Home kitchen laws in Arkansas
The plain-English guide to selling food from home in Arkansas.
Which laws apply
- Cottage food law
- Food freedom act
Allowed foods
Allowed: non-TCS (shelf-stable, no refrigeration needed) foods made at the producer's private residence — baked goods that meet pH ≤4.6 and water activity ≤0.85 (breads, cookies, cakes, pastries), candy and confections, jams/jellies/preserves/fruit butters made with real sugar, pickled cucumbers and other acidified vegetables with equilibrium pH ≤4.6 (only with an ADH-approved recipe, certified-lab testing, or per-batch calibrated pH meter testing, plus batch numbers and batch records), acidified condiments/sauces (salsa, BBQ sauce, ketchup, pH ≤4.6, heat-treated), vinegar and infused vinegar (pH ≤4.6), packaged teas/coffees/soft drinks/lemonades (pH ≤4.6 or water activity ≤0.85), heat-treated canned high-acid fruit juices, dried/dehydrated/roasted foods, honey (creamed or flavored only with dry non-TCS ingredients), maple syrup, sorghum, microgreens (cut once at harvest), and whole uncut fresh produce. Not allowed: meat, poultry, seafood, wild game, and any dairy (milk, cheese, butter, sour cream, yogurt); any time/temperature-control-for-safety food (cut leafy greens, cut tomatoes, cut melons, raw sprouts, garlic-in-oil mixtures, custard/cream pies, cheesecake, deli salads, casseroles); low-acid canned foods (pH >4.6, e.g. green beans, corn); smoked/cured/dried meats; alcoholic beverages; and fresh unpasteurized juice.
Cottage track — shelf-stable foods in Arkansas
🥧 Cottage Food — Shelf-Stable Cottage food law — the shelf-stable track in Arkansas: foods are made at home and sold by preorder / pickup, not as restaurant-style reservations.
Allowed foods: Allowed: non-TCS (shelf-stable, no refrigeration needed) foods made at the producer's private residence — baked goods that meet pH ≤4.6 and water activity ≤0.85 (breads, cookies, cakes, pastries), candy and confections, jams/jellies/preserves/fruit butters made with real sugar, pickled cucumbers and other acidified vegetables with equilibrium pH ≤4.6 (only with an ADH-approved recipe, certified-lab testing, or per-batch calibrated pH meter testing, plus batch numbers and batch records), acidified condiments/sauces (salsa, BBQ sauce, ketchup, pH ≤4.6, heat-treated), vinegar and infused vinegar (pH ≤4.6), packaged teas/coffees/soft drinks/lemonades (pH ≤4.6 or water activity ≤0.85), heat-treated canned high-acid fruit juices, dried/dehydrated/roasted foods, honey (creamed or flavored only with dry non-TCS ingredients), maple syrup, sorghum, microgreens (cut once at harvest), and whole uncut fresh produce.
Prohibited foods: meat, poultry, seafood, wild game, and any dairy (milk, cheese, butter, sour cream, yogurt); any time/temperature-control-for-safety food (cut leafy greens, cut tomatoes, cut melons, raw sprouts, garlic-in-oil mixtures, custard/cream pies, cheesecake, deli salads, casseroles); low-acid canned foods (pH >4.6, e.g. green beans, corn); smoked/cured/dried meats; alcoholic beverages; and fresh unpasteurized juice.
Labeling rules (from the published permit steps):
- This product may contain allergens.' — put them on the package label (or a point-of-sale placard, or your website for online sales)
Street track — sidewalk & mobile vendors in Arkansas
🌮 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 under the Food Freedom Act — producers may sell any volume of qualifying non-TCS homemade food and drink products. No scheduled cap changes or effective dates found. (Raw milk sales are governed separately under A.C.A. § 20-59-248 as amended by Acts 125 and 698 of 2025.)
Permit steps
- No permit, license, registration, inspection, or food-safety training is required under the Food Freedom Act for qualifying non-TCS homemade foods.
- Check with your city/county clerk about general local business-license requirements (not food-specific).
- If a product needs a permit (TCS foods, low-acid canned goods, meat, dairy, sprouts): contact the Environmental Health Specialist at your local Arkansas Department of Health county health unit to determine whether a Retail Food Establishment or Food Processing Plant permit is required — specific permit fees could not be verified from a primary source.
How to start in Arkansas
1. Confirm your products qualify as non-TCS (shelf-stable, no refrigeration needed) and contain no meat, poultry, seafood, or dairy. 2. For pickles or other acidified foods, use an ADH-approved recipe, get a certified lab test, or test every batch with a calibrated pH meter (must read ≤4.6); assign each batch a unique number and keep records (recipe, pH/test source, batch date). 3. Make the food at your private residence. 4. Prepare the required disclosures: date made, your name/address/phone (or an ID number from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture), product name, ingredients in descending order, and the statement 'This product was produced in a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens.' — put them on the package label (or a point-of-sale placard, or your website for online sales). 5. Sell only to informed end consumers (who won't resell): from your home, farmers markets, farm stands, online, or through retail shops/grocery stores; delivery by you, an agent, or by mail is allowed. 6. If a grocery/retail store also sells inspected foods, keep your homemade products physically separate. 7. You owe applicable taxes as normal, and the Arkansas Department of Health can still investigate foodborne-illness complaints or adulterated/misbranded food. 8. If you want to sell TCS foods, meat, dairy, or low-acid canned goods instead, contact the Environmental Health Specialist at your local ADH county health unit about a Retail Food Establishment permit.
Recent changes
2021 (context): Act 1040 of 2021 (SB248, effective July 28, 2021) created the Food Freedom Act (A.C.A. §§ 20-57-501–507) and repealed the Cottage Food Act (Act 399 of 2017). 2025: Act 125 of 2025 (HB1048, signed 2/20/2025) clarified that incidental sales of unpasteurized goat, sheep, and whole milk are not limited to sales on the farm. Act 698 of 2025 (SB464, passed 4/18/2025 with emergency clause) allows raw milk and raw milk products to be sold at locations other than the farm where produced. HB1149 of 2025 (banning local regulation of residential vegetable gardens) passed the House but died in Senate committee at sine die adjournment on 5/5/2025 — it did not become law. 2026: the Arkansas Department of Health updated its Homemade Food Production Guide on May 21, 2026, reflecting the 2025 raw-milk acts and restating that dairy products are excluded from the Food Freedom Act. No 2024 amendments to the Food Freedom Act were found, and no 2026 food-freedom bills were identified as pending.
Official sources
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Not legal advice. Rules change — confirm everything with Arkansas's health department before selling.