Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources
Georgia’s cottage food statute (O.C.G.A. § 26-2-470 et seq., enacted as House Bill 398) no longer requires a license, fee, or pre-operational inspection, a change that took effect July 1, 2025. There’s still no cap on revenue. The label rule that matters most is a short, exact disclosure sentence the statute spells out word for word, and Georgia’s law is unusual in letting you sell straight to grocery stores and restaurants without leaving the exemption. None of that trips FDA’s Nutrition Facts requirement by itself. That happens only once you make a nutrient content or health claim, cross state lines, or outgrow the FDA’s small-business labeling exemption.
| Quick facts | Georgia |
|---|---|
| Revenue cap | None |
| Permit or registration | None; license eliminated under HB 398 (2025) |
| Sales channels | Direct, online, and retail/wholesale in GA |
| Online sales | In-state only |
| Required label statement | “This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state inspection. This product may contain allergens.” |
| Nutrition Facts panel | Not required unless you make a nutrient claim or exceed federal thresholds |
| Administered by | Georgia Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Division |
| Governing law | O.C.G.A. § 26-2-470 et seq. (Cottage Food Law) |
What Georgia lets you sell from home
The statute covers “non-potentially hazardous” foods: items that don’t need refrigeration or other time-and-temperature control to stay safe. Its definitions list loaf breads, rolls, biscuits, and cakes (except those with fillings needing refrigeration or high moisture content); jams, jellies, and preserves (except fruit butters whose commercial sterility could be affected by reduced sugar or pectin); uncut fruits and vegetables; dried fruits; dry herbs, seasonings, and mixtures; cereals, trail mixes, and granola; coated and uncoated nuts; vinegars; dill pickles; confections and fudge; dry soup mixes; roasted coffee beans; dry pasta; and popcorn, popcorn balls, and cotton candy (O.C.G.A. § 26-2-470). The statute excludes alcoholic beverages, foods containing cannabis, and raw milk from the definition of a cottage food item, no matter how they’re made. Time-and-temperature-control foods (meats, most dairy, cut produce, and similar perishables) fall outside the exemption and need a licensed commercial kitchen.
Permits, registration, and the revenue cap
There’s no license, registration, or fee to pay the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) to start selling. Before HB 398, operators registered with GDA, completed a pre-operational kitchen inspection, and paid a $100 annual license fee (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 40-7-19-.03, -.04, since superseded). HB 398 did away with all three; the statute sets no licensing or registration step (O.C.G.A. § 26-2-471). GDA’s guidance still describes an expectation that you complete an ANSI-accredited food safety course, such as a Food Handler course, even though that isn’t written into the new statute text (agr.georgia.gov/cottage-food). Confirm with GDA before skipping it. Neither the statute nor GDA’s FAQ sets a revenue or unit cap, as of September 2026 (agr.georgia.gov/cottage-food-faq). GDA can inspect a residence over a consumer complaint, a foodborne-illness report, or a public health emergency, but not routinely (O.C.G.A. § 26-2-476). A second or later violation carries a civil penalty of up to $75 (O.C.G.A. § 26-2-475).
Where you can sell
Georgia’s statute allows sales “directly to a person, including online and by mail order, or to retail food sales establishments, including grocery stores and restaurants” (O.C.G.A. § 26-2-472). That’s broader than most states’ cottage food laws, which usually stop at the customer: in Georgia, you can supply a local grocery store or restaurant without a separate commercial food license, as long as your product and label meet the statute’s terms. A county or municipality can restrict sales made through third-party vendors within its borders by ordinance, but otherwise can’t regulate cottage food operations beyond what the statute allows (O.C.G.A. §§ 26-2-478, 36-60-33). GDA’s own guidance frames online and mail-order sales as reaching buyers within Georgia (agr.georgia.gov/cottage-food-faq); the statute doesn’t add that geographic limit itself, but it also doesn’t exempt you from federal interstate-commerce food law (O.C.G.A. § 26-2-477), so shipping out of state can bring in FDA jurisdiction and the receiving state’s own rules.
