The essentials
Arkansas, at a glance
Arkansas permits qualifying non-TCS food and drink processed at your private residence, including a farm or ranch where you live.
Compliant products are exempt from the state food-license and certification route, and the Act sets no annual sales ceiling. The buyer must receive the required information and be the end consumer, even when a retail shop handles the sale.
- Sales limits
The Food Freedom Act sets no annual sales ceiling.
- Registration & permits
Compliant products are exempt from state licensure, certification and inspection, subject to the Act’s required disclosures and retained enforcement powers.
View official sources (1)
- Act1040 of2021 — Food Freedom Act Arkansas Legislature
One step at a time
Your first 2 steps
Decide the product before the sales channel
Write down the complete recipe, process and storage conditions.
Check ADH’s current Homemade Food Production Guidelines, especially its exceptions column for products needing further evaluation. A food that needs refrigeration for safety is outside this route. Build the business around an eligible finished product before promising pickup, retail placement or shipping.
Prepare disclosures and production records
Choose your producer name, address and telephone disclosure or request the Department of Agriculture’s safety-based ID option.
Prepare the product name, ingredient list, production date and required statement for each selling format. For pickled cucumbers or acidified vegetables, also establish the required batch numbering and recipe/testing record before producing stock.
View official sources (3)
- Act1040 of2021 — Food Freedom Act Arkansas Legislature
- Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guidelines Arkansas Department of Health
- Making and selling homemade food under Arkansas Food Freedom Act University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension
Make what you love
Can you sell what you make?
These are examples. Check the complete recipe, preparation method and sales route before offering a product.
Baked goods and dry products
Check the conditionsQualifying breads, cookies, candy and dried products appear in ADH’s guide.
Their finished formulation and handling must meet the non-TCS definition. Cheesecake and custard fillings are outside the exempt route. Freeze-drying an excluded dairy or meat product does not make it an approved Food Freedom product under the current agency guide.
Pickles have three recipe-verification paths
Check the conditionsFor pickled cucumbers and other acidified vegetables, use an ADH-approved recipe, a recipe tested by an appropriately certified laboratory, or test each batch with a calibrated pH meter when neither recipe route applies.
The finished equilibrium pH must be 4.6 or below. The batch-label and recordkeeping conditions apply alongside the chosen verification path.
View official sources (2)
- Act1040 of2021 — Food Freedom Act Arkansas Legislature
- Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guidelines Arkansas Department of Health
From your kitchen to your customers
Where and how you can sell
| Selling method | What matters |
|---|---|
| Home, market and online orders | The Act recognizes in-person, telephone and online transactions with an informed end consumer. You may deliver personally or use an agent, a third-party vendor or a carrier. Keep the required information attached to the product and visible in the relevant selling format, rather than relying on a verbal explanation that disappears during delivery. |
| Retail shops and grocery stores | Third-party retail vendors can sell compliant products to informed end consumers. Where a retailer also carries food made in licensed establishments, homemade products must be kept separate. Agree on the location, labels and disclosures before dropping off inventory. This exception has conditions; it does not make every restaurant or food-service arrangement an eligible channel. |
| Shipping and out-of-state buyers | Third-party carriers are allowed, and Arkansas law contemplates transactions in another state when applicable federal law is met. It expressly preserves the destination state’s laws too. Verify that destination and product route before accepting interstate orders. A generic nationwide shipping switch is not a substitute for checking whether the receiving jurisdiction accepts the sale. |
View official sources (2)
- Act1040 of2021 — Food Freedom Act Arkansas Legislature
- Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guidelines Arkansas Department of Health
Your label, explained
Every field has a purpose.
Use the example to understand the structure. Follow the Arkansas requirements below for your product and sales route.
Your product
name
Your product name and actual net quantity
Your complete recipe and supplier ingredients
Producer name, address and telephone OR issued safety-protection ID
The statement for your state, product and sales route
Packaged cottage food · check product-specific additions
A guide to the fields, not a ready-to-print label. Use your actual product and business details.
Name it. Measure it.
Identify your product and its actual net quantity. Check the state’s formatting and unit requirements below.
Use your actual recipe.
Check every ingredient and supplier label. Use the applicable ingredient and allergen declarations for your product.
Identify your operation.
Producer name, address and telephone OR issued safety-protection ID
Use the wording for your route.
Requirements can differ by product and sales channel. Keep the disclosure, placement and type-size conditions together.
The Arkansas disclosure statement
Use this wording: “This product was produced in a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection.
This product may contain allergens.” Include it with the rest of the required information. The Food Freedom Act’s exemption from ordinary state labeling does not remove its own specific consumer-disclosure requirements.
Name, address, telephone or issued ID
The usual identity disclosure is the producer’s name, address and telephone number.
