Virginia Cottage Food Laws: Labels, Sales, and Inspections

Virginia cottage food laws let residents sell certain homemade foods directly to consumers without a state kitchen inspection, as long as the product falls into one of three exempt categories and the seller follows the rules on venues, sales caps, and labels. The exemption comes from Virginia Code § 3.2-5130, which covers low-risk shelf-stable foods, acidified vegetables, and honey from your own hives.¹ Anything outside those categories requires an inspected home kitchen permit from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) before you sell a single item.

What You Can Sell Without an Inspection

Three categories qualify, and each has its own conditions.

Low-Risk Shelf-Stable Foods

The broadest exemption covers foods that stay safe at room temperature. The statute lists what qualifies:

Baked goods that don’t need refrigeration after baking: breads, cookies, cakes, pies, and pastries. Items with cream, custard, or meat fillings that require temperature control don’t qualify.
Candies and confections such as fudge, caramels, and brittles.
Jams and jellies that aren’t classified as low-acid or acidified low-acid products.
Dry goods including dried fruits, dried herbs, dry seasonings, dry baking mixes, dried pasta, cereals, trail mixes, granola, and dried tea.
Coated and uncoated nuts.
Popcorn, popcorn balls, and cotton candy.
Roasted coffee and vinegars, including flavored vinegars.

There is no annual sales cap on products in this category.¹

Acidified Vegetables and Pickles

Homemade pickles and other acidified vegetables are exempt, but with tighter rules. The finished product must have an equilibrium pH of 4.6 or lower, and producers must measure pH with an electronic meter rather than taste or test strips.¹ Gross sales of acidified products cannot exceed $9,000 in a calendar year. VDACS strongly encourages producers to complete a Better Process Control School course, though it’s not legally required for exempt sellers.²

Fermented foods, canned fruits, anything requiring refrigeration, low-acid canned goods above pH 4.6, and salsas or sauces that can’t reliably hit 4.6 fall outside this exemption.

Honey

Pure honey from your own hives is exempt, with annual sales capped at 250 gallons.² Infused honey blended with herbs, peppers, or other flavorings doesn’t count as pure honey and can’t be sold under this exemption. Honey also plays by looser venue rules, covered below.

Where and How You Can Sell

For low-risk foods and acidified vegetables, sales are restricted to three places: your home, a farmers market, or a temporary event lasting no more than 14 consecutive days.¹ Every transaction must be direct and in person with the person who will eat the food. No consignment, no resale, no selling to grocery stores or restaurants.²

You can advertise online, including photos and prices on social media or a website. You cannot take online orders, accept online payments, or ship products by mail or delivery service. The sale itself happens face to face.¹ Interstate sales are also out, since crossing state lines brings in federal oversight.

Honey producers face none of these venue restrictions. They can sell to businesses, at any location, and to buyers who intend to resell.

What Has to Go on the Label

Every exempt product needs a label on the main display panel. For low-risk foods and acidified vegetables, the statute requires:

Your name, physical address, and telephone number.
The date the product was processed.
The exact statement “NOT FOR RESALE — PROCESSED AND PREPARED WITHOUT STATE INSPECTION.”

If the packaging is too small for a label, you can post a sign with the same information at the point of sale.¹

Standard food labeling rules still apply on top of the statute’s requirements. That means the product name, a net weight statement in both standard and metric units, and a full ingredient list ordered from heaviest to lightest.² Net weight appears in bold at the bottom of the front panel.³

Federal allergen rules apply too. If the product contains milk, wheat, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soybeans, fish, or shellfish, identify the allergen either in parentheses within the ingredient list or in a separate “Contains” statement directly below it.³

Honey labels follow the same general format and carry an added warning: “WARNING: Do Not Feed Honey to Infants Under One Year Old.”²

When You Need a Full Inspection Instead

If your product isn’t on the exempt lists, you need an inspected home kitchen permit from VDACS before selling anything. Common items that push producers into inspected status include meat-filled pastries, cream-based baked goods, low-acid canned foods, fermented products, and anything that has to stay refrigerated. Acidified products that exceed the $9,000 annual sales cap also lose the exemption.

An inspected operation pays VDACS a $40 annual fee and is subject to unannounced inspections after the initial scheduled visit. Exempt producers pay no fee and receive no inspections.⁴

How to Apply for an Inspected Home Kitchen Permit

The VDACS application asks for a diagram of your food processing, equipment washing, and food storage areas, plus information about your handwashing setup and water source (public supply or private well).⁴ If your water comes from a private well, contact VDACS directly about testing requirements for your situation.

Prepare draft labels for every product before submitting, since VDACS reviews labels as part of approval. Check local zoning before you invest much time, because some municipalities restrict home-based commercial activity.

Submit the application to the VDACS Food Safety Program by email at foodsafety@vdacs.virginia.gov or by mail. After the paperwork is reviewed, a food safety specialist schedules the first inspection, which looks at cleanliness, storage temperatures, the separation of food production from household activities, and handwashing facilities. If everything meets standards, you receive your permit. Keep the written inspection report. Future inspections are unannounced, so the kitchen needs to stay at inspection-ready standards year-round.⁴

Penalties for Selling Outside the Rules

Selling food outside the terms of your exemption is a Class 1 misdemeanor. That includes exceeding the acidified vegetable sales cap, shipping products, selling at unauthorized locations, and skipping the required labeling. Operating a food business that requires an inspection without having one falls under the same provision. The penalty can reach up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500, and because it’s a criminal classification rather than a civil fine, a conviction goes on a criminal record.¹

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 3.2-5130 – Inspections Required to Operate Food Establishment
2
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Virginia Home Kitchen Food Processing Exemptions
3
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Requirements for Labeling
4
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Starting a Home Food Processing Business in Virginia