Florida Cottage Food Law (2026): Rules, Limits and How to Start
Do you need a license to sell homemade food in Florida?
Florida does not require a license, permit or inspection to sell homemade cottage food. The state's $250,000 annual gross sales cap is the highest in the country. You can sell directly to consumers in person, online and by mail order, but not wholesale. Every product needs a compliant label with the state's exact disclosure statement.
Florida lets most home food sellers start without a state license, with a permit or registration reserved for certain foods or sales channels. Foods like loaf breads, rolls and biscuits and cakes, pastries and cookies are the common starting point. The page below shows exactly which step applies to your product.
Florida caps annual cottage food sales at $250,000 gross annual sales. House Bill 663, the 2021 'Home Sweet Home Act,' raised the cap from $50,000 to $250,000 effective July 1, 2021.
The parts new Florida sellers most often get wrong are the exact label disclosure wording. Each one has its own row below, with the official source beside it.
How much can you sell? The Florida sales cap
The annual sales limit for a Florida cottage food operation.
| Item | Florida rule |
|---|---|
| Annual sales cap | $250,000 gross annual sales |
| How it works | House Bill 663, the 2021 'Home Sweet Home Act,' raised the cap from $50,000 to $250,000 effective July 1, 2021. This is the highest cottage food sales cap of any US state found in this sweep. |
What foods can you sell in Florida?
Allowed and prohibited categories under current Florida law.
| Allowed (examples) | Prohibited |
|---|---|
| Loaf breads, rolls and biscuits; Cakes, pastries and cookies (without cream, custard or meat fillings); Candies and confections (fudge, brittle, hard candy, toffee, chocolate-covered nuts); Honey; Jams, jellies, fruit preserves and high-sugar/high-acid fruit butters; Dry herbs, seasonings and mixtures; Homemade pasta; Cereals, nuts; Vinegar and popcorn products. | Any Time/Temperature Control for Safety (TCS) food requiring refrigeration; Dairy products and cheesecakes; Meat, poultry and seafood; Canned vegetables and soups; Low-acid or acidified canned goods (most pickled products). |
Florida cottage food label requirements
Every package you sell needs a label with the elements below in legible print.
- Cottage food operation name and address
- Product name
- Ingredients listed in descending order by weight
- Net weight or volume
- Federal allergen information
- Nutritional claims, if any are made
- The disclosure statement above, at least 10-point type, contrasting color
Florida requires this disclosure statement, word for word:
Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida's food safety regulations.
Reproduced from Florida's cottage food labeling requirements. Confirm the current wording with Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services before you print a run of labels.
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The one-page map of the steps, in order, so you can see the whole path at a glance.
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Where can you sell in Florida?
The venues and channels Florida cottage food operators may use.
| Channel | Allowed in Florida? |
|---|---|
| Direct to consumer in person | Yes |
| Website and online orders | Yes |
| Mail order / shipping by mail | Yes |
| Delivery to a consumer's private event venue (wedding, birthday party) | Yes |
| Wholesale sales | No. Not permitted under the cottage food exemption |
Registration, training and inspection
Registration and permits. No registration, license or permit is required from FDACS to operate a cottage food operation meeting the statutory conditions.
Food safety training. Florida Statute 500.80 and FDACS guidance do not impose a food safety training or certification requirement on cottage food operators.
Kitchen inspection. Cottage food operations are not subject to state food safety inspection; the required label disclosure states this directly.
The fees a Florida cottage food seller can expect.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| FDACS registration, license or permit | none, not required |
