The essentials
Nebraska, at a glance
Nebraska allows direct consumer sales of eligible food prepared in a private home, including some foods that need refrigeration.
Most producers must complete food-safety training and register with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture before selling. The limited exception is non-temperature-controlled food sold directly at farmers markets. There is no sales ceiling, but product exclusions, labels, notices and delivery conditions still apply.
Choose the route that fits
- Nebraska private-home cottage producer
- Direct consumer sales from private-home production, including eligible temperature-controlled foods with added conditions.
- Non-TCS farmers-market-only exception
- Non-temperature-controlled foods sold directly at a farmers market are excepted from cottage registration and training, but other cottage conditions remain.
- Sales limits
Nebraska cottage food has no sales ceiling according to the current Extension overview.
- Registration & permits
Register with NDA before sales and provide producer contact details, course/date and private-well contamination testing proof when applicable; the registration exception is non-TCS direct farmers-market sales.
- Registration exception does not cover TCS market foods or sales outside farmers markets.
View official sources (4)
- Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2,280 — Home producers Nebraska Legislature
- Nebraska Cottage Food Registration and Common Q&As Nebraska Department of Agriculture
- Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2,245.01 — Food establishment exceptions Nebraska Legislature
- Cottage Food Law overview University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension
One step at a time
Your first 2 steps
Choose the correct startup route
Write down your recipes and intended sales locations.
If you sell only non-TCS food directly at a farmers market, the state cottage registration and training exceptions apply. Adding home pickup, other public events or temperature-controlled food changes that answer. Complete an accepted course and registration before making those sales rather than assuming the market exception follows your business everywhere.
Register and check your water source
Use NDA’s registration page and submit your name, address, telephone number, course and completion date.
If you use private well water, include the required contamination-testing proof; Extension directs producers to test for nitrates and bacteria. Registration is free and one-time, while courses and testing have separate costs. Update NDA when your information changes.
View official sources (4)
- Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2,280 — Home producers Nebraska Legislature
- Nebraska Cottage Food Registration and Common Q&As Nebraska Department of Agriculture
- Cottage Food Law FAQ University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension
- Cottage Food Law overview University of Nebraska–Lincoln 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.
Shelf-stable products and traditional jam
Check the conditionsA shelf-stable product can use the simpler transport route, but first check the excluded-food list.
NDA specifically permits traditional jams and jellies made with pectin and chocolate-covered strawberries. It rejects hermetically sealed BBQ sauce. A home-canning recipe or a pH reading does not override the exclusion of low-acid and hermetically sealed acidified canned foods.
Cheesecake and other refrigerated desserts
Check the conditionsNDA allows cheesecake, ice cream, cheese and pudding made with approved-source ingredients and the necessary refrigeration or freezing.
Milk and dairy ingredients should come from a licensed source; this is not permission to make products for sale from your own raw milk. Any eggs in a finished product must be properly cooked rather than left raw.
Example scope: Example assumes approved-source ingredients, eligible finished food, completed registration and training, and safe refrigeration or freezing.
View official sources (2)
- Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2,280 — Home producers Nebraska Legislature
- Nebraska Cottage Food Registration and Common Q&As Nebraska Department of Agriculture
From your kitchen to your customers
Where and how you can sell
| Selling method | What matters |
|---|---|
| Home pickup and public events | Eligible home-prepared food may be sold directly through home pickup, farmers markets, fairs, festivals, craft shows and other public events. Display the required notice at the event sale location. For pickup or delivery, provide the notice at your home, on an existing website and in advertisements. Products must still be prepared at the private home. |
| Online orders and mailing | Online selling is covered by the state’s cottage framework. Non-TCS foods may travel by US mail or a commercial mail carrier. Check the destination before offering interstate shipping: Extension’s current answers conflict on that point, so this guide does not promise unrestricted out-of-state sales. Ask NDA about your specific product, destination and fulfillment arrangement. |
| Delivery of refrigerated foods | For TCS food, the producer must deliver to the consumer in person. Maintain the temperature required by Nebraska food law and keep transportation to no more than two hours. Cheesecake must remain at 41°F or colder; the guide gives at least 135°F for eligible hot-held foods. Mailing a refrigerated dessert is outside this delivery permission. |
| Wholesale and coffee-shop resale | Your friend’s coffee shop cannot resell your cottage products under this exemption. The food must be sold directly to the consumer. Discuss a different licensed route with NDA before agreeing to supply restaurants or shops, even if the recipe and packaging are identical to products you already sell from home. |
View official sources (4)
- Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2,280 — Home producers Nebraska Legislature
- Nebraska Cottage Food Registration and Common Q&As Nebraska Department of Agriculture
- Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2,245.01 — Food establishment exceptions Nebraska Legislature
- Cottage Food Law FAQ University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension
Your label, explained
Every field has a purpose.
