Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources
Hawaii’s homemade food product exemption (HAR §11-50-3(c)) lets you sell non-potentially-hazardous foods made in your home kitchen (plus certain pickled, fermented, or acidified plant foods) without a food establishment permit or a sales cap of any kind. In exchange, you need a Department of Health food safety certification and every package has to carry a specific disclaimer stating the food was made in an uninspected home kitchen. Sales can go direct to consumers, online, and even wholesale through a retail shop, which is broader than most mainland cottage food laws allow. None of this touches federal labeling: a Nutrition Facts panel isn’t required unless your label makes a nutrient content or health claim.
| Quick facts | Hawaii |
|---|---|
| Revenue cap | None |
| Permit or registration | None; food safety certification required instead |
| Sales channels | Direct, online/phone, plus wholesale to retailers |
| Online sales | Yes |
| Required label statement | “Made in a home kitchen not routinely inspected by the Department of Health” |
| Nutrition Facts panel | Not required unless you make a nutrient claim |
| Administered by | Hawaii Department of Health, Food Safety Branch |
| Governing law | Haw. Admin. Rules § 11-50-3(c) (Homemade Food Product Exemption) |
What Hawaii lets you sell from home
HAR §11-50-2 defines a homemade food product as food that is “not time/temperature control for safety” and produced or packaged in a home kitchen, excluding dried meats or seafood, plus foods of plant origin that are pickled, fermented, or acidified (except cantaloupe and other melons) with a pH at or below 4.2 or a water activity below 0.88; any version containing cut tomatoes, such as salsa, must be kept refrigerated at 41°F or below (health.hawaii.gov/san). The department’s own homemade food product guidance lists baked goods without custard or cream fillings, jams, and jellies as typical examples.
Off the list: anything that requires time/temperature control for safety (custard or cream-filled pastries, dairy-based fillings, and most meat or seafood dishes), along with dried meats, seafood, jerky, vacuum-packaged items, and canned goods other than jams and jellies. Hand-pounded poi is covered by the same rule as a separate category, but it can only be sold direct to the consumer, not wholesale.
Permits, registration, and the revenue cap
If you only make homemade food products in your home kitchen, the rule doesn’t call for a food establishment permit. HAR §11-50-3(c) exempts that operation from the chapter’s licensing requirements, a contrast with a standard Hawaii food establishment permit that can run roughly $100 to $400 a year depending on risk category and size (health.hawaii.gov/san). The exemption isn’t a blank check, though: the rule calls for food safety certification under §11-50-20(c) and a working handwashing sink per §11-50-22, and your operation remains subject to inspection for cause under §11-50-8, plus the chapter’s embargo, employee-illness, and penalty provisions. Neither the rule nor DOH’s guidance sets a revenue cap or a per-product sales limit.
The current version of this exemption is recent. Act 195 (2024, H.B. 2144) directed the Department of Health to amend Chapter 11-50 to widen allowed sales channels for homemade food, and DOH’s rewritten Food Safety Code took effect August 24, 2025 (health.hawaii.gov/news). That update added the pickled/fermented/acidified plant-food category to the exemption and opened the door to wholesale and third-party sales that the prior rule didn’t permit.
Where you can sell
HAR §11-50-3(c)(4) allows you to distribute homemade food products directly to the consumer (in person, by phone, or over the internet) or through an agent or a third-party vendor such as a retail shop or grocery store, with delivery by mail or shipping. That covers farmers markets, craft fairs, an online storefront, and consignment at a local store, though an individual farmers market or event may still require its own Special Event Permit separate from DOH. Hand-pounded poi is the one exception: it can only be sold direct to the consumer, not through a third party. Hawaii has no land borders, so “interstate” sales mean shipping to the mainland or another island jurisdiction, which is subject to whatever rule applies where the package lands.
What has to be on the label
Every homemade food product package needs, per HAR §11-50-3(c)(3) and the Food Safety Branch’s homemade food product guidance:
- The required disclaimer (below)
- The product’s common or descriptive name
- Ingredient list in descending order by weight, if the product has two or more ingredients
- A statement of major food allergens present: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame
- The operator’s name and contact information
Made in a home kitchen not routinely inspected by the Department of Health
(health.hawaii.gov/san/files/2019/09/hmf-foods-01.29.2026.pdf)
DOH’s published guidance doesn’t specify a minimum type size or a net-weight declaration for this exemption, unlike some mainland cottage food statutes. Check with the Food Safety Branch before finalizing a label if a retailer or shipping carrier asks for one anyway.
When you need a Nutrition Facts panel
Hawaii’s homemade food exemption doesn’t require a Nutrition Facts panel: the disclaimer, ingredient list, and allergen statement stand in for it. That exemption ends the moment your label carries a nutrient content or health claim, such as “low sugar” or “high fiber,” anywhere on the package or in how it’s marketed, under the same logic as 21 CFR 101.9. Moving your product into standard wholesale, interstate, or co-packer production beyond what the state exemption covers also puts it under ordinary federal labeling.
When a claim, a retail shop, or a co-packer calls for a full panel, a label built from your own recipe is one you can hand over with confidence. 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 Hawaii with other states on the cottage food laws hub.
Sources
Hawaii cottage food FAQ
Do I need a permit to sell homemade food in Hawaii?
No. Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR) §11-50-3(c) exempts you as a homemade food product operator from the food establishment permit, provided you get food safety certification and follow the chapter's labeling and distribution conditions (health.hawaii.gov/san).
Is there a sales cap on Hawaii's homemade food exemption?
No. Neither HAR 11-50 nor the Department of Health's homemade food product guidance sets a revenue or unit limit, unlike most mainland cottage food laws.
What foods can I sell from a home kitchen in Hawaii?
Non-time/temperature-control-for-safety foods made in a home kitchen (baked goods without custard or cream fillings, jams, and jellies) plus pickled, fermented, or acidified plant foods (except melons) at a pH of 4.2 or below or a water activity under 0.88, per HAR §11-50-2.
Can I sell my Hawaii homemade food online or to a store?
Yes. HAR §11-50-3(c)(4) allows sales direct to the consumer in person, by phone, or online, plus distribution through an agent or third-party vendor such as a retail shop, delivered by mail or shipping.
What does the Hawaii homemade food label have to say?
Every package needs the statement "Made in a home kitchen not routinely inspected by the Department of Health," plus the product name, ingredient list, major allergens, and your name and contact information (health.hawaii.gov/san).
Did Hawaii recently change its cottage food law?
Yes. Act 195 (2024, H.B. 2144) directed the Department of Health to widen allowed sales channels and food categories, and DOH's rewritten HAR 11-50 took effect August 24, 2025, adding the pickled/fermented/acidified plant-food category and opening wholesale and third-party sales.
Sources
- health.hawaii.gov/san/files/2025/09/HAR-11-50-2025-searchable.pdf
- health.hawaii.gov/san/files/2019/09/hmf-foods-01.29.2026.pdf
- health.hawaii.gov/san/food-information
- health.hawaii.gov/news/newsroom/doh-adopts-updates-to-food-safety-code
- health.hawaii.gov/san/files/2025/09/Food-Code-Changes-08242025-1.pdf
- data.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/sessionlaws/Years/SLH2024/SLH2024_Act195.pdf
- capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2024/Bills/HB2144_HD1_.HTM