Florida cottage food law: sell from your home kitchen

Florida defines a cottage food product as food that is not time or temperature controlled for safety. It also cannot be a potentially hazardous food as defined by Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) rule. FDACS says these are foods "that present a low risk of foodborne illness."

The FDACS cottage food page lists these categories:

• Loaf breads, rolls and biscuits
• Cakes, pastries and cookies
• Candies and confections
• Honey
• Jams, jellies and preserves
• Fruit pies and dried fruits
• Dry herbs, seasonings and mixtures
• Homemade pasta
• Cereals, trail mixes and granola
• Coated or uncoated nuts
• Vinegar and flavored vinegars
• Popcorn and popcorn balls

Anything that needs time or temperature control to stay safe is not a cottage food product. Under the statute you also may not sell, offer for sale or deliver cottage food at wholesale. That means no selling to restaurants, cafes or shops for resale.

You may only sell cottage food products that you store at your home. Free samples are allowed, but FDACS says they must be prepackaged.

Section 500.80 of the Florida Statutes exempts a cottage food operation from the FDACS permit. You qualify if you follow the section and your annual gross sales of cottage food stay at or under $250,000. FDACS lists no registration and no fee.

All sales at all locations count toward the $250,000, whatever the product or the number of people involved. If FDACS asks, you must give written documentation of your annual gross sales.

The statute sets no training requirement. FDACS can investigate a complaint and, only after receiving one, can enter and inspect your premises. Refusing entry is grounds for disciplinary action.

You still owe taxes. The statute says the exemption does not cover any state or federal tax law, rule or certificate that applies to cottage food operations.

The statute says you "may sell, offer for sale, and accept payment for cottage food products over the Internet or by mail order." Products may be delivered in person directly to the consumer, to a specific event venue, or by the United States Postal Service or a commercial mail delivery service. FDACS also says you can sell on your own website, by mail order and in person.

The statute names those three delivery routes. It does not mention courier apps. If you plan to use a third-party delivery app, ask FDACS first.

Florida preempts local rules. A local law may not prohibit a cottage food operation or regulate how you prepare, process, store or sell products. You must still follow the home-based business conditions in section 559.955.

Cottage food must be prepackaged with a label on it. The statement must be printed in at least 10-point type in a color that contrasts with the label background: "Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida's food safety regulations."

• The name and address of your cottage food operation
• The name of the product
• Ingredients, in descending order of predominance by weight
• Net weight or net volume
• Allergen information as federal labeling rules require
• Nutrition information, only if you make a nutritional claim

• Check that every product is a low-risk, non-TCS food from the FDACS categories.
• Design a prepackaged label with all six items and the 10-point statement.
• Read section 559.955 for the home-based business conditions.
• Set up a simple sales log. FDACS can ask for written proof of sales.
• Make sure your sales tax registration, if you need one, is in order.
• Plan delivery: in person, event venue, USPS or a commercial mail service.
• Decide how you will stay under $250,000 across every sales channel.

Florida is one of the friendliest states for online ordering, and pickup.kitchen is built for it. You get your own site at yourname.pickup.kitchen, take card payments through your own Stripe account, and see every order on a kitchen screen.

Pickup windows and delivery days let you run a weekly drop. Time slots close when full and you can mark a day sold out. If you deliver yourself, the delivery tools plan the route and send it to the driver's phone, with a photo at the door.

Every paid order is saved with the customer, so you have a record of your sales when you need to show FDACS written documentation. Your customer list also lets you email past buyers when the next batch opens. Free onboarding, pay as you use.

Checked November 2026 against the official Florida sources linked below. Laws change, so open the official page before you print labels or take your first order.

This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Check with your state and county before you sell.