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

Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources

Alabama’s cottage food law (Ala. Code § 22-20-5.1, as amended by Senate Bill 160 in 2021) doesn’t require a permit, a kitchen inspection, or (since SB 160) any cap on how much you can earn. What it does require is a state-approved food safety course, typically the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s (ACES) Cottage Food Law course, and a label carrying a specific disclosure about health department inspection. None of that touches FDA nutrition labeling, which stays optional under the cottage food exemption until a claim, a wholesale sale, or an interstate shipment brings it into play.

Quick facts	Alabama
Revenue cap	None
Permit or registration	None; food safety course required, no county permit
Sales channels	Direct to consumer only, incl. online, in-state
Online sales	In-state only
Required label statement	“Statute requires a statement that the food is not inspected by the department or local health department, plus a disclaimer that the food may contain allergens; exact sentence isn't fixed by statute”
Nutrition Facts panel	Not required unless you make a nutrient claim
Administered by	Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH)
Governing law	Ala. Code § 22-20-5.1 (Cottage Food Law)

What Alabama lets you sell from home

The statute defines “cottage food” as a non-potentially hazardous food made in a home kitchen that doesn’t need time or temperature control for safety and doesn’t include meat, poultry, or fish. Covered items: cakes, breads, Danish pastries, donuts, pastries, and pies; jams, jellies, and fruit preserves; candy; dried and dehydrated herbs, herb mixes, vegetables, or fruits; roasted coffee; dried baking mixes; and fermented or preserved vegetables or fruit that don’t produce alcohol and that meet an acidity level ADPH sets (Ala. Code § 22-20-5.1(a)(1)). That last category is why pickles or a low-sugar jam may need pH or water-activity testing before ADPH signs off on the label. Plain baked goods and dry mixes generally don’t. Anything needing refrigeration to stay safe, plus meat, poultry, and fish, falls outside the exemption and needs a licensed commercial kitchen.

Permits, registration, and the revenue cap

There’s no food service permit to get: the statute says a cottage food production operation “is not a food service establishment and is not required to have a food service permit issued by the county health department” (Ala. Code § 22-20-5.1(b)). The statute’s own text sets exactly one operating condition beyond the food and sales rules: completing and maintaining certification from an approved food safety course. ADPH’s practice adds a step the statute doesn’t spell out: you submit a Cottage Food Review Form, course certificate, and sample label to your local county health department, which reviews (not inspects) the paperwork and can confirm it in writing for a business license (alabamapublichealth.gov/foodsafety/cottage-food.html). Course fees vary by county. Before 2021, the law also capped annual gross receipts; SB 160 removed that cap outright, and neither the statute nor ADPH’s current guidance sets any revenue limit.

Where you can sell

Alabama’s statute limits a cottage food operation to selling “directly to consumers, whether in-person, by phone, or online, in the state,” with delivery made “directly to consumers in the state, whether in person, through an agent of the producer, or by mail” (Ala. Code § 22-20-5.1(a)(2)). In practice that covers a farmers market table, a porch pickup, or a website order, as long as the buyer and delivery both stay inside Alabama. SB 160 is what added online sales in 2021. What it doesn’t cover: selling on consignment through a retail store, supplying a restaurant or another permitted food establishment, or any wholesale arrangement. Shipping to a customer in another state falls outside the exemption and pulls in that state’s own rules, plus FDA’s interstate-commerce authority.

What has to be on the label

Alabama’s label requirements, per Ala. Code § 22-20-5.1(e), all in at least 10-point font:

Common or usual name of the food
The cottage food operation’s name
Home or P.O. Box address of the operation
Ingredients listed in descending order of predominance
A statement that the food is not inspected by the department or local health department
A disclaimer that the food may contain allergens

“The label shall include in at least size 10-point font the common or usual name of the food, the name, and home or P.O. Box address of the cottage food production operation, and a statement that the food is not inspected by the department or local health department. The label shall also contain a list of the ingredients in the food in descending order of predominance and shall include a disclaimer that the food may contain allergens.”

(Ala. Code § 22-20-5.1(e); enacted text at alison.legislature.state.al.us/files/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2021RS/PrintFiles/SB160-Enr.pdf)

Unlike some states, Alabama’s statute doesn’t script one fixed sentence. It requires a statement that conveys this meaning. A line like “This product is not inspected by the Alabama Department of Public Health or the county health department” satisfies it; whatever wording you use, it has to say the food isn’t inspected by the state or local health department, in type at least 10-point.

When you need a Nutrition Facts panel

Selling under Alabama’s cottage food exemption doesn’t trigger FDA nutrition labeling by itself, and the statute adds no nutrition-facts requirement of its own. The exemption ends the same way everywhere: a nutrient content or health claim (“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 a farmers-market sign or an Instagram caption. So does moving beyond direct-to-consumer sales into wholesale, retail consignment, or across state lines, since Alabama’s exemption stops at its own borders. And if your business, cottage food or not, outgrows the FDA’s small-business nutrition-labeling exemption under 21 CFR 101.9(j), your label needs a compliant panel even without a claim.

When a “low sugar” sign or a first wholesale order brings the panel into play, a label you can trust lets you say yes to that buyer the same week. 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. $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 Alabama with other states on the cottage food laws hub.

Alabama cottage food FAQ

Do I need a permit to sell homemade food in Alabama?

No. Ala. Code § 22-20-5.1(b) says a cottage food production operation is not a food service establishment and doesn't need a food service permit from the county health department; the statute only requires an approved food safety course and a compliant label.

Is there an income cap for Alabama cottage food sales?

No. Senate Bill 160 (2021) removed the gross-receipts limit that used to apply, and neither the current statute nor ADPH's guidance sets a dollar cap as of September 2026 (law.justia.com; alabamapublichealth.gov/foodsafety/cottage-food.html).

Can I sell my cottage food products online in Alabama?

Yes, within the state. SB 160 added online sales to the statute's list of allowed direct-to-consumer channels, but delivery still has to go to a consumer inside Alabama, whether in person, through your own delivery, or by mail (Ala. Code § 22-20-5.1(a)(2)).

What has to be on an Alabama cottage food label?

The name of the food, the operation's name and home or P.O. Box address, ingredients in descending order, a statement that the food isn't inspected by the state or local health department, and an allergen disclaimer, all in at least 10-point font (Ala. Code § 22-20-5.1(e)).

Do I have to register with the county health department?

The statute itself doesn't set out a registration step, only the food safety course and the label. ADPH's own guidance, however, has you submit a Cottage Food Review Form with your course certificate and label to your local county health department for review (alabamapublichealth.gov/foodsafety/cottage-food.html).

When does Alabama cottage food need a real Nutrition Facts panel?

Selling under the cottage food exemption doesn't by itself trigger FDA nutrition labeling. That starts once a package or ad makes a nutrient content or health claim, once product moves into wholesale, retail, or interstate commerce, or once your business outgrows the FDA's small-business labeling exemption.

Nearby states

Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee. See the full state-by-state table.

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