Home Kitchen Laws in South Dakota

Home kitchen laws in South Dakota

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

Which laws apply

Cottage food law

Allowed foods

Allowed: non-temperature-controlled food prepared at a residence (baked goods, jams, pickles, freeze-dried mixes, etc.); home-processed canned goods with pH of 4.6 or less or water activity of 0.85 or less; and, only with food-safety training (or third-party process verification), non-heat-processed fermented foods kept at or below 41°F, TCS baked goods (soft pies, cheesecake, custard/cream-filled), sauces and pesto kept at or below 41°F, and home-processed frozen fruit/produce kept at or below 0°F. Not allowed: meats, poultry, seafood, jerky, dairy, and eggs, which fall under separate USDA or state inspection jurisdiction; alcohol; and any other time/temperature-controlled food not listed in § 34-18-36.1.

Cottage track — shelf-stable foods in South Dakota

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

✅ No permit required in South Dakota 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-temperature-controlled food prepared at a residence (baked goods, jams, pickles, freeze-dried mixes, etc.); home-processed canned goods with pH of 4.6 or less or water activity of 0.85 or less; and, only with food-safety training (or third-party process verification), non-heat-processed fermented foods kept at or below 41°F, TCS baked goods (soft pies, cheesecake, custard/cream-filled), sauces and pesto kept at or below 41°F, and home-processed frozen fruit/produce kept at or below 0°F.

Prohibited foods: meats, poultry, seafood, jerky, dairy, and eggs, which fall under separate USDA or state inspection jurisdiction; alcohol; and any other time/temperature-controlled food not listed in § 34-18-36.1.

Sales cap (cottage track): No sales cap. Neither the statute (SDCL §§ 34-18-35 to 34-18-38) nor the SD Department of Health's farmers-market guidance imposes any monetary limit on homemade-food sales. No scheduled change.

Labeling rules (from the published permit steps):

Label all products per § 34-18-37 and sell only direct-to-consumer in person at your primary residence, a farmers market, a roadside stand, or other temporary sale venue.

Where sales are allowed (from the published rules):

If selling canned goods or § 34-18-36.1 refrigerated/frozen items: complete Department-approved online food-safety training every 5 years and keep records (training provider fee, if any — Could not verify from a primary source)
If selling home-canned goods or § 34-18-36.1 refrigerated/frozen items, complete the department-approved online food-safety training (every 5 years) or get written third-party verification of each recipe
Sell only directly to consumers in your physical presence — at your primary residence, a farmers market, a roadside stand, or another temporary sale venue — and personally deliver (or have a household member deliver) each sale to the buyer
Do not sell wholesale, to retail stores, or online without a state food license
Check any farmers market or venue's own rules and collect/remit sales tax as applicable.

Street track — sidewalk & mobile vendors in South Dakota

🌮 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. Neither the statute (SDCL §§ 34-18-35 to 34-18-38) nor the SD Department of Health's farmers-market guidance imposes any monetary limit on homemade-food sales. No scheduled change.

Permit steps

No license, permit, or kitchen inspection is required for qualifying home-produced foods — SDCL § 34-18-38 exempts sellers at their primary residence from the chapter's licensing and license-fee provisions.
If selling canned goods or § 34-18-36.1 refrigerated/frozen items: complete Department-approved online food-safety training every 5 years and keep records (training provider fee, if any — Could not verify from a primary source); a written third-party process verification of each recipe may substitute for the training.
Label all products per § 34-18-37 and sell only direct-to-consumer in person at your primary residence, a farmers market, a roadside stand, or other temporary sale venue.

How to start in South Dakota

1. Decide what you will sell and confirm it is a qualifying homemade food under SDCL §§ 34-18-35 to 34-18-36.1 (no meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, or eggs). 2. If selling home-canned goods or § 34-18-36.1 refrigerated/frozen items, complete the department-approved online food-safety training (every 5 years) or get written third-party verification of each recipe; keep records. 3. Label every product per § 34-18-37: product name, producer name, physical production address, mailing address, phone, production date, ingredients, a keep-refrigerated/frozen directive where required, and the home-kitchen allergen disclaimer. 4. Sell only directly to consumers in your physical presence — at your primary residence, a farmers market, a roadside stand, or another temporary sale venue — and personally deliver (or have a household member deliver) each sale to the buyer. 5. Do not sell wholesale, to retail stores, or online without a state food license. 6. Check any farmers market or venue's own rules and collect/remit sales tax as applicable.

Recent changes

2024: SB 206 (animal-share agreements + independent processor grant program) was withdrawn at the prime sponsor's request on Feb 5, 2024 and did not advance. 2025: HB 1179 (labeling/sales clarifications for homemade food items, incl. disclosure formats, third-party vendor display rules, a $75 civil penalty, and meat-labeling requirements) was deferred to the 41st legislative day by House Commerce & Energy on Feb 10, 2025 and died; the codified §§ 34-18-35–38 are unchanged since SL 2022, ch 106. 2026: SB 124 was signed by Gov. Larry Rhoden on March 11, 2026 (SL 2026, ch 145; codified as § 34-18-43) — a five-year ban on selling or distributing products containing cell-cultured protein, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2031 (Class 2 misdemeanor); it applies to food service establishments, not cottage-food sellers. 2026: HB 1077 (deeming cultivated-protein food adulterated) passed both chambers but was vetoed by Gov. Rhoden on Feb 10, 2026, the session's only veto. 2026: HB 1064 was signed Feb 17, 2026 — it adds a new section to ch. 39-5 allowing producers to sell uninspected meat from cattle, sheep, swine, or goats (raised by the producer at least 90 days, slaughtered at a custom-exempt plant) directly to consumers at a residence, farmers market, roadside stand, or other temporary venue, but it takes effect ONLY on the date the attorney general certifies to code counsel that federal law permits such sales; not yet in effect. Pending bills: none found as of Sept 29, 2026; the 2026 session has adjourned (governor signed 144 bills, vetoed 1) and the next regular session convenes January 2027. (Context: the last substantive cottage-food overhaul was HB 1322, SL 2022, ch 106, eff. July 1, 2022, which expanded the law beyond baked goods to all non-temperature-controlled foods plus home-canned goods and the § 34-18-36.1 TCS categories.)

Official sources

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