The essentials
Kansas, at a glance
Kansas allows producers to sell qualifying food directly to consumers without a food establishment license.
The food must not need temperature control for safety or specialized processing. A clean, sanitary home kitchen can be used, and this exemption has no annual sales ceiling. Online orders and shipping are allowed, with receiving-state requirements applying to interstate orders. This is a direct-to-consumer exemption within Kansas food law.
- Sales limits
K.S.A. 65-689(d)(4) imposes no annual gross-sales ceiling on the qualifying exemption.
- Registration & permits
Qualifying producers need no food establishment license but remain subject to inspection or regulation when a violation is observed or reported.
View official sources (3)
- K.S.A. 65-689 — Licensing and exemptions Kansas Legislature
- Food Sales at Farmers’ Markets & Similar Locations Kansas Department of Agriculture
- Foods Sold Directly to Consumers in Kansas: Regulations and Food Safety Best Practices Kansas State University Extension; guidance linked by Kansas Department of Agriculture
One step at a time
Your first 2 steps
Classify every recipe first
Start with ordinary eligible products such as shelf-stable cookies or dry baking mixes.
Identify fillings, frostings, cheese, vegetables and canned ingredients that could change the classification. Obtain any required product assessment before selling an uncertain item. Keep the lab report: Kansas requires operators to retain test results and make them available on request.
Set up your kitchen and paperwork
Prepare food in a clean, sanitary kitchen; protect it from contamination; clean and sanitize equipment; wash hands; and avoid bare-hand contact with prepared food.
Eligible producers have no food-license application or renewal under this exemption, and the cited instructions do not prescribe a general training certificate. Separately obtain the applicable Retail Sales Tax certificate and prepare accurate package labels.
View official sources (3)
- K.S.A. 65-689 — Licensing and exemptions Kansas Legislature
- Foods Sold Directly to Consumers in Kansas: Regulations and Food Safety Best Practices Kansas State University Extension; guidance linked by Kansas Department of Agriculture
- FAQ: Food Safety Kansas Department of Agriculture
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 and ordinary baked goods
Check the conditionsShelf-stable cookies, plain breads, fruit pies and properly baked banana or zucchini bread are familiar exempt examples.
Fruit or vegetables in those quick breads must be fully incorporated into the batter. A cheese-and-jalapeño loaf is different: the guide calls for assessment of breads with cheese or vegetables baked in or on them.
Example scope: Examples assume finished products do not require temperature control or specialized processing.
Frosting and cream-filled desserts
Check the conditionsThe 2026 guide allows icing known to contain more than 65% sugar by weight without testing or licensing; otherwise testing determines the route.
That is a recipe calculation, not a visual judgment. Cheesecake, custards and cream-filled pastries fall outside the regular exemption. Meringue cookies and pecan-pie fillings also require assessment rather than an automatic yes or no.
Jam, pepper jelly and canned sauces
Check the conditionsTraditional fruit jam is a straightforward example, while low-sugar jam, certain low-acid fruits and pepper flesh, seeds or juice require assessment.
Small amounts of pepper powder or pepper-flavored vinegar have different guidance. The detailed 2026 guide also distinguishes tested formulated-acid sauces from licensed acidified products. Send KDA your actual recipe and process before selling a borderline canned product.
View official sources (2)
- Foods Sold Directly to Consumers in Kansas: Regulations and Food Safety Best Practices Kansas State University Extension; guidance linked by Kansas Department of Agriculture
- FAQ: Food Safety Kansas Department of Agriculture
From your kitchen to your customers
Where and how you can sell
| Selling method | What matters |
|---|---|
| Home orders, markets and delivery | Keep the sale directly between producer and end consumer. The guide covers markets, craft shows, festivals and similar direct sales, including delivery by the producer to the customer. Do not leave your market inventory with another person to sell under this exemption; KDA treats that handoff as requiring a food processing license. |
| Online orders and shipping | You can take online orders and ship qualifying exempt foods to customers. Before accepting an interstate order, check the receiving state’s requirements: Kansas permission does not override them. Keep the same product eligibility, accurate labeling and contamination protection when moving from a market table to mail orders. |
| Wholesale and consignment | Processed foods supplied to a grocery store, café, co-op or other business for use or resale require the appropriate food license. Leaving products for sale at a craft mall or on consignment is also outside the exemption. Ask KDA about food processing licensing before promising inventory to another business. |
View official sources (2)
- Food Sales at Farmers’ Markets & Similar Locations Kansas Department of Agriculture
- Foods Sold Directly to Consumers in Kansas: Regulations and Food Safety Best Practices Kansas State University Extension; guidance linked by Kansas Department of Agriculture
Your label, explained
Every field has a purpose.
