After MIHAS: halal certification is one job, staying audit-ready another

If you came away from MIHAS this week asking how to apply for halal certification in Malaysia, the short answer has three parts. Register and apply through MYeHALAL, JAKIM’s online system. Meet MS 1500:2019 and the certification manual for your scheme. And put the control system your business size requires in place before you submit, not after.

The certificate ends that job. Staying audit-ready for the two years it runs is a second job, and it pays to plan both at once.

Why MIHAS week is a good time to plan

The 22nd Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) opened at MITEC, Kuala Lumpur, on Wednesday 23 September and runs until Saturday 26 September, organised by MATRADE and hosted by MITI. Today is the last trade day; tomorrow is the public day.

For many F&B operators, the show starts a familiar conversation on the drive home. A buyer or distributor asked about halal status, and the business has no certificate yet, or has one for its outlets but not for the products it now wants to sell. Most of the time in an application goes into preparation, not the form, so September is a sensible time to start.

This post is mostly about the first job. Day-to-day halal maintenance after certification has its own post.

What is Malaysian halal certification?

Malaysian halal certification is formal recognition, issued by JAKIM (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia) or a state Islamic religious authority, that a product or food premises meets Malaysia’s halal requirements. The procedure is set out in the Manual Prosedur Pensijilan Halal Malaysia (Domestik) 2020, known as MPPHM 2020, in force since 1 January 2021 and amended by JAKIM’s Pekeliling Pensijilan Halal Malaysia Bil. 1 Tahun 2026, effective 1 April 2026.

Food premises and F&B products must also meet MS 1500:2019 (Halal Food – General Requirements, third revision), alongside the Food Act 1983, the Food Regulations 1985 and the Food Hygiene Regulations 2009. If your file was prepared against the older text of the manual, read it against the 2026 circular, or check with JAKIM, before you submit.

How do you apply for halal certification in Malaysia?

Where is the application made?

New applications and renewals are made online through MYeHALAL, after registering the company on JAKIM’s halal portal. You apply under a scheme. For most F&B operators that is the food premises scheme, which covers restaurants, cafés, canteens, bakeries, chains and hotels, or the F&B product scheme, for food and beverage products you make and sell. A group with outlets and packaged products may need both.

JAKIM reviews the application and audits the premises before a certification decision is made. Confirm current fees and timelines with JAKIM when you apply.

What documents does JAKIM ask for?

Work from the official Senarai Semak (checklist) for your scheme on MYeHALAL. The detail varies, but a JAKIM halal application typically draws on:

• Company and premises details, including business registration and the local council premises licence.
• The products or menu items to be certified.
• A raw material list naming each ingredient’s manufacturer, with its halal certificate or supporting document.
• Process flow and premises layout.
• Staff records: Muslim staff employed, food handler training and typhoid vaccination.
• Pest control arrangements.
• The internal control documentation for your tier, IHCS or HAS.

The raw material list is usually the longest piece of work: each certificate belongs to the manufacturer, not the supplier, and has its own expiry date. Keeping manufacturer certificates current is worth sorting first.

Who needs a Halal Executive or a Halal Supervisor?

Under MPPHM 2020, the system and people you need depend on business size, as the manual categorises it, and for food premises on how many outlets trade under one brand.

Business size or type	Control system	People required	Internal Halal Committee
Large and medium firms	Halal Assurance System (HAS)	Halal Executive; at least 2 Muslim Malaysian permanent staff	Required
Small firms	Internal Halal Control System (IHCS)	Halal Supervisor; at least 1 Muslim Malaysian permanent staff	—
Micro firms	IHCS	At least 1 Muslim Malaysian permanent staff	—
Restaurant, café, canteen or bakery	IHCS	Halal Supervisor; 1 Muslim staff	—
Chain of 3 or more outlets under one brand	HAS, under chain rules	Halal Executive at company or central-kitchen level	At company or central-kitchen level
Hotels	HAS	Confirm with JAKIM for your property	One per branch

The chain rule is the one growing groups most often discover late. A single café follows IHCS with a Halal Supervisor. Once a third outlet opens under the same brand, the business needs HAS, a Halal Executive and an Internal Halal Committee. Plan that appointment alongside the third lease.

How long is a certificate valid, and when do you renew?

Under the F&B product and food premises schemes, a halal certificate is valid for two years. JAKIM may grant five years to holders that meet strict conditions: certified for at least five years, no non-conformances, never sanctioned, and an effective halal management system.

Halal certificate renewal has a fixed window. Submit no earlier than six months and no later than three months before expiry; a renewal filed after expiry is treated as a new application. When a certificate arrives, put both dates in the calendar of whoever owns halal, and in their deputy’s.

What does staying audit-ready involve after certification?