The statute permits a Department of Agriculture identification number instead of that information when requested to protect the producer’s safety. This differs from programs where a number replaces only the address. Use an actually issued identifier and retain the remaining product disclosures.
Ingredients and production date
Provide the product’s common or usual name, ingredients in descending order of predominance, and the date it was manufactured, produced or processed.
The required possible-allergen sentence is part of the statutory disclosure. Keep the ingredient list accurate when changing a purchased component; applicable federal law remains outside the state exemption.
Bulk and unpackaged sales
For food sold from a bulk container, display the disclosures on that container and give the customer a separate written document at the sale.
When a product is neither packaged nor offered from a bulk container, the Act uses a point-of-sale placard. Plan the customer’s takeaway information before choosing bulk service to save packaging.
An online listing and its package
ADH’s current guide instructs online sellers to show all required information on the website and label the physical package as well.
Check the product listing and packaging together after a recipe or identity change. Posting the disclosure only on a general policy page can leave the actual sales offer missing the required information.
The wording for your label
Packaged cottage food · check product-specific additions
This product was produced in a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens.
View official sources (3)
- Act1040 of2021 — Food Freedom Act Arkansas Legislature
- Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guidelines Arkansas Department of Health
- Making and selling homemade food under Arkansas Food Freedom Act University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension
A useful head start
Your Arkansas label kit.
Editable template, example label and starting checklist.
Personalize it for your products and business.
Enter your email. Get the files immediately.
Before your first sale
A few details worth getting right.
An example
A new batch of pickled vegetables
Assign a unique batch number and keep the recipe, its source or applicable test results, and the preparation date.
Put the batch number on the product. If you are using the per-batch meter route, confirm the finished equilibrium pH for that batch. Follow the relevant heat-treatment process rather than treating acidity alone as the entire preservation method.
An example
A restaurant asks for your jam
A grocery selling the labeled jar to an informed end consumer is different from a restaurant using the jam in its menu.
ADH’s current guidance excludes selling homemade products to restaurants for restaurant use. Ask the local Environmental Health Specialist about the appropriate permitted route before accepting that supply arrangement.
A homemade vinegar substitution changes the process
ADH cautions against using homemade vinegar to make pickles or acidified products because its acid percentage is unknown.
Keep the verified recipe and ingredient specifications intact. If you want a different flavor or ingredient proportion, check the verification path and preservation process before assuming the previous batch’s result still applies.
View official sources (3)
- Act1040 of2021 — Food Freedom Act Arkansas Legislature
- Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guidelines Arkansas Department of Health
- Food Protection Inspection Portal Arkansas Department of Health
A few more answers
Common questions
Do I need mandatory state food-handler training?
The Food Freedom Act includes an exemption from state certification and does not set a food-handler-course condition for this route. Training is still useful preparation for sanitation, allergens and preservation. That advice does not replace the specific recipe verification or batch records required for acidified vegetables, and other operating programs have their own conditions.
Example scope: Voluntary training recommendation; no claim about requirements of another permit program.
View sources for this answer (1)
- Act1040 of2021 — Food Freedom Act Arkansas Legislature
Can ADH investigate a problem?
Yes. The exemption does not prevent an illness investigation or the department’s work to keep adulterated or misbranded food out of commerce. Keep the applicable recipe and batch records ready to identify what was produced and sold. The law also preserves taxes, federal requirements and other states’ laws.
View sources for this answer (1)
- Act1040 of2021 — Food Freedom Act Arkansas Legislature
Keep it handy
Your first-sale checklist
Use this free checklist to keep track of your next steps. The conditions in this guide still apply.
0 of 2 completed · Restoring progress…
Official guidance
Sources, updates & your next step
Use the current guide and local specialist
Compare your menu with ADH’s May 2026 Homemade Food Production Guidelines. For exceptions or unfamiliar products, contact the Environmental Health Specialist at your local health unit; ADH’s Food Protection page lists 501-661-2171. Use the official Extension link for the Department of Agriculture ID application if you need the statutory identity-disclosure alternative.
Official sources 4 references
- Act1040 of2021 — Food Freedom Act →
Arkansas Legislature · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guidelines →
Arkansas Department of Health · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Making and selling homemade food under Arkansas Food Freedom Act →
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Food Protection Inspection Portal →
Arkansas Department of Health · Reviewed September 14, 2026
Guide updates September 14, 2026
Reviewed Arkansas’s product eligibility, sales routes, starting requirements and label guidance against the official sources below. Current conditions and any dated changes are explained in the relevant sections of this guide.
View sources for this update (2)
- Act1040 of2021 — Food Freedom Act Arkansas Legislature
- Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guidelines Arkansas Department of Health
This guide is a starting point. Confirm requirements for your products and location with the relevant authority. Examples are illustrative and are not a compliance approval.