How JAKIM's Recognition List Changes

JAKIM’s recognised-body list is not a fixed roster. It changes over time through three distinct actions: a body is added by appointment, keeps its place by renewal, and is removed by withdrawal or by letting its two-year term lapse. The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia publishes the list as dated editions, and each new edition supersedes the previous one. Between editions, a body’s status can still change through a withdrawal announcement on the Halal Malaysia Portal. This page explains the mechanism behind those movements. For the actual record of who has left the list and when, see withdrawn JAKIM recognitions.

How a body is added: appointment

A certification body joins the list through appointment. It applies to JAKIM, and JAKIM assesses it against the Procedures for Appointment of Halal Certification Bodies, checking the organisation, its syariah and technical competence, and its ability to certify to the Malaysian halal standards such as MS 1500. A body that satisfies the assessment is appointed for a fixed two-year term and appears as a new entry in the next edition of the recognised list. The appointment is the moment the list grows. Because entries are added at the edition level rather than backdated, the edition date is the practical marker for when a body’s recognition began. The full application path is set out in how to become a JAKIM-recognised body.

The two-year term and the renewal cycle

Every appointment carries a two-year validity, which makes recognition a recurring status rather than a one-time award. Within that window JAKIM runs a review audit, and the body must keep satisfying the terms and conditions throughout: submitting an annual report, filing a six-monthly monitoring and audit report on the plants it supervises, and notifying JAKIM of any change to its organisation or certification procedures. A body that passes the review and keeps its obligations current is renewed for a further term and stays on the list. A body that reaches the end of its term without completing renewal falls out of recognition. The renewal cycle is therefore the quiet engine behind most list stability: bodies that keep reporting and pass their audits simply carry over into the next edition. The full set of ongoing duties is covered in how to maintain JAKIM recognition.

How a body is removed: withdrawal and lapse

Removal happens two ways, and the distinction matters. The first is withdrawal, an active decision by JAKIM. An appointment is withdrawn when the body loses its legal status by law, fails to monitor the halal status of the abattoirs and processing plants it certifies, or fails to fulfil Malaysia’s requirements, including failure to submit the six-monthly monitoring report. Withdrawals are usually published as announcements with an effective date and a grace period. The February 2025 case is typical: JAKIM removed bodies in France, Croatia, and China effective 19 February 2025 and gave affected companies until 19 August 2025 to move to another recognised body.

The second route is lapse. When a two-year term ends and the body does not renew, it is simply absent from the next edition, with no separate notice. Lapse and withdrawal produce the same outcome for an importer, a body no longer on the list, but only withdrawal comes with a published announcement. This is why watching announcements alone is not enough. Note also that withdrawal is not always permanent: JAKIM has stated that removed bodies may be reassessed and can return to a later edition if they correct the shortcomings.

Why the list is revised

JAKIM revises the list to keep it a true snapshot of who currently meets its requirements. There is no fixed publication calendar. A new dated edition is issued as appointments are granted, renewed or removed, and each edition carries its own date at the head. Because every new edition supersedes the last, the reliable way to see what changed is to compare two consecutive editions rather than to rely on memory. The gap between the newest edition and any announcement issued since it is where the real-time changes live.

Reading a change correctly

To read the list’s current state, combine two sources: the most recent edition of the recognised list and any withdrawal announcement published on the Halal Malaysia Portal since that edition’s date. An edition tells you the position as of its date; an announcement tells you what has moved since. Treat any check as time-stamped, because a status confirmed months ago only describes the list as it stood then. To confirm a specific body against the live list, follow how to check if a body is JAKIM-recognised. This directory mirrors JAKIM’s editions, marking bodies that have left rather than deleting them, so the history of each change stays visible and dated.