Do You Need a Cottage Food Permit in Florida?

You do not need a cottage food permit in Florida. Under Florida Statute 500.80, you can make and sell certain shelf-stable foods from your home kitchen without a state license or inspection, as long as your annual gross sales stay under $250,000.¹ The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) does not approve your kitchen or issue you a credential before you start selling. You just have to follow the rules.

Those rules cover four things: what you sell, how you sell it, what the label says, and how much you sell in a year. Cross any of those lines and the exemption stops protecting you.

The Sales Cap and FDACS Oversight

The exemption rests on one hard number. Your annual gross sales of cottage food products cannot exceed $250,000, and that figure covers every sale, every product, every location.¹ If FDACS asks, you need written documentation proving your total.² Keep clean records from your first sale.

Cross $250,000 and you lose the exemption. At that point you need a standard food establishment permit, which brings inspections and the full food safety chapter with it.

Even below the cap, you are not invisible to the state. FDACS can investigate any complaint alleging that a cottage food operation broke the rules, and an authorized officer can enter and inspect the premises in response to a complaint.¹

What You Can and Cannot Sell

Cottage food in Florida means shelf-stable food. Products that need refrigeration or time-and-temperature controls to stay safe are off the table.

Common approved products include breads, cookies, cakes, candies, jams, jellies, fruit pies, honey, dried herbs, homemade pasta, granola, trail mixes, nuts, popcorn, and vinegar. The banned side covers anything that can grow dangerous bacteria at room temperature: cream-filled pastries, custards, cheesecakes, meat products, and canned vegetables.

Two categories catch people off guard. Pickled or acidified foods like pickles and salsa are prohibited under Florida’s cottage food law. So are fermented foods like sauerkraut and kombucha. Other states allow some of these; Florida does not.

Every product you sell must be stored on the premises of your cottage food operation.¹ Renting offsite storage breaks the exemption.

Where You Can Sell

Every sale has to go directly from you to the person eating the food. You can sell from your home, at a roadside stand, at a farmers market, or at a flea market. Internet and mail-order sales are allowed, and you can deliver in person, ship through the U.S. Postal Service, or use a commercial carrier like UPS or FedEx.¹ Delivering to an event venue like a wedding is also permitted.

What you cannot do is wholesale. No grocery stores, no restaurants, no consignment at a retail shop. The sale moves from producer to consumer without a middleman.¹

One boundary worth stating plainly: Florida’s exemption does not protect you from federal rules, so shipping across state lines is almost certainly off limits. Once a product crosses into another state it becomes interstate commerce subject to FDA regulation. Keep your sales inside Florida.

Labeling Requirements

Every cottage food product must be prepackaged with a label that includes all of the following:¹

The name and physical address of your cottage food operation.
A clear product name identifying what the item is.
Ingredients listed in descending order of predominance by weight.
Net weight or volume of the package.
Disclosure of any major food allergens, as required by federal law.
The statement “Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida’s food safety regulations,” printed in at least 10-point type in a color that clearly contrasts with the background.

Any nutritional claim on the label (like “low sugar” or “high fiber”) triggers the federal nutrition information requirements that go with that claim.¹

Allergen Specifics

Federal law recognizes nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, soybeans, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, and sesame. Sesame became the ninth under the FASTER Act effective January 1, 2023, and it applies to cottage food just like any other packaged food.³ For tree nuts, name the specific nut (almonds, pecans, walnuts) rather than listing “nuts” generically.

Local Rules You Still Have to Follow

Florida law blocks cities and counties from banning cottage food operations or layering their own regulations on how you prepare, process, store, or sell your products.¹ That is a real protection, but it does not erase every local obligation.

You still have to meet the conditions for a home-based business under Florida Statute 559.955. In practice that means checking your local zoning to confirm a home-based business is allowed in your residential area. Most cities and counties also require a Business Tax Receipt (formerly called an occupational license) for any business operating in their jurisdiction. Fees and procedures vary; your city or county government office handles the application.

Taxes

Skipping the permit does not skip the tax code. The statute explicitly says a cottage food operation is not exempt from any state or federal tax law.¹

On the state side, food products for human consumption are generally exempt from Florida sales tax. Baked goods, jams, granola, and similar cottage food products fall within that grocery exemption, so you typically will not collect sales tax.

Federal taxes are a different story. Cottage food income is self-employment income. If your net earnings from self-employment reach $400 or more in a year, you must file a federal return and pay self-employment tax using Schedule SE.⁴ The combined rate is 15.3% (Social Security plus Medicare), and you can deduct half of it as an adjustment to income. Track expenses from day one: ingredients, packaging, labels, booth fees, and delivery costs are all potentially deductible against your net earnings.

Insurance

Florida does not require cottage food operators to carry liability insurance. Operating without it is still a risk. If a customer has an allergic reaction or claims they got sick from your product, you are personally responsible for any damages. Standard homeowners policies often exclude claims arising from commercial activity in the home, so the coverage you already pay for may not help.⁵

Call your homeowners insurer before your first sale and ask whether a home-based food business is covered. If the answer is no, a standalone product liability policy for a small food operation is widely available and relatively affordable.

How to Start

Pulling it together, the launch sequence is short:

Pick shelf-stable products that do not require refrigeration. If a product is borderline, check FDACS guidance before you sell it.
Design labels that include all six required elements, with the disclaimer in at least 10-point contrasting type and allergens disclosed by specific name.
Contact your city or county about zoning for a home-based business and apply for a Business Tax Receipt if your area requires one.
Set up recordkeeping to document annual gross sales and trace batches.
Call your homeowners insurer, and add product liability coverage if your policy excludes commercial activity.
Start selling. There is no state approval to wait on once your labels and local paperwork are in order.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 500 Section 80 – Cottage Food Operations
2
Panhandle Agriculture. From $15,000 to $250,000 – Floridas Cottage Food Law Today
3
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FASTER Act – Sesame Is the Ninth Major Food Allergen
4
Internal Revenue Service. Tax Guide for Small Business
5
UF/IFAS Extension Lee County. Q and A – Understanding Floridas Cottage Food Law