The essentials
New Mexico, at a glance
You can sell eligible food made at your private farm, ranch or residence directly to New Mexico consumers without the ordinary food permit.
Complete an approved food-handler course before production, maintain sanitary handling and provide the required product information. Internet orders, home delivery and mail delivery are included, but wholesale and out-of-state sales are not. The reviewed Act sets no numeric annual sales ceiling.
- Training
An approved food-handler certification course and card are required before production; the NMSU training described by extension has three-year validity.
View official sources (4)
- Approved Homemade Food Act, HB177 New Mexico Legislature via Environment Department
- Homemade Food Act factsheet New Mexico Environment Department
- New Mexico Homemade Food Act FAQ City of Albuquerque Environmental Health
- Starting a Food Business in New Mexico: Food Safety New Mexico State University
One step at a time
Your first 3 steps
Establish that the finished food is eligible
The finished food must not need time or temperature control for safety.
Check the actual filling, frosting, moisture and process, not just the recipe title. Non-refrigerated cookies and bread are useful starting examples. For an uncertain product, use NMED’s guidance and obtain a process-authority assessment when needed rather than assume a familiar food is automatically eligible.
Complete training and prepare the kitchen
Obtain an approved food-handler card before beginning production.
Keep the kitchen sanitary, practice good hygiene and control rodents and pests. Keep pets and children out while producing food, and plan clean storage and transport. NMSU describes its training certificate as valid for three years; follow the terms of your actual approved provider.
Prepare labels, webpage information and records
Assemble the processor’s full contact information, food name, actual ingredients and subingredients, and required statement before printing labels or publishing a sales page.
Choose the disclosure format that fits the package or bulk display. Keep the information readily available for customer requests, including telephone and custom orders that use the label exception.
View official sources (3)
- Approved Homemade Food Act, HB177 New Mexico Legislature via Environment Department
- Homemade Food Act factsheet New Mexico Environment Department
- Starting a Food Business in New Mexico: Food Safety New Mexico State University
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, dry mixes and fruit preserves
Check the conditionsNMED lists non-refrigerated baked goods, candy, popcorn, chocolate-covered pretzels, dehydrated fruit, granola, dry mixes, roasted coffee and standard high-sugar fruit jams and jellies as examples.
The examples are not an exhaustive menu or an automatic approval for every variation. The finished product still must be non-TCS.
Refrigerated desserts and savory foods
Check the conditionsCheesecake, custard or cream pies, refrigerated frostings, meat and jerky, fish, dairy products and many prepared foods fall outside the described pathway.
NMED also lists salsa, vegetable jelly, canned pickles and other acidified foods among excluded examples. Do not assume a low-pH result alone places a canned savory food under this exemption.
Alcohol and hemp ingredients
Check the conditionsNMED directs alcoholic food and beverage operations to the relevant alcohol authority and requires commercial hemp-manufacturing permitting for hemp, hemp extract or CBD foods.
A small batch or homemade label does not remove those separate ingredient and business requirements.
View official sources (1)
- Homemade Food Act factsheet New Mexico Environment Department
From your kitchen to your customers
Where and how you can sell
| Selling method | What matters |
|---|---|
| Home pickup, roadside stands and markets | Direct sales to consumers may take place at home, roadside stands, farmers markets and festivals within New Mexico. A private market or venue is not required to accept homemade-food vendors. Confirm its entry conditions before booking, and retain the appropriate labels or placards for your selling format. |
| Internet and mail orders | Internet sales and mail delivery are expressly included for direct New Mexico consumer transactions. Put the required information on the webpage offering the food. Keep mailed products protected and appropriately disclosed; the internet channel does not permit sales outside the state or delivery to another business for resale. |
| Seller delivery | Delivery is allowed within the direct-consumer pathway. Transport products in a sanitary manner and protect them from animals, children and other hazards. NMED specifically says not to use vehicle compartments used to transport animals for food transport. Plan the vehicle and containers before taking delivery orders. |
| Restaurants, shops and wholesale | NMED says homemade foods cannot supply restaurants, wholesalers or distributors, become ingredients at permitted facilities or be bought by grocery stores for resale. If your plan depends on another business reselling or using the product, investigate the applicable commercial manufactured-food route before promising supply. |
View official sources (2)
- Approved Homemade Food Act, HB177 New Mexico Legislature via Environment Department
- Homemade Food Act factsheet New Mexico Environment Department
Your label, explained
Every field has a purpose.
Use the example to understand the structure. Follow the New Mexico requirements below for your product and sales route.
Your product
name
Your product name and actual net quantity
Your complete recipe and supplier ingredients
Processor name; home address; telephone; email
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.
