Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources
Florida lets you sell certain low-risk foods from your home kitchen without a permit, license, or inspection, as long as annual gross sales stay under $250,000 (Fla. Stat. 500.80, https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/0500.80). Every package needs a label with the product name, ingredients, net weight, your name and address, allergen information, and a specific disclaimer sentence printed in at least 10-point type. Sales can happen in person, at events, online, or by mail, but not wholesale to stores or restaurants. A Nutrition Facts panel isn’t required unless your label makes a nutrient content or health claim. At that point the cottage food exemption no longer covers your label.
| Quick facts | Florida |
|---|---|
| Revenue cap | $250,000/yr gross sales |
| Permit or registration | None; no permit, license, or inspection |
| Sales channels | Direct, online, and mail order; no wholesale |
| Online sales | Yes |
| Required label statement | “Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida's food safety regulations.” |
| Nutrition Facts panel | Not required unless you make a nutrient content or health claim |
| Administered by | Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) |
| Governing law | Fla. Stat. § 500.80 (Cottage Food Operations) |
What Florida lets you sell from home
Florida’s cottage food law covers non-potentially-hazardous foods: items that don’t need time or temperature control for safety. That includes baked goods without cream cheese or custard fillings, candies, jams and jellies, dry mixes, roasted coffee and whole or ground spices, nut butters made from shelled nuts, honey harvested by the seller, and similar shelf-stable products. It excludes anything needing refrigeration to stay safe: cut fresh produce, cheesecakes, cream-based frostings, canned low-acid vegetables, and fermented or acidified foods that need a validated process. FDACS’s cottage food guidance is the reference for a specific product (https://www.fdacs.gov/Business-Services/Food-Establishments/Cottage-Foods); the line usually comes down to water activity and pH, not how the product tastes.
Permits, registration, and the revenue cap
There’s no application, no fee, no home kitchen inspection, and no registration with the state to operate as a cottage food producer in Florida. The exemption applies automatically once the statute’s conditions are met. The condition that matters most is the revenue cap: annual gross sales of cottage food products can’t exceed $250,000, and the statute counts “all sales of cottage food products at any location, regardless of the types of products sold,” so you track total revenue across every sales channel, not per product. That cap used to be $50,000; the 2021 Home Sweet Home Act (CS/HB 663) raised it to $250,000 and added mail-order sales as a permitted channel, effective July 1, 2021 (https://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/BillSummaries/2021/html/663). Cross the cap, and your operation needs to become a licensed food establishment under Fla. Stat. 500.12 instead.
Where you can sell
The statute allows a cottage food operation to sell directly to the end consumer: in person, at a home, at a farmers market or other event venue, or through delivery you arrange. It also allows internet and mail-order sales, with the product shipped by you, picked up by the buyer, or sent through the U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier. What’s not allowed is wholesale: the statute is explicit that a cottage food operation “may not sell, offer for sale, or deliver cottage food products at wholesale.” That rules out placing products in a retail store, grocery co-op, or restaurant under a wholesale arrangement; those channels require a licensed and inspected food establishment. Your products also have to be stored on your own premises, not in a rented commercial space.
What has to be on the label
Every package needs a label with:
- the product name
- the ingredient list, in descending order by weight
- the net weight or volume of the package
- the name and address of the cottage food operation
- allergen information for the food’s ingredients, consistent with federal labeling law (FALCPA plus the FASTER Act’s addition of sesame, for 9 major allergens total)
- nutrition information, if and only if a nutritional or health claim is made on the label
- the required disclaimer, below
“Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida’s food safety regulations.” (Fla. Stat. 500.80, https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/0500.80)
The statute requires this exact sentence to appear in at least 10-point type, in a color that provides clear contrast with its background, so it’s legible on the package rather than buried in fine print.
When you need a Nutrition Facts panel
Florida’s statute doesn’t require a Nutrition Facts panel on its own: it only asks for nutrition information “if a nutritional claim is made.” That tracks the broader FDA picture: cottage food and other small-batch producers are generally exempt from the nutrition-labeling rules in 21 CFR 101.9, but the exemption is conditional, not automatic once a claim is on the label. The moment your product says “low sugar,” “high protein,” “good source of fiber,” or any similar nutrient content or health claim (on the package, on a website, or in an Instagram caption), the exemption for that claim no longer applies, and the label needs the numbers to back it up. The same is true the day you move past the $250,000 cap or start selling wholesale, interstate, or into retail: at that point your product is out of cottage food territory and needs a standard Nutrition Facts panel built to FDA rules.
NutriLabels builds the panel from a database analysis against USDA FoodData Central and the supplier spec sheets you already have, following the same 21 CFR 101.9 rounding and 21 CFR 101.12 serving-size rules a co-packer or retailer will check for.
Having the panel ready before your first claim goes on a label means the numbers are there the day you print it. 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 Florida with other states on the cottage food laws hub.
Florida cottage food FAQ
Does Florida require a cottage food license or permit?
No. A cottage food operation that stays under the $250,000 annual gross sales cap and follows the statute is exempt from the permitting, licensing, and inspection requirements that apply to regular food establishments (Fla. Stat. 500.80).
What is Florida's cottage food sales limit in 2026?
$250,000 in gross annual sales across all cottage food products, from any location. The cap rose from $50,000 to $250,000 under the 2021 Home Sweet Home Act (CS/HB 663).
Can I sell my Florida cottage food products online or ship them?
Yes. The statute allows internet and mail-order sales, with delivery by you, the buyer picking up, or shipment via USPS or a commercial carrier.
Can a Florida cottage food operation sell to stores or restaurants?
No. The statute prohibits selling, offering for sale, or delivering cottage food products at wholesale, so retail and restaurant accounts require a licensed food establishment instead.
What has to be on a Florida cottage food label?
The product name, ingredients in descending order by weight, net weight or volume, the operation's name and address, allergen information, and the required disclaimer in at least 10-point type with clear contrast.
Do I need a Nutrition Facts panel for my Florida cottage food products?
Not by default. Cottage food is exempt from FDA nutrition labeling unless you make a nutrient content or health claim, in which case a full panel becomes necessary regardless of your sales volume.
Nearby states
Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: Georgia, Alabama. See the full state-by-state table.