West Virginia Cottage Food Laws: Sales, Labeling and Registration

West Virginia cottage food laws let you produce and sell shelf-stable foods from your home kitchen without a health department permit, commercial license, or kitchen inspection. The rules live at W. Va. Code §19-35-6, and by national standards they are unusually permissive: no revenue cap, online sales allowed, and third-party retailers can carry your products. You still need to register the business, label correctly, and stay inside the categories the statute permits.

What You Can and Cannot Sell

The law covers “nonpotentially hazardous” foods, meaning anything that stays safe at room temperature without refrigeration.¹ If a product needs to stay cold to prevent bacterial growth, it falls outside the definition.

Items that typically qualify:

Baked goods such as breads, cookies, fruit pies, tortillas, churros, and pretzels, provided they contain no cream, custard, cheese, or meat fillings
Sweets and snacks including fudge, chocolates, caramel corn, cotton candy, granola, trail mixes, and dry baking mixes
Jams, jellies, and syrups
Dried herbs, pasta, seasoning blends, dried fruits, nuts, and seeds
Nonalcoholic beverages that don’t require refrigeration, including coffee and tea blends
Honey

Several categories are off-limits. Meat and poultry products are prohibited unless the producer fits within narrow federal inspection exemptions, which most home producers won’t.² Acidified and pickled foods such as salsas, pickles, and fermented vegetables are also excluded, along with low-acid canned goods and anything requiring refrigeration. If pickled or acidified foods are what you want to sell, that’s a separate track: the West Virginia Department of Agriculture issues a Farmers Market Vendor permit that requires a kitchen inspection, label review, and a good manufacturing practices training course.³

Where You Can Sell

The sales channels are broad. You can sell directly to consumers at farmers markets, festivals, or from your home. Online orders are permitted, with delivery within the state either by you or through a third-party carrier.¹

West Virginia also allows third-party vendors, including local grocery stores and restaurants, to sell your products on your behalf.² Many states require the food to change hands directly from producer to consumer. West Virginia does not, which opens up retail shelf space that home producers elsewhere can’t reach.

There is no annual revenue cap. You can scale production as high as your home kitchen allows without hitting a state-imposed ceiling.

One boundary to keep in mind: the statute doesn’t exempt you from federal rules. Selling across state lines puts you under FDA jurisdiction, so most cottage food producers keep sales inside West Virginia.¹

Labeling Requirements

Every item you sell must be labeled to WVDA standards.¹ The label needs to carry:

Your name, home address, and telephone number
The common name of the product
A list of all ingredients
A disclaimer stating the product was made in a home (or farm, community, or commercial) kitchen exempt from state licensing and inspection, and that it may contain allergens²

You aren’t required to itemize specific allergens like wheat, milk, or peanuts. The mandatory disclaimer just warns that allergens may be present. Voluntarily listing the FDA’s nine major allergens (milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, and sesame) is still worth doing for customer trust and your own protection if someone reacts.

Unpackaged and bulk items can carry the required information on a placard at the point of sale rather than on individual packaging. For online sales, the same information must appear on the product’s webpage.

Nutrition Facts Panel

Cottage food producers almost always qualify for the federal small-business exemption from Nutrition Facts labeling. If your total food sales to consumers are $50,000 or less per year, or gross sales are $500,000 or less, no nutrition panel is required and no filing with the FDA is needed.⁴ The exemption disappears the moment you make a nutrient content claim like “sugar free” or “low fat,” either on the label or in advertising. At that point the full panel becomes mandatory.

Business Registration and Sales Tax

Before your first sale, get a West Virginia Business Registration Certificate from the State Tax Department.⁵ The cottage food exemption from health permits doesn’t extend to business registration or taxes, and the statute says so directly.¹ Apply online through the Business4WV portal or file a paper BUS-APP with the Tax Commissioner.

The registration fee is $30.⁶ Anyone engaged in farming or agriculture is exempt from the fee but must still register.⁷ If your product comes from your own farm — honey from your hives, say — you may qualify. Keep your certificate at your production location and bring it to off-site sales.

Sales tax still applies. The cottage food law creates no tax exemption.⁸ West Virginia has reduced its sales tax rate on food intended for home consumption, and the rate may be zero depending on the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund balance.⁹ Prepared food can be taxed at the full state rate. Whether your baked goods and jams count as “food for home consumption” or “prepared food” depends on the specific item, so check with the State Tax Department or a tax professional if you’re unsure.

What the Law Doesn’t Cover

State law preempts local government regulation of cottage food production and sales, so counties and municipalities cannot create their own permit schemes or ban home food sales.¹ There are a few carve-outs: government-owned facilities, government-run events, and temporary events lasting 14 days or less can still set their own participation rules. And local health departments retain authority to investigate if someone reports a foodborne illness traced to your products. If a complaint comes in, the health department and WVDA can inspect and halt sales.

Preemption reaches government, not private agreements. If you live under a homeowners association, read the CC&Rs before you start. Many HOA covenants prohibit home businesses outright, and boards often enforce when they notice customer traffic, signage, or deliveries. General zoning ordinances on home occupations may also apply to the business-use portion of your property, covering things like parking, signage, and the share of your home used commercially. If your locality requires a home occupation permit, confirm your cottage food operation fits within its terms.

Liability is on you. The statute doesn’t shield you if a product makes someone sick, and standard homeowners policies exclude commercial activity, so a lawsuit over an allergic reaction or foodborne illness would come out of your pocket. Product liability policies written for cottage food businesses are widely available, and many farmers markets and retail venues require proof of insurance as a condition of participation, which turns coverage into a practical prerequisite rather than an optional safeguard.

1
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 19-35-6 – Nonpotentially Hazardous Foods
2
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 19-35-2 and 19-35-6 – Direct Sale of Homemade Food Items
3
West Virginia Department of Agriculture. Farmers Market
4
Food and Drug Administration. Small Business Nutrition Labeling Exemption Guidance
5
West Virginia Tax Division. Business Registration
6
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-12-3 – Business Registration Certificate Required
7
West Virginia State Tax Department. Business Registration Frequently Asked Questions
8
West Virginia State Tax Department. TSD 420 Sales Tax Regarding Prepared Foods
9
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-15-3a