The essentials
Florida, at a glance
Yes, when the finished product qualifies as cottage food and your operation meets Florida’s conditions.
The program covers foods that do not require time or temperature control for safety, produced or packaged at the qualifying residence. Annual gross sales cannot exceed $250,000. Eligible operations do not need the FDACS food permit, but labels, sales channels and home-business requirements still matter.
- Sales limits
Annual gross sales must not exceed $250,000, combining all locations and products of all persons in the operation; FDACS may request written gross-sales verification.
- Registration & permits
Compliant cottage operations are exempt from the §500.12 FDACS food permit.
View official sources (2)
- 2026 Florida Statutes §500.80 — Cottage food operations Florida Legislature
- 2026 Florida Statutes §500.03 — Definitions Florida Legislature
One step at a time
Your first 2 steps
Start with the finished recipe
Write down each product, filling, frosting and garnish before ordering packaging.
A shelf-stable loaf and a refrigerated dessert do not have the same eligibility. Check FDACS’s examples, then ask about recipes that fall outside them. A familiar product name does not establish whether your particular formulation needs refrigeration for safety.
Prepare the business before selling
Confirm that production and storage fit the home operation, prepare compliant labels, and choose permitted direct-sale channels.
Set up a gross-sales ledger from your first order. Check applicable home-business taxes and residential conditions as well. The exemption removes the FDACS food-permit step; it does not describe every expense of starting a business.
View official sources (5)
- 2026 Florida Statutes §500.80 — Cottage food operations Florida Legislature
- 2026 Florida Statutes §500.03 — Definitions Florida Legislature
- 2026 Florida Statutes §559.955 — Home-based businesses Florida Legislature
- Cottage Foods Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
- Cottage Food Operations FDACS-P-02072 (July 2021 guide) FDACS, hosted by University of Florida IFAS
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.
Cookies, bread and dry mixes
Check the conditionsPlain cookies, bread, dry seasonings, granola and popcorn are examples on FDACS’s approved list.
Use the complete finished recipe when deciding eligibility. For fruit or vegetable breads, the detailed agency guide distinguishes ingredients incorporated into properly baked batter from fresh produce used as an after-baking garnish.
Refrigerated frosting and savory foods
Check the conditionsDo not assume the baked base makes every decorated cake eligible.
FDACS’s July 2021 detailed guide excludes cream-cheese and dairy-butter icings, as well as meat fillings, jerky and cooked vegetable products such as salsa. For your particular formulation or preservation process, confirm current FDACS guidance before describing it as cottage food.
View official sources (3)
- 2026 Florida Statutes §500.03 — Definitions Florida Legislature
- Cottage Foods Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
- Cottage Food Operations FDACS-P-02072 (July 2021 guide) FDACS, hosted by University of Florida IFAS
From your kitchen to your customers
Where and how you can sell
| Selling method | What matters |
|---|---|
| Home pickup and events | Direct sales to consumers and delivery to a specific event venue are permitted. Plan the sale around eligible packaged products, with the required label accompanying each package. At home, the business must also satisfy applicable residential conditions, including parking and the limits on activity that changes the residential character of the property. |
| Online orders and mailed deliveries | Florida expressly allows online offers, payments and mail orders. Its statute also authorizes USPS and commercial mail delivery services. Keep the product, packaging and label compliant throughout this workflow. That Florida permission does not itself answer another state’s requirements, so check the destination rules before adding out-of-state addresses to your checkout. Example scope: Destination-law check is a practical recommendation; no categorical interstate permission or prohibition is asserted. |
| Stores and restaurant resale | Wholesale sale, offer and delivery are prohibited under this exemption. A café buying your cookies to resell is therefore a different model from a consumer ordering cookies directly. If resale becomes central to your plan, ask FDACS about the appropriate permitted business route before accepting those orders. |
View official sources (3)
- 2026 Florida Statutes §500.80 — Cottage food operations Florida Legislature
- 2026 Florida Statutes §559.955 — Home-based businesses Florida Legislature
- Cottage Foods Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Your label, explained
Every field has a purpose.
Use the example to understand the structure. Follow the Florida requirements below for your product and sales route.
Your product
name
Your product name and actual net quantity
Your complete recipe and supplier ingredients
Operation or producer name; full business address (see state notes)
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.
Operation or producer name; full business address (see state notes)
Use the wording for your route.
Requirements can differ by product and sales channel. Keep the disclosure, placement and type-size conditions together.
The required Florida statement
Print this exact statement on the product label: “Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida’s food safety regulations.” The statement must be at least 10-point type and contrast clearly with the label background.
This cottage disclosure is one part of the label; it does not replace the other required information.
Business identity and address
Include the cottage operation’s name and address.
