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

Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources

South Dakota’s home-processed foods law (SDCL 34-18-35 through 34-18-38) exempts food made at a residence from the state’s food-service licensing rules, with no registration, no inspection, and no revenue cap. What it does require is precise: a label disclosing you as the producer and your ingredients plus a word-for-word allergen disclaimer, and a sale made in your physical presence with personal delivery: no retail shelves, no shipping. The exemption covers South Dakota’s own licensing scheme only; FDA nutrition labeling stays optional right up until you add a nutrient claim like “low sugar” or move your product to a store shelf.

Quick facts	South Dakota
Revenue cap	None
Permit or registration	None; training required for some foods
Sales channels	Direct to consumer only
Online sales	No
Required label statement	“This product was not produced in a commercial kitchen. It has been home-processed in a kitchen that may also process common food allergens such as tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, soy, wheat, milk, fish, and crustacean shellfish.”
Nutrition Facts panel	Not required unless you make a nutrient claim
Administered by	South Dakota Department of Health
Governing law	S.D. Codified Laws § 34-18-35 (Home-Processed Foods Law)

What South Dakota lets you sell from home

The baseline category, under SDCL 34-18-35, is non-temperature-controlled food: home-processed canned goods and baked goods prepared at a residence that don’t need refrigeration, such as bread, cookies, cakes, and similar shelf-stable goods.

Canned goods have their own bar (SDCL 34-18-36): the product must test at a pH of 4.6 or less, or a water activity of .85 or less. Selling under this section also means completing the Department of Health’s approved food safety training every five years, with records kept to prove it, or getting each recipe individually verified in writing by a third-party processing authority familiar with thermal processing of hermetically-sealed foods.

Complete that same training and a wider, temperature-controlled list opens up under SDCL 34-18-36.1, added by the 2022 reform (SL 2022, ch 106; 2022 HB 1322): non-heat-processed fermented foods kept at 41°F or below; kuchen and other baked goods needing time-and-temperature control for safety, such as soft pies, cheesecake, and custard- or cream-filled goods; sauces and pesto kept at 41°F or below; and home-processed frozen fruit and produce kept at 0°F or below. That bill moved South Dakota from a strictly shelf-stable list to one including refrigerated and frozen items. Meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and eggs sold on their own stay outside this exemption.

Permits, registration, and the revenue cap

There’s no permit or registration to file and no fee for the home-processed exemption itself. What you keep on hand instead is proof: training records for canned goods or anything under the 36.1 list, or a processing authority’s written recipe verification if you skip training for canned goods. Neither goes to the state in advance; you produce it only if asked.

There’s no revenue cap, and none is measured per product or per year. SDCL 34-18-35 and 34-18-38 condition the exemption on what’s sold and how, not on gross sales. The framework dates to a 2010 law (SL 2010, ch 172), tightened labeling in 2020 (SL 2020, ch 143), and was substantially expanded in 2022 (SL 2022, ch 106 / HB 1322), which added the categories above.

Where you can sell

SDCL 34-18-38 ties the exemption to how the sale happens, not just what’s sold: the food has to be sold in your physical presence, at your primary residence, a farmers market, a roadside stand, or another temporary venue, and you (or someone living at that residence) have to personally deliver it to the buyer when the sale is completed.

That rules out channels some cottage-food states allow more freely: no shipping, no mail order. The Department of Health’s own farmers-market guidance treats these products as moving directly from producer to consumer, in person. Retail placement, wholesale accounts, and restaurant sales are also outside the exemption and fall under the chapter’s ordinary licensing rules instead. Taking orders by phone, text, or a website is fine as a logistics step, but the handoff still has to be you, in person, at an allowed venue or by personal delivery.

What has to be on the label

SDCL 34-18-37 lists every required element:

Name of the product
Name of the producer
Physical address of production
Mailing address of the producer
Telephone number of the producer
Date the product was made or processed
Ingredients
For anything sold under the refrigerated/frozen list (34-18-36.1), a directive to keep it refrigerated or frozen
The required disclaimer, verbatim

“This product was not produced in a commercial kitchen. It has been home-processed in a kitchen that may also process common food allergens such as tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, soy, wheat, milk, fish, and crustacean shellfish.” (SDCL 34-18-37(9))

The statute sets no minimum type size or placement rule for the disclaimer beyond requiring it on the label, so the practical approach is to keep it as legible as the rest of the required text and word-for-word as written. It’s a quoted legal requirement, not something to paraphrase.

When you need a Nutrition Facts panel

SDCL 34-18-37’s list is South Dakota’s rule, separate from FDA nutrition labeling. Home-processed food sold under this exemption isn’t required to carry a Nutrition Facts panel by the state, and most of these products don’t need one federally either, until a claim gets made. The moment a label, package, or even a farmers-market sign or Instagram caption says something like “low sugar,” “high protein,” or “heart healthy,” that’s a nutrient content claim, and 21 CFR 101.9 applies regardless of how the product was made. The same goes if your product ever moves to a co-packer, a retail shelf, wholesale, or across state lines, the home-processed exemption doesn’t travel with it.

That’s a line to plan around, not a minefield: sell direct with the disclaimer, skip the claims, and a panel isn’t necessary, and if a claim, a retail account, or a co-packer contract shows up, a panel you’ve already built lets you say yes that week. 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 the full panel in every FDA format your product qualifies for, plus 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.

South Dakota cottage food FAQ

Do I need a license to sell home-processed food in South Dakota?

No. SDCL 34-18-35 and 34-18-38 exempt food prepared at a residence from the chapter's licensing and license-fee rules, as long as the food, labeling, and sale method meet the statute's conditions.

Is there a sales limit for South Dakota home-processed food?

No. The statute sets no revenue cap or unit cap; the limits are on what you can make, how you label it, and where you can sell it, not on gross income.

Can I sell home-canned food in South Dakota?

Yes, if it's acid or acidified with a pH of 4.6 or less or a water activity of .85 or less, and you've either completed the state's approved food safety training every five years or have each recipe verified in writing by a third-party processing authority (SDCL 34-18-36).

Can I ship or sell home-processed food online in South Dakota?

The statute requires your physical presence at the sale and personal delivery to the buyer, so mail order, shipping, and unattended drop-off aren't within the exemption. Retail and wholesale placement also require a license.

What's the required label disclaimer for South Dakota home-processed food?

The label must state, verbatim, "This product was not produced in a commercial kitchen. It has been home-processed in a kitchen that may also process common food allergens such as tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, soy, wheat, milk, fish, and crustacean shellfish" (SDCL 34-18-37).

When does my South Dakota cottage food need a real Nutrition Facts panel?

The home-processed foods exemption doesn't touch FDA nutrition labeling. A panel becomes necessary the moment you make a nutrient content or health claim, or move your product into retail, wholesale, or interstate commerce.

Nearby states

Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana. See the full state-by-state table.

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