Guide
One FDA US agent can serve several factories. Each registration still names them.
Food-facility registration is per facility, not per Amazon brand. Two plants are two registrations. They may name the same US agent. Typing the agent once on the brand’s Seller Central account does not cover the second plant.
Updated 2026-08-24
The short answer
A facility is an establishment under one ownership at one general physical location that manufactures, processes, packs or holds food for consumption in the United States. A single building can house more than one facility if the facilities are under separate ownership.
Each foreign facility designates a US agent. FDA’s Q&A treats that as one agent per foreign facility for registration. The same person or firm may be named on many registrations. Each filing still has to list them.
What a brand with three Chinese plants actually files
Three addresses that each make or pack the supplement are three facilities, unless an exemption applies. Three US-agent designations. Three confirmation emails. Three registration numbers, each confidential to that facility.
The brand name on the Amazon listing is not the facility. A facility’s registration is not required to include every brand name packed there.
One agent, other agents for other work
21 CFR 1.227 says that having a single US agent for registration does not stop the firm from having multiple agents for other business, such as foreign suppliers. US commercial work need not run through the registration agent.
That is why a brand can keep a customs broker, an FBA 3PL and one FDA communications agent without pretending they are the same office.
Where this breaks on Amazon
Seller Central often has one field. The catalogue often has SKUs from two plants. Filling the field with Plant A’s agent does not register Plant B.
If you are unsure which plant packed the ASIN Amazon asked about, do not guess. The wrong number is worse than an empty box because it is a statement about a facility you do not control. See which number Amazon is asking for.
Common questions
Can I register the brand once and list every factory underneath?
No. Registration is of the facility, not of the trademark.
Our co-packer already has an agent. Do I name a second one?
The co-packer’s facility names one US agent. You do not overlay a second registration agent on the same facility for the same food-facility rule. You still need to know who that agent is, because FDA will call them.
Two brands, one factory. How many agents?
One facility, one registration agent. Two Amazon stores do not double the FDA role.
Does the agent have to be in the same state as the FBA warehouse?
No. The agent must reside or maintain a place of business in the United States and be physically present. The regulation does not tie them to the fulfilment centre’s state.
We added a new plant last month.
If it manufactures, processes, packs or holds food for the US, it needs its own registration and, if foreign, its own named agent, before the food is offered for import.
Sources
- 21 CFR 1.227 — definition of facility; one or more contiguous structures; a single building may house more than one distinct facility if under separate ownership; single registration agent does not preclude other business agents — ecfr.gov
- FDA, Questions and Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration (Seventh Edition) — US agent may be an individual, partnership, corporation or association; a facility’s registration is not required to include all brand names — fda.gov
- FDA, Small Entity Compliance Guide: Registration of Food Facilities — foreign facilities must designate a US agent for communication with FDA — fda.gov
This guide is general information about naming a US agent across more than one facility, not legal advice, and it does not create a client relationship.
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