Processor name; home address; telephone; email
Use the wording for your route.
Requirements can differ by product and sales channel. Keep the disclosure, placement and type-size conditions together.
Illustrative packaged cookie label
Show the processor’s name, home address, telephone number and email address; the cookie’s common name; actual ingredients in descending predominance, including compound-ingredient subingredients; and the exact statement below.
This guide does not replace the home address with a post-office box, registration number or QR code because the reviewed provision does not offer those alternatives.
Required home-produced statement
This product is home produced and is exempt from state licensing and inspection.
This product may contain allergens.
Package, bulk container and webpage
If the package is the sale unit, attach the label to it.
If food is sold from a bulk container, label that container. For other unpackaged food, display a placard at the point of sale. Also provide the required information on the selling webpage. A website alone should not replace the physical disclosure that fits the sale.
Telephone and custom-order exception
A telephone or custom order does not require a product label under the stated exception, but you still must disclose home production, exemption from state licensing and inspection, and possible allergens.
Keep all required information readily available and give it to a customer who asks. The exception is not permission to conceal ingredients or producer contact details.
The wording for your label
Packaged cottage food · check product-specific additions
This product is home produced and is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens.
View official sources (2)
- Approved Homemade Food Act, HB177 New Mexico Legislature via Environment Department
- Homemade Food Act factsheet New Mexico Environment Department
A useful head start
Your New Mexico 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 cookie seller adds statewide mail orders
Imagine a trained home baker selling eligible cookies locally.
To add mail orders within New Mexico, publish the required product and processor information on the ordering webpage, prepare appropriate package labels and protect the food during transport. Decline an order for a shop to resell or a customer outside New Mexico unless you move to a separately authorized route.
Renewing an obsolete homebased-food permit
The current NMED and Albuquerque guidance says the earlier Homebased Food Processor permits stopped being renewed after the 2021 Act.
That does not remove food-handler training or ordinary business and tax obligations. Use the current Homemade Food Act guidance rather than an older permit form as your starting point.
Calling every jar shelf stable
The legal test concerns food safety, and NMED lists numerous canned, pickled and acidified foods outside its homemade pathway.
A sealed jar and an unrefrigerated display do not prove eligibility. Bring uncertain recipes and processing steps to the agency or an appropriate process authority.
View official sources (4)
- Approved Homemade Food Act, HB177 New Mexico Legislature via Environment Department
- Homemade Food Act factsheet New Mexico Environment Department
- New Mexico Homemade Food Act FAQ City of Albuquerque Environmental Health
- Starting a Food Business in New Mexico: Food Safety New Mexico State University
A few more answers
Common questions
Does Albuquerque require a homemade-food permit?
The city’s current FAQ says eligible foods can be sold without a permit from NMED, Bernalillo County or Albuquerque. The Act preserves a narrow authority for a qualifying combined local department to establish a permit system, so keep checking current local implementation. Business registration and tax requirements remain separate.
View sources for this answer (2)
- Approved Homemade Food Act, HB177 New Mexico Legislature via Environment Department
- New Mexico Homemade Food Act FAQ City of Albuquerque Environmental Health
Can the agency investigate an exempt operation?
Yes. The Act allows investigation of suspected foodborne illness and stopping sales of suspected contaminated food. It requires a written warning before fines; failing to comply can lead to the stated misdemeanor and a fine up to $100 per violation upon conviction. Permit exemption does not eliminate these enforcement powers.
View sources for this answer (1)
- Approved Homemade Food Act, HB177 New Mexico Legislature via Environment Department
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 3 completed · Restoring progress…
Official guidance
Sources, updates & your next step
Use NMED or the relevant local health office
Start with NMED’s Homemade Food Act factsheet and approved food-handler resources. Albuquerque producers can use the city’s dedicated FAQ and Consumer Health Protection contact. Ask a specific question about the recipe, processing method or sales arrangement when eligibility is uncertain, and separately check business registration and taxes.
Official sources 4 references
- Approved Homemade Food Act, HB177 →
New Mexico Legislature via Environment Department · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Homemade Food Act factsheet →
New Mexico Environment Department · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- New Mexico Homemade Food Act FAQ →
City of Albuquerque Environmental Health · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Starting a Food Business in New Mexico: Food Safety →
New Mexico State University · Reviewed September 14, 2026
Guide updates September 14, 2026
Reviewed New Mexico’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)
- Approved Homemade Food Act, HB177 New Mexico Legislature via Environment Department
- Homemade Food Act factsheet New Mexico Environment Department
- New Mexico Homemade Food Act FAQ City of Albuquerque Environmental Health
- Starting a Food Business in New Mexico: Food Safety New Mexico State University
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.