Home kitchen laws in South Carolina
The plain-English guide to selling food from home in South Carolina.
Which laws apply
- Cottage food law
Allowed foods
Allowed: nonpotentially hazardous (non-TCS) foods. Per SCDA's 2026 fact sheet: shelf-stable cakes, cookies, cupcakes, candies, dried herbs and spices, high-acid pie and pie fillings, roasted nuts, sourdough bread made with a commercial starter, and most breads and baked goods without cream fillings. Not allowed: time/temperature-controlled (TCS) foods such as meats, seafood, casseroles, and ice cream; cheesecake; charcuterie boards; hot sauce and BBQ sauce (acidified foods require a permit); bottled beverages. Low-acid canned foods, garlic-in-oil, and fresh juices are not exempt from permitting, and aluminum canned goods are excluded by statute.
Cottage track — shelf-stable foods in South Carolina
🥧 Cottage Food — Shelf-Stable Cottage food law — the shelf-stable track in South Carolina: foods are made at home and sold by preorder / pickup, not as restaurant-style reservations.
✅ No permit required in South Carolina 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: nonpotentially hazardous (non-TCS) foods. Per SCDA's 2026 fact sheet: shelf-stable cakes, cookies, cupcakes, candies, dried herbs and spices, high-acid pie and pie fillings, roasted nuts, sourdough bread made with a commercial starter, and most breads and baked goods without cream fillings.
Prohibited foods: time/temperature-controlled (TCS) foods such as meats, seafood, casseroles, and ice cream; cheesecake; charcuterie boards; hot sauce and BBQ sauce (acidified foods require a permit); bottled beverages. Low-acid canned foods, garlic-in-oil, and fresh juices are not exempt from permitting, and aluminum canned goods are excluded by statute.
Sales cap (cottage track): No sales cap. S.C. Code 46-57-20 sets no maximum annual sales for home-based food production operations - no cap exists and no change is scheduled. Operations with net earnings under $1,500 per year are exempt from the law's requirements entirely (raised from $500 by 2022 Act 208). The $15,000 figure found in some sources was never a cap: it was a 2012-2022 provision allowing home-based operations with annual sales under $15,000 to apply for exemption from SCDA wholesale-manufacturing inspection and label review under 39-25-10, deleted by Act 208 of 2022.
Labeling rules (from the published permit steps):
- Optional: request a free SCDA Homebased Food ID number to use on labels instead of your home address.
Where sales are allowed (from the published rules):
- Sell direct to consumers (in person, online, or by mail order) or to South Carolina retail stores - stores must post the uninspected-kitchen sign
- wholesale and resale are prohibited
Street track — sidewalk & mobile vendors in South Carolina
🌮 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. S.C. Code 46-57-20 sets no maximum annual sales for home-based food production operations - no cap exists and no change is scheduled. Operations with net earnings under $1,500 per year are exempt from the law's requirements entirely (raised from $500 by 2022 Act 208). The $15,000 figure found in some sources was never a cap: it was a 2012-2022 provision allowing home-based operations with annual sales under $15,000 to apply for exemption from SCDA wholesale-manufacturing inspection and label review under 39-25-10, deleted by Act 208 of 2022.
Permit steps
- No permit, license, application, fee, or inspection is required - SCDA confirms home-based food producers are not retail food establishments and do not need a retail food permit.
- Operate from your own dwelling's family-use kitchen (a separate permitted kitchen is only needed for foods outside the cottage law).
- Meet the sanitary facility standards in S.C. Code 46-57-20(C): approved water supply, separate ingredient storage, a sink with adequate hot water, separate handwashing facilities, a functioning toilet, approved sewage disposal, and no pest activity.
- Keep pets out of the production area during production, prohibit household activities in the kitchen while producing, and ensure all handlers know safe food-handling practices.
- Optional: request a free SCDA Homebased Food ID number to use on labels instead of your home address.
- Penalties: $100 per violation for repeated non-minor violations (per 2022 Act 208).
How to start in South Carolina
1. Confirm your products are nonpotentially hazardous (non-TCS) foods using SCDA's allowed-foods list (shelf-stable baked goods, candies, dried herbs/spices, high-acid pies, roasted nuts) - TCS foods, cheesecake, charcuterie boards, and hot/BBQ sauce need a permitted kitchen. 2. Produce only in your dwelling's family-use kitchen; keep it clean and sanitary with an approved water supply, hot-water sink, separate ingredient storage, handwashing facilities, and pest-free conditions. 3. Exclude pets and household activities from the kitchen while producing, and make sure everyone handling food follows safe food-handling practices. 4. (Optional) Request a free SCDA Homebased Food ID number to put on labels instead of your home address. 5. Label every package: operation name and address or ID number, product name, ingredients in descending order of weight, an allergen statement, and the all-caps disclaimer that the food was made in an uninspected kitchen; no health claims. 6. Sell direct to consumers (in person, online, or by mail order) or to South Carolina retail stores - stores must post the uninspected-kitchen sign; wholesale and resale are prohibited. 7. Operations with net earnings under $1,500 per year are exempt from the law's requirements. 8. Check local zoning and business-license rules - the law applies in the absence of a contrary local ordinance.
Recent changes
2022 - S.506 (Act 208), signed and effective 5/23/2022: expanded the law from 'candy and baked goods' to all nonpotentially hazardous foods; allowed online and mail-order direct sales and sales to retail stores (stores must post an uninspected-kitchen sign); made home-based products an approved source; raised the small-operation exemption from $500 to $1,500 in net earnings; added $100-per-violation fines; let operators use an SCDA-issued ID number instead of their address; excluded aluminum canned goods and charcuterie boards. 2023-2024 - Act 60 of 2023 (S.399), effective 7/1/2024: administration transferred from DHEC to the SC Department of Agriculture, and the law was renumbered from 44-1-143 to 46-57-20. 2024 - S.915 (an omnibus health-agency bill that contained home-based-food amendments in section 149) did not pass. Pending (2025-2026 session): H.3182, a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment (new Article I, Section 26) recognizing an inalienable right to grow, produce, and consume food of one's choosing - introduced 1/14/2025, currently in House Judiciary; a constitutional amendment needs a two-thirds legislative vote plus a voter referendum. H.3214, a three-year pilot program for public school-based community canneries for personal-use canning (food canned there may not be sold) - passed the House 5/1/2025, currently in Senate Education Committee. No scheduled sales-cap changes; South Carolina has no MEHKO/microenterprise program and no food freedom act.
Official sources
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Not legal advice. Rules change — confirm everything with South Carolina's health department before selling.