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

Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources

Indiana’s home based vendor law lets you make a defined list of non-potentially-hazardous foods at home and sell them with no license, no kitchen inspection, and no revenue cap. Chapter 16-42-5.3 asks only for an ANSI food handler certificate and the right label. The one label rule that matters most: § 16-42-5.3-5(a)(6) requires an exact disclaimer sentence, in at least 10-point type, ending “NOT FOR RESALE.” A real Nutrition Facts panel only becomes necessary once your product carries a nutrient content or health claim, or you move past direct-to-consumer sales into wholesale, retail, or interstate commerce.

Quick facts	Indiana
Revenue cap	None
Permit or registration	None; ANSI food handler certificate required
Sales channels	Direct, farmers markets, online, and in-state delivery
Online sales	In-state only
Required label statement	“This product is home produced and processed and the production area has not been inspected by the Indiana Department of Health. NOT FOR RESALE.”
Nutrition Facts panel	Not required unless you make a nutrient claim or leave the exemption
Administered by	Indiana Department of Health, Food Protection Division
Governing law	Ind. Code § 16-42-5.3 (Home Based Vendor Law)

What Indiana lets you sell from home

Indiana Code § 16-42-5.3-4 lets you, as a home based vendor, prepare and sell a food product made, grown, or raised at your primary residence, that isn’t potentially hazardous, and that’s prepared using basic sanitary practices: handwashing, sanitized containers, safe storage, an animal-free area, and sanitized food-contact surfaces. The statute draws the line at “not potentially hazardous,” which the department’s Home Based Vendor Handbook translates into a pH below 4.6 or water activity below 0.85. In practice that covers most baked goods, high-acid fruit jams, candy, chocolate, roasted coffee, dried herbs and teas, nut butters, dried pasta, popcorn, and honey (in.gov/health). It excludes raw or cooked meats, dairy-based fillings, cheesecake and cream or custard pies, fermented or pickled foods, low-acid canned vegetables, and homemade sauces like barbecue or hot sauce (in.gov/health). Eggs, whole uncut produce, and exempt poultry or rabbit meat get a narrower carve-out for farmers’ market and roadside-stand sales under § 16-42-5.3-10 and § 16-42-5.3-11, with freezing or refrigeration conditions attached.

Permits, registration, and the revenue cap

There’s no license, no state kitchen inspection, and no registration fee: § 16-42-5.3-3 exempts a compliant home based vendor’s production and sale from the food-establishment requirements elsewhere in Title 16, and § 16-42-5.3-12 bars a city or county from layering its own licensure or inspection requirement on top. The one credential required is a food handler certificate from a certificate issuer accredited by the American National Standards Institute, shown to the Indiana Department of Health, an end consumer, or the local health department on request (§ 16-42-5.3-7). Neither the statute nor the department’s guidance sets a gross-sales or per-product revenue cap, as of September 2026 (law.justia.com). The exemption is defined by product type, preparation site, and sales channel, not earnings. This framework dates to House Enrolled Act 1149 (2022), P.L.49-2022, which replaced Indiana’s older, more restrictive cottage food rule with the current “home based vendor” category and opened the door to online sales and in-state shipping.

Where you can sell

As a home based vendor, you can sell in person, by telephone, or online, and can deliver your food product in person, by mail, or by a third-party carrier (§ 16-42-5.3-4(5)-(6)). That covers direct sales from home, farmers markets, and roadside stands, plus an online storefront, as long as both the sale and the delivery stay inside Indiana. Section 16-42-5.3-6(a) bars shipping or delivering to an end consumer located outside Indiana, and any shipped product must go out in a sealed, tamper-evident package, with you keeping a one-year record of each shipping or delivery address (§ 16-42-5.3-6(b)). Resale is off the table entirely: § 16-42-5.3-4(4) requires that the product not be resold, which rules out consignment, wholesale accounts, and retail placement: sales run straight from you to the end consumer who will use it.

What has to be on the label

Indiana Code § 16-42-5.3-5(a) sets the required label (or sign, for unpackaged food) elements for a home based vendor:

Name and address of the producer
Common or usual name of the food product
Ingredients of the food product, in descending order by predominance by weight
Net weight or volume of the food product, by standard measure or numerical count
The date the food product was processed
The required disclaimer, in at least 10-point type

“This product is home produced and processed and the production area has not been inspected by the Indiana Department of Health. NOT FOR RESALE.”

(Indiana Code § 16-42-5.3-5(a)(6))

Section 16-42-5.3-5(b) adds one more step: the label for each product also goes up on your own website. Indiana’s statute doesn’t set a separate state allergen-labeling requirement, but if your product is otherwise subject to FDA jurisdiction, it still needs the federal “Contains” statement under FALCPA and the FASTER Act.

When you need a Nutrition Facts panel

Indiana’s home based vendor label rules don’t call for a Nutrition Facts panel, and your compliant product stays outside FDA nutrition labeling, until one of two things changes. First, a nutrient content or health claim: the moment a label, a farmers-market sign, or an online listing says something like “low sugar” or “high fiber,” that claim has to be backed by real numbers in a compliant format under 21 CFR 101.9, home based vendor or not. Second, the sales channel: the exemption dies the moment a sale is resold, moves outside Indiana, or runs through any commercial track that § 16-42-5.3-4 and § 16-42-5.3-6 don’t cover. A wholesale account, a retailer, or an interstate shipment all move your product past the exemption and into standard nutrition labeling.

That’s where NutriLabels fits once a claim or a bigger channel is in play, and a panel backed by your real recipe lets a “low sugar” sign stay on your market table. 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 unlocks every other nutrient value and %DV, every FDA format your product qualifies for, plus the ingredient statement and allergen declaration, ready to print. Start your label, or compare Indiana with other states’ cottage food laws.

Indiana cottage food FAQ

Do I need a license to sell homemade food in Indiana?

No. Indiana Code § 16-42-5.3-3 exempts a home based vendor's production and sale from the food-establishment licensing requirements in Title 16, though § 16-42-5.3-7 still calls for an ANSI-accredited food handler certificate.

Is there a sales cap for Indiana home based vendors?

No. Indiana Code Chapter 16-42-5.3 sets no gross-sales or per-product revenue limit on a home based vendor, as of September 2026 (law.justia.com).

What exact wording does my Indiana home based vendor label need?

The label or sign must carry, in at least 10-point type, the sentence: \"This product is home produced and processed and the production area has not been inspected by the Indiana Department of Health. NOT FOR RESALE.\" word for word, per Indiana Code § 16-42-5.3-5(a)(6).

Can I sell homemade food online in Indiana?

Yes, within Indiana. Indiana Code § 16-42-5.3-4(5) and (6) allow you to sell in person, by telephone, or online, and to deliver by mail or a third-party carrier, but § 16-42-5.3-6(a) bars shipping or delivering to an end consumer located outside Indiana.

Can I sell my Indiana home based vendor products to a store or wholesaler?

No. Indiana Code § 16-42-5.3-4(4) requires that your food product not be resold, which rules out wholesale, consignment, and retail placement. Sales have to go straight to the end consumer.

What foods can't I sell as an Indiana home based vendor?

Anything potentially hazardous is off the list under Indiana Code § 16-42-5.3-4(2). The Indiana Department of Health's Home Based Vendor Handbook gives cheesecake, cream and custard pies, fermented or pickled foods, and homemade sauces like BBQ or hot sauce as examples that need a pH below 4.6 or water activity below 0.85 to qualify instead.

Nearby states

Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky. See the full state-by-state table.

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