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

Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources

Tennessee’s Food Freedom Act (T.C.A. § 53-1-118) exempts homemade food sold from a private residence from the state’s licensing, permitting, inspection, and packaging laws: no application, no fee, no kitchen inspection, and, as of September 2026, no revenue cap. The label rule that matters most is a short disclosure sentence the statute spells out word for word. None of this trips FDA’s Nutrition Facts requirement by itself. That happens only once you make a nutrient content or health claim, cross state lines, or outgrow the FDA’s small-business labeling exemption.

Quick facts	Tennessee
Revenue cap	None
Permit or registration	None; no license, registration, or inspection
Sales channels	Direct, online/mail, and retail/wholesale in TN (TCS foods: in-person direct only)
Online sales	In-state only
Required label statement	“This product was produced at a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens.”
Nutrition Facts panel	Not required unless you make a nutrient claim
Administered by	Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Governing law	Tennessee Food Freedom Act (T.C.A. § 53-1-118)

What Tennessee lets you sell from home

The Food Freedom Act was written broadly around “non-time/temperature control for safety” (non-TCS) food: items that are shelf-stable at room temperature and don’t rely on refrigeration to stay safe. In practice that covers baked goods without cream or custard fillings, jams and jellies, dried and dehydrated goods, candy, roasted coffee, dry mixes, and acidified or pickled foods with a pH low enough to be shelf-stable (bedford.tennessee.edu). A 2025 amendment, Public Chapter 431 (effective July 1, 2025), extended the exemption to time/temperature-controlled (TCS) homemade foods, with three conditions: the item can’t be or contain unpasteurized milk, alcohol, fish, shellfish, or meat (poultry only to the extent a federal exemption allows); it can be sold only to the extent federal law permits; and it has to be sold in person, by you or your agent. A farm stand on the property where the food was made is the statute’s example. TCS items also carry the production date on the label and have to be held at a safe temperature if transported before delivery (Tennessee General Assembly, HB 130 / PC 431 bill summary). Raw milk and unpasteurized dairy are handled separately under Tennessee’s dairy laws and aren’t part of this exemption.

Permits, registration, and the revenue cap

There’s nothing to file. The statute exempts homemade food production and sales “from all licensing, permitting, inspecting, packaging, and labeling laws of this state,” with one carve-out: the Department of Health can still investigate a reported foodborne illness (T.C.A. § 53-1-118(a)). The Department of Agriculture’s own guidance is direct: it does not issue permits or licenses, does not conduct inspections, and won’t give product-specific legal advice, pointing you to the statute and your own legal counsel (tn.gov/agriculture). Neither the statute nor the agency’s guidance sets a revenue or unit cap. The exemption also preempts local governments: a city or county cannot prohibit or separately regulate homemade food production and sales (T.C.A. § 53-1-118(d)). The 2022 enactment (2022 Tenn. Acts, ch. 862) created the exemption in its current form; the 2025 amendment (Public Chapter 431) is the only change since.

Where you can sell

Non-TCS homemade food can be sold directly to the consumer, in person or remotely (phone and internet orders included), or through an agent or third-party vendor: a farmers-market stand, a retail shop, or another seller carrying the product (T.C.A. § 53-1-118(b)(1)). Delivery can come from you, an agent, a third-party vendor, or a common carrier (T.C.A. § 53-1-118(b)(2)). The statute stops at the state line: it does not apply to interstate sales, so shipping out of Tennessee pulls in FDA jurisdiction and the receiving state’s own rules (T.C.A. § 53-1-118(c)). Foods newly covered by the 2025 TCS expansion appear to carry a tighter channel. Press accounts describe direct, in-person, producer-to-consumer sales only, without the remote or third-party options non-TCS goods get, so confirm before selling a TCS item online or through a vendor.

What has to be on the label

Tennessee’s label requirements, per T.C.A. § 53-1-118(b)(3)–(4), are:

Producer’s name, home address, and telephone number
Common or usual name of the food item
Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight
The required disclosure statement, verbatim

“This product was produced at a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens.”

(T.C.A. § 53-1-118(b)(3))

This information has to appear on the package label, a bulk container label, a point-of-sale placard, or the product’s webpage, depending on how the item is sold. For a phone or custom order, you have to disclose the private-residence exemption and the allergen warning verbally at the time of sale, and keep the rest of the information available on request. The statute doesn’t set a minimum type size, and, unlike many states’ cottage food laws, it doesn’t list a net-weight or net-volume requirement, since the exemption covers state packaging law generally.

When you need a Nutrition Facts panel

Tennessee’s Food Freedom Act exempts your sales from state licensing and inspection, not from federal labeling rules. For a small home-based seller making no claims, the federal small-business exemption in 21 CFR 101.9(j) is what usually keeps a Nutrition Facts panel off your package. What ends that in practice is the same everywhere: a nutrient content or health claim on the package or in an ad (“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 an Instagram caption. Selling across state lines is the other trigger, since Tennessee’s own exemption stops at interstate sales and federal jurisdiction attaches once a product crosses them. And if your business, cottage food or not, outgrows the FDA’s small-business nutrition-labeling exemption thresholds under 21 CFR 101.9(j), it needs a compliant panel even without a claim.

Having the panel built before you write “high protein” in a caption means the claim and the label agree from day one. 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 unlock gets you 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.

Tennessee cottage food FAQ

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

No. The Tennessee Food Freedom Act (T.C.A. § 53-1-118) exempts homemade food production and sales from the state's licensing, permitting, inspection, packaging, and labeling laws; the Department of Agriculture confirms it issues no permits or inspections for these sales (tn.gov/agriculture).

Is there a revenue cap for Tennessee cottage food sales?

No. Neither T.C.A. § 53-1-118 nor the Department of Agriculture's guidance sets a dollar or unit limit on homemade food sales, as of September 2026.

What exact wording does my Tennessee homemade-food label need?

Tennessee law requires your name, home address, and phone number, the product's common name, ingredients in descending order by weight, and this exact sentence: \"This product was produced at a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens.\" (T.C.A. § 53-1-118(b)(3)).

Can I sell homemade meat, poultry, or dairy in Tennessee now?

Since Public Chapter 431 (effective July 1, 2025), yes. Time/temperature-controlled homemade foods qualify, except unpasteurized milk, alcohol, fish, shellfish, and meat (poultry only where a federal exemption applies). They have to be sold in person by you or your agent, such as a farm stand on the property, and labeled with the production date.

Can I sell my Tennessee homemade food online or to a store?

Non-time/temperature-control foods can be sold directly to consumers in person or remotely (including online) and through an agent or third-party vendor such as a retail shop, but the statute only covers sales within Tennessee. It doesn't reach interstate sales (T.C.A. § 53-1-118(b), (c)).

When does Tennessee require a real Nutrition Facts panel?

Selling under the Food Freedom Act doesn't by itself trigger FDA nutrition labeling. The panel becomes necessary once your package or ad makes a nutrient content or health claim, once your product moves into interstate commerce, or once your business outgrows the FDA's small-business nutrition-labeling exemption under 21 CFR 101.9.

Nearby states

Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri. See the full state-by-state table.

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