FDACS’s detailed label guidance says to use the physical address of the home kitchen, rather than a post-office box. Plan for that disclosure before printing a large batch of labels. A website, email address or social-media handle does not replace the required operation address.
Ingredients, allergens and net quantity
List the product name, ingredients in descending order by weight, and net weight or volume.
Include the subingredients in prepared components such as chocolate chips. Federal allergen labeling applies, and sesame is included in today’s federal major-allergen requirements. If you make a nutrition claim, the statute also requires the corresponding nutritional information.
The wording for your label
Packaged cottage food · check product-specific additions
Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida’s food safety regulations.
View official sources (3)
- 2026 Florida Statutes §500.80 — Cottage food operations Florida Legislature
- Cottage Food Operations FDACS-P-02072 (July 2021 guide) FDACS, hosted by University of Florida IFAS
- The FASTER Act: Sesame Is the Ninth Major Food Allergen US Food and Drug Administration
A useful head start
Your Florida 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 weekend market with samples
For a market selling your packaged cottage products directly to customers, prepare tasting samples at home and prepackage them.
FDACS’s detailed guidance describes displaying a properly labeled sale package beside the samples so customers can review ingredients. Build sampling into your preparation workflow rather than cutting and portioning samples at the stall.
An example
Orders through several channels
Suppose you sell $100,000 at markets, $90,000 through online orders and $70,000 through home pickup in one annual period.
The $260,000 total exceeds the exemption’s $250,000 ceiling. Separate sales locations or people in the same operation do not create separate allowances. Track gross receipts across the operation, without deducting ingredient costs.
Example scope: Figures are an illustrative calculation, not actual business data.
Exempt does not mean never inspected
The statute authorizes FDACS to investigate complaints and inspect after receiving a complaint.
Refusing access can have consequences. Keep ingredient, label and sales records organized so you can explain what was sold if a concern arises. Recordkeeping beyond the statute’s gross-sales verification provision is recommended here as a practical traceability measure.
Example scope: Additional traceability records are advice, not a claimed mandatory batch-log rule.
State preemption does not settle housing restrictions
Florida restricts local regulation of cottage-food preparation and sale, while retaining applicable home-business conditions.
Those conditions include residential use and parking. The home-business statute also preserves condominium, cooperative and homeowners-association covenants. Check those documents before treating the state cottage-food exemption as approval for every activity at your address.
View official sources (4)
- 2026 Florida Statutes §500.80 — Cottage food operations Florida Legislature
- 2026 Florida Statutes §559.955 — Home-based businesses Florida Legislature
- Cottage Foods Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
- Cottage Food Operations FDACS-P-02072 (July 2021 guide) FDACS, hosted by University of Florida IFAS
A few more answers
Common questions
Is a food-safety certificate required?
Section 500.80 does not make a cottage-specific training certificate a condition of this exemption. Food-safety training is still a sensible preparation step, especially when handling allergens or adding new recipes. If your activities require a different food-business permit, check that program’s training requirements separately rather than carrying this exemption across.
Example scope: Training recommendation is editorial advice; requirements for other permits are not stated.
View sources for this answer (1)
- 2026 Florida Statutes §500.80 — Cottage food operations Florida Legislature
Is the $250,000 limit profit?
No. The statute uses annual gross sales and combines all locations and products associated with the operation. FDACS may ask for written verification. Keep a running total before expenses and monitor it when planning large seasonal orders, so your pricing and growth plans do not depend on treating the threshold as take-home income.
View sources for this answer (1)
- 2026 Florida Statutes §500.80 — Cottage food operations Florida 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
Resolve unusual products with FDACS
Use FDACS’s Cottage Foods page to compare your planned product with the agency examples. For an unusual filling, frosting, wet product or future resale arrangement, send the complete product and sales description to FoodSafety@FDACS.gov or call 1-800-435-7352. Ask which operating route applies before purchasing specialized equipment.
Official sources 6 references
- 2026 Florida Statutes §500.80 — Cottage food operations →
Florida Legislature · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- 2026 Florida Statutes §500.03 — Definitions →
Florida Legislature · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- 2026 Florida Statutes §559.955 — Home-based businesses →
Florida Legislature · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Cottage Foods →
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Cottage Food Operations FDACS-P-02072 (July 2021 guide) →
FDACS, hosted by University of Florida IFAS · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- The FASTER Act: Sesame Is the Ninth Major Food Allergen →
US Food and Drug Administration · Reviewed September 14, 2026
Guide updates September 14, 2026
Reviewed Florida’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 (3)
- 2026 Florida Statutes §500.80 — Cottage food operations Florida Legislature
- 2026 Florida Statutes §559.955 — Home-based businesses Florida Legislature
- Cottage Food Operations FDACS-P-02072 (July 2021 guide) FDACS, hosted by University of Florida IFAS
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.