Pennsylvania Cottage Food Law (2026): Rules, Limits and How to Start
Do you need a license to sell homemade food in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania has no separate cottage food statute. Home producers register as a Limited Food Establishment with the Department of Agriculture, pass a home inspection and pay a $35 annual fee. There is no sales cap. The label needs the exact required disclosure sentence.
Pennsylvania asks more of a home food seller than most states. You work through Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services before your first sale. The page below lays out the registration, the training and the inspection in the order they come. It is a real process, so knowing the steps up front is what keeps it from stalling.
Pennsylvania sets no dollar limit on cottage food sales, so the ceiling on your growth is your own kitchen and time rather than a statutory cap. The other rules that matter, the label, the allowed foods and where you can sell, are in the tables below.
The parts new Pennsylvania sellers most often get wrong are the exact label disclosure wording, the kitchen inspection and the registration step. Each one has its own row below, with the official source beside it.
How much can you sell? The Pennsylvania sales cap
The annual sales limit for a Pennsylvania cottage food operation.
| Item | Pennsylvania rule |
|---|---|
| Annual sales cap | No annual dollar cap in Pennsylvania |
| How it works | No revenue or unit cap was found in official Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture materials for Limited Food Establishments. |
Not published as one current figure everyone cites. Confirm this year's cap with Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services before you scale.
What foods can you sell in Pennsylvania?
Allowed and prohibited categories under current Pennsylvania law.
| Allowed (examples) | Prohibited |
|---|---|
| Baked goods, breads, cakes, cookies and pies (non-TCS); Dry goods (coffee, cereal, snack mixes); Jams, jellies, honey and maple syrup; Sauces, dressings, vinegars and fruit butters; Candy and nut mixes; Acidified and canned acid foods (pickles, salsa, sauerkraut) with required pH testing; Dehydrated items and dried herbs; Certain beverages, including retail juice sales with pH testing and kombucha (pH 4.6 or below). | Time/temperature-control-for-safety (TCS) foods, including dairy, meat, poultry, fish and eggs; Cream-filled pastries, cheesecake and cream pies; Cut produce and garlic-in-oil products; Low-acid canned foods (corn, beans, mushrooms, soups); Wholesale juice distribution without meeting separate federal juice HACCP rules. |
Pennsylvania cottage food label requirements
Every package you sell needs a label with the elements below in legible print.
- Common name of the product
- Net weight or volume
- Complete ingredient list including sub-ingredients and allergen declaration
- Name and address of the manufacturer/processor
- The disclosure statement (verbatim above) in at least 10-point type in a color that contrasts with the label background
- For unpasteurized juice specifically, the federal juice warning statement about pathogenic microorganisms
Pennsylvania requires this disclosure statement, word for word:
This product is homemade and is not prepared in an inspected food establishment.
Reproduced from Pennsylvania's cottage food labeling requirements. Confirm the current wording with Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services before you print a run of labels.
Get the free Pennsylvania cottage food checklist
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 Pennsylvania?
The venues and channels Pennsylvania cottage food operators may use.
| Channel | Allowed in Pennsylvania? |
|---|---|
| Direct sales from the production site, including internet sales | Yes |
| Farmers markets and events | With conditions. May require a separate Retail Food Facility License depending on the venue |
| Wholesale to restaurants, cafes and other food service establishments | With conditions. One source describes this as broadly allowed; a Penn State Extension source describes wholesale as restricted for most products, treat as unresolved and confirm per product |
| Interstate/out-of-state sales | With conditions. May require separate FDA registration; acidified foods sold interstate require an FDA-approved processing course |
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services has not settled every channel in one published place. Confirm your specific channel, for example online or out-of-state shipping, with Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services.
Registration, training and inspection
Registration and permits. Must register as a Limited Food Establishment with the PA Department of Agriculture, including a home kitchen inspection, before selling. $35 fee collected after a compliant inspection, renewed annually.
Food safety training. No general training requirement found for most products. Acidified food processors intending to sell interstate must complete an FDA-approved acidified canning course.
Kitchen inspection. A home kitchen inspection by the Department of Agriculture is required before the Food Establishment Registration is issued.
The fees a Pennsylvania cottage food seller can expect.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Limited Food Establishment registration (collected after a compliant inspection) | $35 |
| Annual renewal | $35 |
| Lab testing (water, pH, Brix, as applicable to the product) | varies by lab and product type, not a fixed state fee |