Certification shows the system worked on audit day. Staying audit-ready means it keeps producing evidence for two years. Four sets of records do most of the work:

• Non-conformances and corrective actions. A daily halal compliance checklist at each premises is where most gaps should first surface. Each one needs an owner, a due date and evidence that it was fixed, checked by someone other than the person who fixed it.
• Internal audits. Periodic checks against your own procedures, with findings recorded and closed.
• Internal Halal Committee records. Under HAS, the Internal Halal Committee (Jawatankuasa Halal Dalaman) has at least four members: a chair, the Halal Executive, a procurement representative and a processing or operations representative. Minuted meetings and decisions show the system is managed, not just documented.
• Renewal readiness. By the time the window opens, the raw material list, staff records and certificates in the file should already be current. Renewal becomes a review rather than a rebuild.

Where HalalSuite helps, and where it doesn’t

HalalSuite is built around MPPHM 2020 (as amended in 2026), MS 1500, MS 1514/GMP, GHP, IHCS and HAS, and covers the F&B product and food premises schemes in English, Bahasa Melayu and Chinese. It has one module for each job.

HalalApply handles the application. A readiness guide works out the applicable scheme and whether IHCS or HAS obligations apply. The official Senarai Semak becomes a checklist with owners and linked documents. Uploaded documents are classified by AI with confidence scores, raw materials and manufacturers sit in masterlists, and a rule-based readiness score flags critical gaps. The output is a MYeHALAL-ready submission pack. BrowserBot, a browser extension side panel, helps fill the MYeHALAL forms from that data; the user reviews every field, and a person makes the final submission.

HalalMaintain handles the two years after. It provides a compliance dashboard across premises, alerts for expiring certificates and records, and mobile daily checklists where a “No” raises a non-conformance automatically; corrective actions close only with photo evidence and a superior’s approval. Internal audits, committee records, training, health, pest control, samak and lab records sit together in an audit dossier that stays ready. For groups already running Codemax RMS (Resource Management System), HalalSuite draws raw materials and products from the same master data.

The boundaries matter as much. HalalSuite does not issue halal certification: JAKIM and the state religious authorities do, and applications and renewals are still submitted through MYeHALAL. The AI reads, classifies, flags and drafts; people decide. Software won’t appoint your Halal Executive or keep segregation on a busy line. To walk through your own file, speak to a specialist.

A ten-minute check before you apply

Ask whoever will own halal in your business five questions:

• Which scheme are we applying under, and does our size put us on IHCS or HAS?
• If we have three or more outlets under one brand, who is our Halal Executive, and who sits on the Internal Halal Committee?
• Can we name the manufacturer and certificate expiry date for every raw material on the list?
• Who owns each item on the Senarai Semak, and which are still open?
• When the certificate arrives, whose calendar holds the renewal window?

If the answers come easily, the application is mostly assembly. If they don’t, you know where the next few weeks should go.

Frequently asked questions

How do I apply for halal certification in Malaysia?

Halal certification in Malaysia is applied for online through MYeHALAL, after registering on JAKIM's halal portal. Choose the scheme that fits, usually food premises or F&B product, prepare the documents on the official Senarai Semak for that scheme, and put the required control system and staff in place. JAKIM reviews the application and audits the premises before a decision is made.

How long is a halal certificate valid in Malaysia?

A Malaysian halal certificate under the F&B product scheme or the food premises scheme is valid for two years; slaughterhouse certificates run for one year. JAKIM may grant five years to holders that have been certified for at least five years, with no non-conformances, no sanctions and an effective halal management system.

When should I submit my halal certificate renewal?

A halal certificate renewal should be submitted through MYeHALAL no earlier than six months and no later than three months before the certificate expires. A renewal filed after expiry is treated as a new application, so it helps to diary both dates the day the certificate is issued and to keep the file current throughout the two years.

What is the difference between IHCS and HAS in halal certification?

IHCS (Internal Halal Control System) applies to micro and small firms and to single food premises such as restaurants, cafés and bakeries. HAS (Halal Assurance System) applies to medium and large firms and to chains of three or more outlets under one brand. HAS requires a Halal Executive and an Internal Halal Committee; small firms and single premises under IHCS appoint a Halal Supervisor.

Does a restaurant chain in Malaysia need a Halal Executive?

A restaurant chain with three or more outlets under one brand follows the chain rules of the food premises scheme. That means a Halal Assurance System, with a Halal Executive and an Internal Halal Committee at company or central-kitchen level. A single restaurant, café or bakery follows IHCS instead, with a Halal Supervisor and at least one Muslim staff member.

Does HalalSuite issue halal certificates?

No. HalalSuite does not issue halal certification; JAKIM and the state Islamic religious authorities do. HalalSuite helps organise the application file and the records kept after certification, while applications and renewals are still submitted through MYeHALAL by a person. Its AI reads, classifies and flags documents, and people make every decision.

Sources

1. MIHAS 2026, the world's biggest halal trade show, gears up to open its doors — MATRADE via Zawya, 22 Sep 2026
2. Pekeliling Pensijilan Halal Malaysia Bil. 1 Tahun 2026 — JAKIM, 12 Feb 2026