Use the example to understand the structure. Follow the Kansas 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
Ordinary packaged food · not unpasteurized juice
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.
Build a complete package label
Include the common food name; the maker or seller name and physical address; all ingredients in descending order by weight; the nine major allergens present, identified in plain language; and net quantity by appropriate weight, volume or count.
For example, casein must identify its milk source. Use the actual recipe and package quantity.
Example scope: Illustrative packaged product; ingredient and allergen fields must match actual formulation.
Juice labels
Kansas requires no general homemade or uninspected disclosure.
For eligible high-acid juice sold in packages, a separate warning applies when the product has not been pasteurized. The required warning is quoted below. By-the-glass sales require a license. “WARNING: This product has not been pasteurized and, therefore, may contain harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness in children, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems.”
View official sources (1)
- Foods Sold Directly to Consumers in Kansas: Regulations and Food Safety Best Practices Kansas State University Extension; guidance linked by Kansas Department of Agriculture
A useful head start
Your Kansas 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
Adding an online cookie shop
Suppose you bake eligible cookies at home, label the packages and sell them directly at a market.
You can add online orders and ship to customers, after checking destination requirements. If a local café asks for cookies to resell, pause that part of the plan and ask KDA about licensing. Direct retail and supplying another business are different routes.
Example scope: Hypothetical cookies do not require refrigeration or specialized processing.
Treating a familiar recipe as automatically safe
A plain loaf and a loaf topped with cheese do not get the same answer.
Kansas uses food characteristics and product assessments to determine eligibility. Keep any required lab report and reassess a changed formula rather than assuming the old result covers a different filling or topping.
Handing the stall to another seller
KDA says leaving market products attended by another person is outside the direct-to-consumer exemption without a food processing license.
Plan staffing around that restriction. Consignment does not become direct selling simply because your name remains on the package or you collect the proceeds later.
Confusing a license exemption with no oversight
Food-license exemption does not remove inspection or regulation when a violation is observed or reported.
Sanitation and contamination protection still apply. Separately, check your tax registration and have a scale tested annually by a licensed service company if you use it to sell by weight.
View official sources (3)
- K.S.A. 65-689 — Licensing and exemptions Kansas Legislature
- Food Sales at Farmers’ Markets & Similar Locations Kansas Department of Agriculture
- Foods Sold Directly to Consumers in Kansas: Regulations and Food Safety Best Practices Kansas State University Extension; guidance linked by Kansas Department of Agriculture
A few more answers
Common questions
Can customers bring containers?
Yes, the guide allows eligible exempt foods to be sold in bulk into a customer’s clean container. If you package individual orders from a bulk display at the booth, provide handwashing facilities. This does not extend the exemption to refrigerated or otherwise non-exempt products, which follow their own licensing and packaging rules.
View sources for this answer (2)
- K.S.A. 65-689 — Licensing and exemptions Kansas Legislature
- Foods Sold Directly to Consumers in Kansas: Regulations and Food Safety Best Practices Kansas State University Extension; guidance linked by Kansas Department of Agriculture
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
Ask KDA about the actual recipe
Use the January 2026 direct-sales guide and its product tables. For an uncertain formula or a planned wholesale channel, contact KDA Food Safety and Lodging at KDA.FSL@ks.gov or 785-564-6767. The guide links the Kansas Value Added Foods Lab for assessment and the official application route for businesses that need a license.
Official sources 4 references
- K.S.A. 65-689 — Licensing and exemptions →
Kansas Legislature · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Food Sales at Farmers’ Markets & Similar Locations →
Kansas Department of Agriculture · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Foods Sold Directly to Consumers in Kansas: Regulations and Food Safety Best Practices →
Kansas State University Extension; guidance linked by Kansas Department of Agriculture · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- FAQ: Food Safety →
Kansas Department of Agriculture · Reviewed September 14, 2026
Guide updates September 14, 2026
Reviewed Kansas’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 (4)
- K.S.A. 65-689 — Licensing and exemptions Kansas Legislature
- Food Sales at Farmers’ Markets & Similar Locations Kansas Department of Agriculture
- Foods Sold Directly to Consumers in Kansas: Regulations and Food Safety Best Practices Kansas State University Extension; guidance linked by Kansas Department of Agriculture
- FAQ: Food Safety Kansas Department of Agriculture
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.