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Home kitchen laws in Nebraska

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

🏢️ State-run program.
In Nebraska, one statewide agency sets the home-kitchen rules — the same requirements apply wherever you live in the state.

Which laws apply

  • Cottage food law

Allowed foods

Allowed: all non-adulterated foods EXCEPT the prohibited TCS categories below, made in the producer's private home. Since LB262 (2024), this includes refrigerated/perishable foods such as cheesecake, cream-filled pastries, ice cream, pudding, and cooked items with dairy/eggs from approved sources. Not allowed: any animal part or byproduct (meat, lard, tallow, bone broth); fluid milk/milk products as defined by the Grade A Pasteurized Milk Ordinance; raw eggs (including uncooked in homemade ice cream); unpasteurized juice; infused oils or infused honey; sprouts; low-acid canned and hermetically sealed acidified foods; tofu, tempeh, or similar meat substitutes; kimchi, kombucha, or similar fermented foods. Eggs and raw milk have separate non-cottage-food rules.

Cottage track — shelf-stable foods in Nebraska

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

Allowed foods: Allowed: all non-adulterated foods EXCEPT the prohibited TCS categories below, made in the producer's private home. Since LB262 (2024), this includes refrigerated/perishable foods such as cheesecake, cream-filled pastries, ice cream, pudding, and cooked items with dairy/eggs from approved sources.

Prohibited foods: any animal part or byproduct (meat, lard, tallow, bone broth); fluid milk/milk products as defined by the Grade A Pasteurized Milk Ordinance; raw eggs (including uncooked in homemade ice cream); unpasteurized juice; infused oils or infused honey; sprouts; low-acid canned and hermetically sealed acidified foods; tofu, tempeh, or similar meat substitutes; kimchi, kombucha, or similar fermented foods. Eggs and raw milk have separate non-cottage-food rules.

Sales cap (cottage track): No annual sales cap in the statute — the enacted text of Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-2,280 (subsections 1-8, as amended by LB262) contains no sales-cap provision, and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture's cottage-food program page and FAQ list no cap. A $25,000 gross-annual-sales cap was proposed in LB764 (2018) but never became law. No scheduled cap changes found.

Labeling rules (from the published permit steps):

  • Label every product with your name and address

Where sales are allowed (from the published rules):

  • EXEMPT: producers selling only non-TCS food directly to consumers at farmers markets are exempt from both training and registration.
  • If you will sell anything beyond non-TCS foods at a farmers market, complete an approved food-safety course (e.g., ServSafe, UNL Cottage Food Law Training online, or a county food-handler course) before selling
  • Sell directly to the consumer only: farmers markets, fairs, festivals, craft shows, or pickup/delivery from your home
  • TCS foods must be delivered by you in person within 2 hours at safe temperatures
  • Check your farmers market's own vendor rules, and follow any local event-site food-handling guidelines where you sell.

Street track — sidewalk & mobile vendors in Nebraska

🌮 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 annual sales cap in the statute — the enacted text of Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-2,280 (subsections 1-8, as amended by LB262) contains no sales-cap provision, and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture's cottage-food program page and FAQ list no cap. A $25,000 gross-annual-sales cap was proposed in LB764 (2018) but never became law. No scheduled cap changes found.

Permit steps

  1. Complete an approved food-safety course before any sales (nationally accredited course, culinary-school course, county/city food-handler course, or NDA-approved course). EXEMPT: producers selling only non-TCS food directly to consumers at farmers markets are exempt from both training and registration.
  2. Register with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture before selling (department forms; provide name, address, phone, course type and completion date, and well-water test results if using a private well).
  3. If using private well water, test it for nitrate and bacteria contamination before producing/selling.
  4. No registration fee or inspection fee is stated in the statute or on NDA's cottage-food page; registration is state-level — state law preempts local food-safety permitting/inspection requirements.
  5. Allow up to 10 days for your registration to appear on NDA's online list of registered producers.

How to start in Nebraska

1. Check your recipes against the allowed/prohibited list — no meat, fluid milk products, raw eggs, fermented foods, or home-canned low-acid/acidified foods. 2. If you will sell anything beyond non-TCS foods at a farmers market, complete an approved food-safety course (e.g., ServSafe, UNL Cottage Food Law Training online, or a county food-handler course) before selling. 3. If you use private well water, have it tested for nitrates and bacteria. 4. Register with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture on its cottage-food registration form (name, address, phone, course type and completion date, well-water test if applicable); confirm your listing appears (can take up to 10 days). 5. Label every product with your name and address; add an ingredient list (descending by weight) if the food is TCS. 6. Display the required notice — prepared in a kitchen not subject to regulation/inspection; may contain allergens — at the sale location, at your home, on your website, and in ads. 7. Sell directly to the consumer only: farmers markets, fairs, festivals, craft shows, or pickup/delivery from your home; non-TCS foods may also ship by U.S. mail or commercial carrier; TCS foods must be delivered by you in person within 2 hours at safe temperatures. 8. Check your farmers market's own vendor rules, and follow any local event-site food-handling guidelines where you sell.

Recent changes

LB262 (2024) — omnibus agriculture bill, approved by the Governor April 16, 2024, cottage-food provisions operative three calendar months after the 2024 session adjourned (commonly cited as July 19, 2024). Big change: producers may now sell certain time/temperature control for safety (TCS) foods (e.g., cheesecake, cream-filled pastries, ice cream made with approved dairy) in person, with ingredient labeling, temperature control, and a 2-hour delivery limit; added statewide preemption of local food-safety ordinances (ending local permitting/inspection add-ons like Lincoln's/Lancaster County's); clarified products must be prepared in a private home and that non-TCS foods may ship by mail. LB245 (2025) — Pure Food Act technical update approved by the Governor April 29, 2025, effective immediately: adopted the 2022 FDA Food Code by reference, extended single-event vendor window from 2 to 4 days, and revised NDA inspection fee schedule; did not substantively change the cottage-food section (81-2,280). 2026: no cottage-food-specific bills located on the Nebraska Legislature site during this research.

Official sources

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

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