Home Kitchen Laws in Alabama

The plain-English guide to selling food from home in Alabama.

🏛️ Mixed state + county administration.
Alabama sets statewide rules, but counties add their own requirements or opt-ins. Check both levels before you start.

County detail: Alabama has no county opt-in/opt-out: Section 22-20-5.1 bars the State Department of Public Health and county health departments from regulating cottage food operations beyond the statute itself. But there is a county touchpoint — each producer must submit a Cottage Food Review Form, food safety certificate, and sample labels to their local county health department for review, and the county can give written confirmation that the paperwork was reviewed. County-issued food service permits are explicitly not required.

Which laws apply

Cottage food law

Allowed foods

Allowed: non-potentially hazardous foods prepared in your home — cakes, breads, Danish pastries, donuts, pastries, pies; jam, jellies, and fruit preserves; candy; dried and dehydrated herbs, herb mixes, vegetables, or fruits; roasted coffee; dried baking mixes; fermented or preserved vegetables or fruit that produce no alcohol and meet an ADPH-allowed acidity level (pH verification by a processing authority or the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service is required; freeze-dried foods need water-activity verification). Not allowed: anything requiring time/temperature control for safety, and all meat, poultry, and fish. Items with under 3% alcohol are allowed; over 3%, consult the Alabama ABC Board.

Cottage track — shelf-stable foods in Alabama

🥧 Cottage Food — Shelf-Stable Cottage food law — the shelf-stable track in Alabama: foods are made at home and sold by preorder / pickup, not as restaurant-style reservations.

✅ No permit required in Alabama for Cottage food law production, per the state's published permit steps. Makers here are not “permitted” — they operate under the cottage food rules, and claims on this site are verified by rule-compliance proof, not a permit.

Allowed foods: Allowed: non-potentially hazardous foods prepared in your home — cakes, breads, Danish pastries, donuts, pastries, pies; jam, jellies, and fruit preserves; candy; dried and dehydrated herbs, herb mixes, vegetables, or fruits; roasted coffee; dried baking mixes; fermented or preserved vegetables or fruit that produce no alcohol and meet an ADPH-allowed acidity level (pH verification by a processing authority or the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service is required; freeze-dried foods need water-activity verification).

Prohibited foods: anything requiring time/temperature control for safety, and all meat, poultry, and fish. Items with under 3% alcohol are allowed; over 3%, consult the Alabama ABC Board.

Sales cap (cottage track): No sales cap. The former $20,000-per-year gross income limit was removed by the 2021 amendment (SB 160); the Alabama Department of Public Health confirms the annual income limit is removed. No scheduled changes.

Labeling rules (from the published permit steps):

Prepare a compliant label for each product (10-point font, food name, operation name, home or P.O
Complete the Cottage Food Review Form and submit it with your certificate and sample labels to your local county health department for review

Where sales are allowed (from the published rules):

Sell only directly to Alabama consumers (in person, phone, or online)
deliver in person, through your agent, or by mail — no wholesale, restaurants, grocery stores, or ADPH-permitted venues.
Sell directly to Alabama consumers only — in person, by phone, or online — and deliver in person, through your agent, or by mail
No wholesale, restaurants, or grocery stores.

Street track — sidewalk & mobile vendors in Alabama

🌮 Street Food — Sidewalk & Mobile

Street and mobile vendors do not cook from home kitchens — they sell in public places under different permits, and on this site they are walk-up only (no bookings).

Sales caps

No sales cap. The former $20,000-per-year gross income limit was removed by the 2021 amendment (SB 160); the Alabama Department of Public Health confirms the annual income limit is removed. No scheduled changes.

Permit steps

No food service permit or home-kitchen inspection is required (Cottage food operations are not food service establishments under §22-20-5.1(b)).
Complete an ADPH-approved food safety course (Alabama Cooperative Extension cottage food course, about $25, or any ANSI-accredited program); maintain current certification — Extension certification is renewed every 5 years.
Prepare a compliant label for each product (10-point font, food name, operation name, home or P.O. Box address, ingredients, not-inspected statement, allergen disclaimer); fermented/acidified items need pH documentation from a processing authority or Extension.
Complete the Cottage Food Review Form and submit it with your certificate and sample labels to your local county health department for review; the county provides written confirmation.
Check whether your city/municipality requires a local business license.
Sell only directly to Alabama consumers (in person, phone, or online); deliver in person, through your agent, or by mail — no wholesale, restaurants, grocery stores, or ADPH-permitted venues.

How to start in Alabama

1. Confirm your recipes are non-potentially hazardous (shelf-stable, no refrigeration needed; no meat, poultry, or fish). 2. Complete an ADPH-approved food safety course — e.g., the Alabama Cooperative Extension cottage food course (about $25) or any ANSI-accredited program — and keep your certification current (renewed every 5 years). 3. Get pH documentation from a processing authority or Alabama Extension for any fermented, preserved, or acidified items. 4. Design compliant labels for each product: common food name, your operation name, home or P.O. Box address, ingredients in descending order, 'not inspected by the Health Department' statement, and allergen disclaimer, all in at least 10-point font. 5. Fill out the Cottage Food Review Form and bring it, your certificate, and sample labels to your local county health department for review. 6. Check whether your city or municipality requires a local business license (municipal licenses are typically required). 7. Sell directly to Alabama consumers only — in person, by phone, or online — and deliver in person, through your agent, or by mail. No wholesale, restaurants, or grocery stores.

Recent changes

No amendments to §22-20-5.1 in 2024, 2025, or 2026. The most recent change was the 2021 amendment (SB 160, signed 2021): it removed the $20,000 annual gross receipts cap, legalized online sales and in-state delivery (previously internet sales were prohibited), and added fermented or preserved vegetables and fruit. In 2026, HB 175 (the 'Farm-to-Food Bank Act,' an income-tax credit for farm/food-bank donations — not a home-kitchen bill) died in committee. Alabama has no food freedom act and no MEHKO-style hot-meal program.

Official sources

Start a home kitchen in Alabama → · Check your eligibility → · Compare states →

Not legal advice. Rules change — confirm everything with Alabama's health department before selling.