Use the example to understand the structure. Follow the Nebraska 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; specific contactable mailing address
The statement for your state, product and sales route
Cottage food · notice also needed at applicable sales locations
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; specific contactable mailing address
Use the wording for your route.
Requirements can differ by product and sales channel. Keep the disclosure, placement and type-size conditions together.
Package identity and mailing address
Every package or container needs the producer’s name and address.
NDA describes the address as the specific mailing address where you can be contacted; do not replace it with just a general location. Add the common food name and use legible English labeling. TCS products also need ingredients in descending order by weight.
Example scope: Illustrative label instructions; actual product category determines additional requirements.
Display the uninspected-kitchen notice
NDA gives this event-notice wording: “This food was prepared in a kitchen that is not subject to regulation and inspection by the regulatory authority and may contain allergens.” Display it clearly at event sales.
For pickup or delivery, the notice also belongs at home, on your existing website and in relevant advertisements. A package address alone does not supply this separate notice.
Quantity and ingredients depend on the product
Keep the TCS ingredient-list requirement visible instead of describing it as identical for every cottage food.
Nebraska’s separate weights-and-measures guidance also matters: loaves of bread are sold by weight, while cookies may be sold by weight or count. Use the relevant quantity and package information for your product rather than copying another seller’s label format.
The wording for your label
Cottage food · notice also needed at applicable sales locations
This food was prepared in a kitchen that is not subject to regulation and inspection by the regulatory authority and may contain allergens.
View official sources (4)
- Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2,280 — Home producers Nebraska Legislature
- Nebraska Cottage Food Registration and Common Q&As Nebraska Department of Agriculture
- Cottage Food Law overview University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension
- Farmers Market Scale Inspections and Package Labeling Nebraska Department of Agriculture
A useful head start
Your Nebraska 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 market baker adds cheesecakes
Suppose you initially sell only eligible shelf-stable goods directly at a farmers market.
The limited training and registration exceptions can apply. Before adding cheesecake, complete the course and register, use approved-source ingredients, label ingredients by weight and maintain refrigeration. Transport it yourself for no more than two hours, keeping it at 41°F or colder, and display the event notice.
Example scope: Hypothetical shift from non-TCS market-only sales to an eligible refrigerated cheesecake.
Taking the market exception too far
The exception from registration and training depends on both the food and the venue.
A refrigerated product at the same market is not covered, and neither is a shelf-stable order picked up from home. Check both conditions whenever you add a channel or recipe.
Treating refrigeration as optional
The expanded cottage law permits some TCS foods with temperature controls.
It does not turn cheesecake into a shelf-stable product. Plan actual transport duration, cold holding and handoff before accepting orders, and use a thermometer to check conditions rather than relying on an insulated container alone.
Moving production into a trailer
The cottage exemption requires preparation in a private home.
NDA specifically explains that a mobile snow-cone operation cannot rely on cottage status if products are not premade at home. A new trailer or event setup should trigger a fresh check of the production route before you spend money on equipment.
Example scope: Applies to production location, not a blanket prohibition of every vehicle used to transport eligible food.
View official sources (4)
- Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2,280 — Home producers Nebraska Legislature
- Nebraska Cottage Food Registration and Common Q&As Nebraska Department of Agriculture
- Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2,245.01 — Food establishment exceptions Nebraska Legislature
- Cottage Food Law FAQ University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension
A few more answers
Common questions
Do registration and training renew every year?
Extension describes registration as one-time and the course as a one-time requirement. Its suggested three-year refresher is best practice, not an annual renewal rule. Keep your registration details current with NDA and check for law changes when you add products or sales methods; do not confuse cottage registration with licensed food-establishment renewal.
View sources for this answer (2)
- Cottage Food Law FAQ University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension
- Cottage Food Law overview University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension
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 NDA program page
Start with NDA’s cottage-food registration and current Q&As. It links course examples, private-well testing and the registration form. Your name may take up to ten days to appear on the public registration list. Send registration updates to agr.foodsafety@nebraska.gov and request product-specific guidance for uncertain dairy, canning or interstate plans.
Official sources 6 references
- Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2,280 — Home producers →
Nebraska Legislature · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Nebraska Cottage Food Registration and Common Q&As →
Nebraska Department of Agriculture · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2,245.01 — Food establishment exceptions →
Nebraska Legislature · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Cottage Food Law FAQ →
University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Cottage Food Law overview →
University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Farmers Market Scale Inspections and Package Labeling →
Nebraska Department of Agriculture · Reviewed September 14, 2026
Guide updates September 14, 2026
Reviewed Nebraska’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)
- Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2,280 — Home producers Nebraska Legislature
- Nebraska Cottage Food Registration and Common Q&As Nebraska Department of Agriculture
- Cottage Food Law FAQ University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension
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.