. They did not change in the 2026 amendment (manual, p.13-17). Fees are in ringgit, per year unless stated.

Scheme	Micro	Small	Medium	Large
Food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, logistics, OEM, medical devices, central kitchens	100	400	700	1,000

Size is set by annual turnover: micro under RM300,000; small RM300,000 to RM14,999,999.99; medium RM15 million to RM50 million; large over RM50 million. JAKIM’s manual calls the top band “large”, not “multinational”: a multinational’s Malaysian company falls in whichever band its turnover sets. JAKIM can charge more if the turnover you declare turns out to be wrong.

Other fees:

• Restaurants, cafes, canteens, bakeries, chain outlets, mobile premises, food court stalls and kiosks: RM100 per premises per year.
• Hotels: RM500 per kitchen or restaurant per year (4-star and above), RM200 (3-star and below).
• Caterers and convention kitchens: RM100 (turnover under RM500,000), RM400 (up to RM5 million), RM700 (over RM5 million).
• Abattoirs: RM100, RM400 or RM700 a year, by daily throughput.
• Foreign-registered companies manufacturing in Malaysia under contract: RM2,500 per application (ASEAN) or RM10,000 (other countries), plus a RM200 processing fee.
• Extras: RM200 to add menu items (covers two years), RM50 per halal logo poster, RM50 per certificate reprint, RM100 per consignment note.

How the yearly rate is billed over a two- or three-year certificate is set out in the fee letter issued by MYeHALAL (not yet confirmed from an official text).

How long it takes

Stage	Official deadline
Operating before a first application	At least 3 months
Account verification	24 working hours
Supporting documents	5 working days after submitting
Fee payment	14 working days after the fee letter
Certificate issue	5 working days after the panel decision
Renewal window	6 to 3 months before expiry

The desk review and the audit date have no fixed deadline in the manual. They depend on the size of the file and the authority’s schedule. JAKIM’s fast-track initiative (ISPHM) aims to process applications within 30 days (Sinar Harian, 18 Sep 2024). Under the amended manual, the fastest track applies to renewals by “whitelisted” firms with five years of certification and no major non-conformity. New applications, abattoirs and hotels are never treated as “non-critical” for that track, and a company cannot ask for it (procedure 57, p.97-98).

Renewal and the five-year certificate

• Apply between six and three months before expiry, online. An expired certificate means starting again as a new application (procedure 22, p.61).
• No new products at renewal. New products or menus go in a separate application.
• Five-year validity may be offered to firms that have held the certificate for at least five years, with no non-conformity found (hygiene included), no halal enforcement action and an effective halal management system (procedure 35(3), p.81).
• Certificates can be withdrawn. JAKIM revoked 3,068 certificates for non-compliance, according to a report of October 2024 (NST, 12 Oct 2024).

Penalties for a false halal claim

Food, goods and related services may not be described as halal, or presented in any other way as fit for Muslims, unless a competent authority has certified them and they carry the Malaysian halal logo (Halal Order 2011, para 4). Breaking the Order is an offence under paragraph 8:

Offender	First offence	Second or later offence
Company	Fine up to RM200,000	Fine up to RM500,000
Individual	Fine up to RM100,000, up to 3 years’ jail, or both	Fine up to RM250,000, up to 5 years’ jail, or both

Source: P.U.(A) 431/2011, para 8. The ministry of domestic trade (KPDN) enforces it. In July 2026, a Penang court fined a restaurant company RM20,000 and its director RM10,000 for signboards reading “Muslim Friendly Cafe” without certification. Another eatery was fined the same for menus printed with the Arabic words for “halal kitchen” (The Star, 23 Jul 2026).

Imported products and foreign halal logos

Imported food and goods may be sold as halal in Malaysia only if a foreign halal body recognised by JAKIM has certified them. The importer or maker must print that body’s name on the product (Halal Order 2011, para 5).

• JAKIM’s list in force since 21 August 2026 has 96 bodies in 49 countries or regions, each shown with its logo (JAKIM, FHCB list).
• Recognition lasts three years, and JAKIM audits each body again when it ends.
• Imported meat and poultry must be certified by a recognised body, and the plant must be inspected and approved by both JAKIM and the Department of Veterinary Services.

Check the current list before relying on a foreign logo: bodies are added and removed by amendments to the Order.

FAQ

How much does a JAKIM halal certificate cost? For products and services, RM100 a year for a micro firm, RM400 for a small firm, RM700 for a medium firm and RM1,000 for a large firm, plus RM20 per application. A restaurant pays RM100 per outlet per year.

Is halal certification compulsory in Malaysia? No. The Cabinet confirmed in September 2024 that it stays voluntary (Sinar Harian, 18 Sep 2024). But you may not call a product or premises halal, or suggest it is fit for Muslims, without certification.

Can a non-Muslim owner get halal certification? The manual sets no rule on the owner’s religion. It sets rules on staff: permanent Muslim Malaysian employees on every shift, and for medium and large firms a Muslim Halal Executive.

How long is a halal certificate valid? One year for abattoirs, two years for food products and food premises, three years for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, logistics, OEM and medical devices. Some long-standing holders may be offered five years.

What is MYeHALAL? JAKIM’s online system on halal.gov.my. You register a company account there, apply, upload documents, receive the fee letter and follow the audit.

Does a restaurant need a halal certificate if it serves no pork or alcohol? It needs one only to describe itself as halal or Muslim-friendly. A premises serving any non-halal menu cannot apply.

What we do not cover

• Religious rulings. We describe the official procedure. Questions about what is halal belong to JAKIM, the state religious authorities and their fatwa bodies.
• Legal advice. For a specific case, ask the competent authority or KPDN directly.
• Manufacturers abroad. Companies making goods outside Malaysia follow JAKIM’s separate international procedure, not covered here (not yet confirmed from an official text).
• State-level differences. State bodies apply the same manual, but forms and service times can vary.
• Consultants and training providers. We do not recommend any. JAKIM publishes the list of approved halal training providers on halal.gov.my.
• Government support schemes, such as programmes run by HDC (Halal Development Corporation) or state agencies.

Checked against JAKIM’s amended manual, circulars and the 2011 Halal Order on 29 October 2026. Fees and rules can change: check halal.gov.my before you apply.