In short
- Validity depends on the scheme: one year for slaughterhouses, two for food and food premises, three for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, logistics, contract manufacturing and medical devices
- Renewal is online through MYeHALAL, opening six months before expiry and closing three months before it
- An application made after expiry is treated as a new application, not a renewal
- New products and menus cannot be added at renewal, and products or menus cannot be amended on an existing certificate
The certificate is not a one-off. It lapses, and the manual is specific about when you must act to keep it. The figures below are read from JAKIM's domestic certification manual, which is written in Malay; the English is a faithful rendering and the page reference sits under each table.
How long a certificate lasts
The manual gives the competent authority the power to set the validity of a certificate according to the scheme. For the standard case it fixes these periods.
| Scheme | Standard validity | Procedure |
|---|---|---|
| Slaughterhouses | 1 year | Prosedur 35(2)(a) |
| Food and beverage products, and food premises | 2 years | Prosedur 35(2)(b) |
| Cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, logistics services, contract manufacturing (OEM) and medical devices | 3 years | Prosedur 35(2)(c) |
| Applicants registered abroad that carry on manufacturing in Malaysia | 2 years | Prosedur 35(2)(d) |
Source: JAKIM, Manual Prosedur Pensijilan Halal Malaysia (Domestik) 2020, pages 79 and 80 · edition of 2020
Two things follow from this table. A food manufacturer and a cosmetics manufacturer on the same site will have certificates that expire in different years, so renewal is a rolling calendar rather than a single annual event. And slaughterhouses, on one year, renew most often of any scheme.
The five-year exception
The authority may instead set a five-year validity for an applicant that meets all of the conditions below. The applicant is entitled to decline it. The conditions are cumulative: failing any one of them rules it out.
| Condition | What the manual says |
|---|---|
| Track record | Has held a halal certificate for at least five years |
| Commitment | Committed to complying with the Malaysian halal certification procedures and rules |
| Audit record | No non-conformance found at audit or monitoring, including on cleanliness |
| Enforcement history | Never subjected to action relating to halal control |
| System | The Malaysian Halal Management System (MHMS) is implemented effectively |
Source: JAKIM, Manual Prosedur Pensijilan Halal Malaysia (Domestik) 2020, page 80 · edition of 2020
The practical reading is that a clean audit history is worth something concrete. Cleanliness findings count against you here, which is a reason to treat housekeeping as a certification matter and not a hygiene matter that sits elsewhere. The common mistakes guide covers where audits actually go wrong.
Renewing
The window is three months wide. It opens six months before expiry and closes three months before it. Miss it and the application is no longer a renewal.
| Rule | What the manual says |
|---|---|
| How to apply | Online, through the MYeHALAL system |
| Renewal window | Submit as early as six months and no later than three months before the certificate expires |
| After expiry | A renewal application made after the certificate has expired is treated as a new application |
| New products or menus | Not allowed at renewal |
| Changes to names | Updates to product, brand or menu names need formal notification to the authority |
| Raw material summary | A summary of raw materials or ingredients must be submitted so changes since the previous application can be identified |
| Supporting documents | Complete documents within five working days of submitting the form |
| Fee | Payable within 14 working days of the payment letter |
| Audit | The field audit is carried out after the fee has been received |
Source: JAKIM, Manual Prosedur Pensijilan Halal Malaysia (Domestik) 2020, pages 60 and 61 · edition of 2020
The renewal window is also a document deadline. Supporting documents are due five working days after you submit the form, and the fee within 14 working days of the payment letter, the same clocks that apply to a new application. Our walk-through of the MYeHALAL application covers what the portal asks for at each step.
Our advice, not the manual's: check every supplier's halal certificate expiry against the renewal window before you submit. A supplier certificate that lapses between your submission and the audit is the commonest avoidable finding, and the renewal does not pause while you chase it.
What you must do while you hold it
| Condition | What the manual says |
|---|---|
| Display | The original, still-valid certificate must be displayed at all times at the address on the certificate |
| No transfer or alteration | The certificate may not be traded, lent, transferred, forged, misused or altered in any way |
| Suspension or withdrawal | The authority may suspend, withdraw or end a certificate at any time if the holder breaches the procedures or is subject to action under any law |
| Changing the company name | Allowed only if the company registration number and premises address do not change |
| Changing products or menus | Not allowed on an existing certificate; a new application is required |
| Lost or damaged certificate | Report immediately with an official letter and a copy of a police report |
| Cancellation | The authority may cancel a certificate on voluntary request, if the holder no longer operates at the stated location, if the contract manufacturer changes, or if the product or service has ceased |
Source: JAKIM, Manual Prosedur Pensijilan Halal Malaysia (Domestik) 2020, pages 80 to 82 · edition of 2020
What you cannot change
Two rows in the table above deserve a second look because they drive most renewal surprises.
Products and menus. You cannot add or amend them on an existing certificate. At renewal, new products and menus are not allowed either. The one exception is food premises, which can apply for an additional or promotional menu while the premises certificate is still valid.
| Rule | What the manual says |
|---|---|
| Who can add | Only food premises applicants, and only for additional or promotional menus |
| Certificate must be valid | The addition must relate to a food premises certificate that is still valid |
| Use of the added menu | Subject to the premises certificate remaining valid |
Source: JAKIM, Manual Prosedur Pensijilan Halal Malaysia (Domestik) 2020, pages 62 and 63 · edition of 2020
Company details. A name change is allowed only where the company registration number and premises address stay the same. A new registration number means a new MYeHALAL account and a new application. If you are planning a restructure, a move or a rebrand, do it with the certificate calendar in front of you.
Fees for reprints and menu additions
The fees attached to these events are set in the same manual and are verified on our cost page. The ancillary charges are:
| Charge | Basis | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Additional menu items, including promotional menus (food premises scheme) | per application, covering two years | RM200 |
| Halal logo poster printing | per poster | RM50 |
| Certificate reprint | per certificate | RM50 |
| Certificate reprint, foreign-registered applicant | per certificate | RM1,000 |
| Consignment note | per consignee | RM100 |
Source: JAKIM, Manual Prosedur Pensijilan Halal Malaysia (Domestik) 2020, Bahagian III, page 15 · edition of 2020
None of this is hard to follow once it is on one page. What goes wrong is that nobody owns the calendar. If you would rather hand that over, tell us which schemes you hold and when each one expires.
Next: the full certification process, or the staffing you must keep in place to hold the certificate.