Home Kitchen Laws in Florida

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

Which laws apply

Cottage food law

Allowed foods

Allowed (FDACS Division of Food Safety guidance): loaf breads, rolls, biscuits; cakes, pastries, cookies; candies and confections; honey; jams, jellies, preserves (high-acid fruit only); fruit pies and dried fruits; dry herbs, seasonings, mixes; homemade pasta; cereals, trail mixes, granola; coated or uncoated nuts; nut butters; vinegar and flavored vinegars; popcorn and popcorn balls; roasted coffee; dry baking mixes; fruit butters (not vegetable butters); cake pops; caramel/candy apples (apples raw and intact). Not allowed: anything TCS (time/temperature controlled for safety) or a potentially hazardous food — including cream/custard/meringue pies, cakes or pastries with cream-cheese or buttercream (dairy) icings, dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt), meat and meat fillings (empanadas, jerky), fish/shellfish, cooked vegetables (salsas, spaghetti sauces, focaccia with roasted vegetables), canned/pickled low-acid foods, home-canned products, syrups (incl. elderberry), beverages, hummus, garlic dips, flavored oils, cut fresh fruits/vegetables and juices, hemp/CBD foods, and pet treats. Key rule: the finished product must not require time/temperature control for safety (FL Stat. 500.03(1)(j) 'cottage food product' definition).

Cottage track — shelf-stable foods in Florida

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

✅ No permit required in Florida 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 (FDACS Division of Food Safety guidance): loaf breads, rolls, biscuits; cakes, pastries, cookies; candies and confections; honey; jams, jellies, preserves (high-acid fruit only); fruit pies and dried fruits; dry herbs, seasonings, mixes; homemade pasta; cereals, trail mixes, granola; coated or uncoated nuts; nut butters; vinegar and flavored vinegars; popcorn and popcorn balls; roasted coffee; dry baking mixes; fruit butters (not vegetable butters); cake pops; caramel/candy apples (apples raw and intact).

Prohibited foods: anything TCS (time/temperature controlled for safety) or a potentially hazardous food — including cream/custard/meringue pies, cakes or pastries with cream-cheese or buttercream (dairy) icings, dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt), meat and meat fillings (empanadas, jerky), fish/shellfish, cooked vegetables (salsas, spaghetti sauces, focaccia with roasted vegetables), canned/pickled low-acid foods, home-canned products, syrups (incl. elderberry), beverages, hummus, garlic dips, flavored oils, cut fresh fruits/vegetables and juices, hemp/CBD foods, and pet treats. Key rule: the finished product must not require time/temperature control for safety (FL Stat. 500.03(1)(j) 'cottage food product' definition).

Sales cap (cottage track): $250,000 in annual gross sales (all sales at any location count; records must be provided to FDACS on request). Set by the 2021 Home Sweet Home Act (HB 663, Ch. 2021-118), effective July 1, 2021. No scheduled change found — no enacted or pending bill changes the cap.

Labeling rules (from the published permit steps):

Label every prepackaged product per s

Where sales are allowed (from the published rules):

Choose sales channels: direct to consumers in person, your website, mail order (USPS or commercial carrier), farmers markets, flea markets, or roadside stands — never wholesale, consignment, restaurants, or grocery stores

Street track — sidewalk & mobile vendors in Florida

🌮 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

$250,000 in annual gross sales (all sales at any location count; records must be provided to FDACS on request). Set by the 2021 Home Sweet Home Act (HB 663, Ch. 2021-118), effective July 1, 2021. No scheduled change found — no enacted or pending bill changes the cap.

Permit steps

No license, permit, or registration is required from FDACS, and cottage food operations are not inspected by any state entity (FDACS investigates and may enter/inspect only upon a consumer complaint; refusing entry after a complaint is grounds for discipline under s. 500.121).
Make only non-TCS (non-potentially-hazardous) products at your primary residence — products and ingredients must be stored on the operation's premises; no rented kitchens, outbuildings, or second homes.
Label every prepackaged product per s. 500.80(3): your name and physical address, product name, ingredients in descending order of weight, net weight/volume, federal allergen info, nutrition info if a claim is made, and the statement 'Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida's food safety regulations' in at least 10-point contrasting type.
Track gross sales — if you exceed $250,000/year you must move to a permitted food establishment.
Comply with state/federal tax laws and with s. 559.955 home-based-business conditions; local governments may still require a business tax receipt and enforce parking, signage, noise, and hours rules.
No food-safety training is required of cottage food operators under Florida law.

How to start in Florida

1. Confirm your recipes are non-TCS foods (nothing needing refrigeration; no meat, dairy, fish, canned pickles, or acidified/salsa products). 2. Make and store everything in the kitchen of your primary home — no commercial equipment, outbuildings, or rented kitchens. 3. Design labels meeting all s. 500.80(3) requirements, including the 10-point 'not subject to Florida's food safety regulations' disclaimer. 4. Choose sales channels: direct to consumers in person, your website, mail order (USPS or commercial carrier), farmers markets, flea markets, or roadside stands — never wholesale, consignment, restaurants, or grocery stores. 5. Keep written records of gross sales (FDACS can request them) and stay under $250,000/year. 6. Handle state/federal taxes and check with your city/county on a local business tax receipt and any home-based-business rules. 7. Start selling — no application to file and no inspector visits unless a consumer complaint triggers an FDACS investigation.

Recent changes

2021 Home Sweet Home Act (HB 663, Ch. 2021-118; effective July 1, 2021): raised the cap from $50,000 to $250,000, allowed Internet sales with mail-order delivery, allowed business-entity ownership, and preempted local regulation of cottage food operations to the state (s. 500.80(6)). 2022: SB 1158 / HB 707 would have created a MEHKO-style 'home kitchen operations' program (s. 500.82, up to $250,000, hot meals direct to consumers) — both died (SB 1158 died in Appropriations 3/14/2022). 2025: SB 700 (Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services 'farm bill,' Ch. 2025-22; signed 5/15/2025; effective 7/1/2025) made only a technical amendment to the s. 500.03(1)(j) 'cottage food product' definition ('not TCS or a potentially hazardous food as defined by department rule'). 2026: no pending bill found that changes the cottage food cap or creates a hot-food home-kitchen program; 2026 bills mentioning cottage food only reference it in other contexts (kratom regulation SB 994/HB 1205, grain fortification HB 685, transit-oriented development SB 1342) — statuses not verified as part of this research.

Official sources

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