What has to be on the label
Georgia’s label requirements, per O.C.G.A. § 26-2-473, are:
- Common or usual name of the product
- Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight
- Allergen declaration consistent with FDA requirements
- Net weight or volume
- The cottage food operator’s business name and address, or a department-issued identification number requested in place of the address
- The required disclosure statement, verbatim, in a minimum 10-point font
“This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state inspection. This product may contain allergens.”
(O.C.G.A. § 26-2-473)
This replaced the older disclosure (“Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to state food safety inspections,” formerly required under Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 40-7-19-.09) when HB 398 took effect; use the new sentence, not the old one. If you’d rather not print your home address on the package, you can request an identification number from GDA to use instead (O.C.G.A. § 26-2-473).
When you need a Nutrition Facts panel
Selling under Georgia’s cottage food statute is exempt from FDA nutrition labeling, and that stays true even when the buyer is a grocery store or restaurant, since Georgia folds retail sales into the exemption itself instead of treating them as a separate, licensed channel. What actually ends the exemption is the same everywhere: a nutrient content or health claim on the package or in an ad (“high protein,” “low sugar,” anything with a specific FDA meaning) pulls your product into standard 21 CFR 101.9 labeling the moment the claim appears, including in an Instagram caption. Interstate commerce is the other trigger; once your product crosses state lines, federal jurisdiction attaches regardless of what Georgia allows at home. And if your business, cottage food or not, outgrows the FDA’s small-business nutrition-labeling exemption thresholds under 21 CFR 101.9(j), your label needs a compliant panel even without a claim.
When a grocery buyer asks about a “high protein” shelf tag, a panel built from your recipe lets you hand over numbers you can stand behind. Enter your recipe, then see your label: the calorie count, the nutrient content claims you qualify for and your allergen line show free, no card required, while every other value and %DV stays hidden until you unlock it. $29 unlocks every other nutrient value and %DV, every FDA format your product qualifies for, the ingredient statement and the allergen declaration, ready to print, or send us the recipe and we build it (done-for-you, $249, within 5 business days). Start your label, or compare Georgia with other states on the cottage food laws hub.
Georgia cottage food FAQ
Do I need a license to sell homemade food in Georgia?
No. House Bill 398, effective July 1, 2025, eliminated the Georgia Department of Agriculture's cottage food license and its $100 annual fee; you just follow the statute's rules on foods, labels, and sales venues (O.C.G.A. § 26-2-471, agr.georgia.gov).
Is there a revenue cap for Georgia cottage food sales?
No. Neither the current cottage food statute nor the Department of Agriculture's guidance sets a sales-dollar or unit limit, as of September 2026 (agr.georgia.gov/cottage-food-faq).
What exact wording does my Georgia cottage food label need?
Your label has to state, word for word, that the product was produced at a residential property exempt from state inspection and may contain allergens, in at least 10-point type (O.C.G.A. § 26-2-473).
Can I sell homemade food to a Georgia grocery store or restaurant now?
Yes. Since HB 398 took effect, Georgia's cottage food statute allows sales directly to retail food sales establishments, including grocery stores and restaurants, alongside direct-to-consumer and online sales (O.C.G.A. § 26-2-472).
Can I ship my Georgia cottage food products to another state?
The Department of Agriculture's guidance describes online and mail-order sales as within Georgia; the statute itself doesn't exempt you from federal interstate-commerce food law, so crossing state lines can pull in FDA and the destination state's own rules (agr.georgia.gov/cottage-food-faq; O.C.G.A. § 26-2-477).
When does Georgia require a real Nutrition Facts panel?
Selling under Georgia's cottage food statute, including to a retail store, doesn't by itself trigger FDA nutrition labeling. The panel becomes necessary once a package or ad makes a nutrient content or health claim, once your product moves into interstate commerce, or once your business outgrows the FDA's small-business nutrition-labeling exemption under 21 CFR 101.9.
Nearby states
Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina. See the full state-by-state table.