Pennsylvania Cottage Food Law: Labels, Limits & When You Need Nutrition Facts

Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources

Pennsylvania doesn’t run a cottage food exemption. It runs a registration. To make non-perishable foods at home, you register as a Limited Food Establishment (LFE) with the Department of Agriculture, pay $35, and pass a site inspection before selling anything, with no revenue cap once registered. Your label has to carry the same core elements as any packaged food: product name, ingredients by weight, allergens, net weight, and your name and address. Pennsylvania does not require a “made in a home kitchen” or “not state-inspected” statement on a registered LFE label. A real Nutrition Facts panel only becomes necessary once your product makes a nutrient content or health claim, or moves into interstate commerce beyond what the small-business exemption covers.

Quick facts	Pennsylvania
Revenue cap	None
Permit or registration	Registration + kitchen inspection, $35
Sales channels	Direct, online, and retail/wholesale
Online sales	Yes
Required label statement	None required
Nutrition Facts panel	Not required unless you make a nutrient claim or go wholesale/interstate
Administered by	Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services
Governing law	7 Pa. Code ch. 46 (PA Food Code)

What Pennsylvania lets you sell from home

LFE registration covers foods that don’t require refrigeration to stay safe, what the Department’s application packet calls non-hazardous, non-time/temperature-control-for-safety products. That includes baked goods without perishable fillings (cakes, breads, cookies, pies, but not cheesecake or cream and custard pies), candy, dry goods like spices and pasta, dehydrated fruit and jerky, honey, maple syrup, nut butters, and dressings. Jams, jellies, and preserves qualify if they meet standard soluble-solids limits. Acidified and fermented foods (pickles, sauerkraut, salsa, hot sauces, fermented beverages) are allowed at an equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below, but the Department requires pH test results (and often water-activity data) submitted with the application, and non-standard recipes may need additional testing. Low-acid canned foods, raw or heat-treated animal products, fresh cut produce, and anything requiring refrigeration after preparation fall outside LFE entirely and need a licensed commercial facility (Limited Food Establishment application packet, pa.gov).

Permits, registration, and the revenue cap

There’s no exemption to file for; there’s a registration. You submit the application packet, municipal zoning approval, and any required product testing to the Bureau of Food Safety at least 60 days before opening; the Department reviews the plans within 15 business days, then schedules an inspection of your home kitchen. Registration issues once the inspection passes, along with a $35 fee, and it renews annually for another $35 (Limited Food Establishment, pa.gov). Some categories get narrower treatment: honey processed and sold only on the same farm where it’s produced is fee-exempt, while off-site honey sales need full registration. Pennsylvania sets no gross-sales cap for LFE registrants. The Department’s registration page and application materials describe the limits by food type and kitchen inspection, not by revenue.

Where you can sell

This is where Pennsylvania departs from most states’ cottage food rules: an LFE registration doesn’t restrict sales to direct-to-consumer. The Department’s own page lists direct sales from the production site and internet sales as permitted channels, and doesn’t bar wholesale or retail placement once labeling requirements are met (pa.gov). Selling at a farmers market or public event may also require a Retail Food Facility License from the local jurisdiction, separate from the LFE registration. Shipping across state lines is allowed, but the Department notes that if you sell interstate, you may also need FDA food facility registration, a federal requirement, not a state one, and worth confirming before your first out-of-state order ships.

What has to be on the label

For a packaged LFE product, the application packet lists the same core elements as retail food labeling generally:

Name of the product
Ingredients, listed from most to least by weight
Allergen declaration, in plain language, for the major allergens (milk, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans)
Name and address of the manufacturer or distributor
Net weight or count, placed in the bottom third of the primary display panel in type no smaller than 8 point

Pennsylvania does not prescribe a home-kitchen or “not government-inspected” disclaimer for a registered LFE label. That wording only applies to a separate, narrower exemption under 7 Pa. Code § 46.212 for baked goods donated to a nonprofit’s bake sale, which is a different, unregistered category from LFE. One carve-out worth knowing: baked goods you make and sell directly to the consumer can skip the printed label and simply make ingredient information available on request, though the same product sold through a retail store needs the full label. If your product makes a claim like “gluten free” or “sugar free,” the Department expects that claim to be backed by sub-ingredient labeling or testing, not just a marketing line (Limited Food Establishment application packet; Labeling: Retail Food Labeling Guide by Food Type, pa.gov).

When you need a Nutrition Facts panel

Pennsylvania’s food-labeling rules track the federal ones on this point: if you sell small batches directly or through in-state retail, the small-business exemption generally covers your product, unless a nutrient content or health claim is on the package or in an ad (“high protein,” “low sodium,” anything with a specific FDA meaning), at which point the exemption for that claim disappears and a compliant panel under 21 CFR 101.9 is required. The application packet also flags that interstate sales can trigger nutritional labeling unless your business qualifies for FDA’s small-business exemption, so if your product starts shipping out of state, it’s worth rechecking even without a claim. None of this depends on where the claim appears; a caption on a product photo counts the same as text on the package.

A panel that’s ready before your first out-of-state order means that order ships on time. Enter your recipe, then see your label: your calories, the claims you qualify for and your allergen line are free, no card required, and every other value and %DV stays hidden until you unlock it. A one-time $29 unlock adds every other nutrient value and %DV, every FDA format your product qualifies for, and your ingredient statement and allergen declaration, ready to print; or send us the recipe and we build it. Start your label, or compare other states in our cottage food laws guide.

Pennsylvania cottage food FAQ

Does Pennsylvania have a cottage food law?

Not a separate one. Pennsylvania folds home food production into its Food Safety Act and Food Code as a Limited Food Establishment (LFE), a registered, inspected category rather than an exempt one (pa.gov).

How much does a Pennsylvania Limited Food Establishment registration cost?

$35 for the initial registration and $35 for each annual renewal, paid to the Department of Agriculture (pa.gov).

Is there a sales cap for my Pennsylvania home food business?

No. The Department's LFE registration page and application packet don't set a gross-sales or unit cap as of September 2026 (pa.gov).

Can a Pennsylvania Limited Food Establishment sell wholesale or online?

Yes. Unlike most states' cottage food exemptions, LFE registration doesn't restrict sales to direct-to-consumer. Online sales are allowed, and wholesale or retail placement is possible once your product and its labeling meet the applicable requirements (pa.gov).

Does a Pennsylvania home-kitchen label need to say the food isn't state-inspected?

No, not for a registered Limited Food Establishment. That disclosure only applies to a narrower, separate exemption for baked goods donated to nonprofit bake sales, under 7 Pa. Code § 46.212. LFE products are registered and inspected, so they follow the same label elements as any other packaged food.

Can I can salsa or low-acid vegetables as a Pennsylvania Limited Food Establishment?

Acidified and fermented products with an equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below are allowed with pH testing submitted at registration, but low-acid canned foods (pH above 4.6) are not permitted under LFE and need a licensed commercial cannery instead (pa.gov application packet).

Nearby states

Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Maryland. See the full state-by-state table.

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