"Cottage food" laws let home cooks and bakers make certain low-risk foods in their own kitchen and sell them legally, without building out a licensed commercial kitchen. Every state writes its own version of this exemption, and the rules on sales caps, licensing, and food safety training vary widely — see our full cottage food laws by state guide for the complete picture. This page covers Florida specifically.
Florida's Cottage Food Operation: A $250,000 Sales Cap, No Permit
Florida defines its home-kitchen exemption in Florida Statutes §500.80, administered by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). A cottage food operation can gross up to $250,000 per year in sales, combined across all products and all sales locations. That cap is much higher than it used to be: in 2021, Florida's "Home Sweet Home Act" (HB 663) raised it from $50,000 to $250,000, making Florida one of the more generous states for home-based food businesses.
💲 Florida's cottage food exemption is completely self-executing — there is no registration, permit, license, or fee to file with FDACS or Chapter 500. You simply need to keep written sales records on hand in case FDACS asks to see them.
What You Can (and Can't) Sell in Florida
Time/Temperature-Control-for-Safety Foods
Florida's legal test is whether a food needs refrigeration for safety (a "TCS" food). Anything that does — most meats, dairy-based fillings, cream-filled pastries, and similar items — falls outside the cottage food exemption.
Shelf-Stable Home Foods
FDACS's guidance lists breads, rolls, and biscuits; cakes, pastries, and cookies; candies; honey; jams, jellies, and preserves; fruit pies; dried fruit; dry herb and seasoning mixes; homemade pasta; cereals, trail mix, and granola; coated and uncoated nuts; vinegars; and popcorn as examples.
That FDACS list is guidance, not the full statutory text — the underlying legal standard is simply "not a TCS food." If your product isn't a clear match to the examples above, check current FDACS cottage food guidance before you start selling.
Do You Need a Food Handler Card in Florida?
No. Florida cottage food operations are exempt from Chapter 500 permitting entirely, and they fall outside Chapter 509 — the DBPR statute that governs food-employee training requirements for restaurants and retail food establishments. In practice, that means no food handler card, no food safety certificate, and no formal training requirement applies to a cottage food operation under state law. If you're weighing whether to get certified anyway, our guide on whether home bakers need a food handler card covers the practical reasons it can still be worth doing, and our Florida food handler card requirements page covers what's required for anyone who needs certification for other reasons — a market rule, a future move into a licensed kitchen, and so on.
Registration and Inspection
Make sure it's not a TCS food that needs refrigeration for safety.
No application is filed with FDACS — accurate labeling is what actually keeps you compliant.
Florida law requires operators to be able to show FDACS their sales records on request, since there's no registration filing to check instead.
No routine inspection applies. FDACS generally only investigates a cottage food kitchen in response to a complaint.
🏠 Because there's no permit, license, registration, or fee, and no routine inspection, Florida's cottage food framework puts almost all the compliance burden on correct labeling and staying under the $250,000 cap — get both right and you're operating legally.
Where You Can Legally Sell — Including Shipping
Florida cottage food operators can sell direct to consumers in person from home, at event venues (which covers farmers markets), through the operation's own website, and by mail order or internet sale with delivery via USPS or a commercial carrier. That last point makes Florida notably shipping-friendly compared to states that restrict cottage food to in-person, in-state sales only. What's not allowed: wholesale distribution, resale to a retailer, grocer, or restaurant, consignment arrangements, or storing/fulfilling orders through a third party.
Labeling Requirements
Every product must be labeled with the operation's name and address, the product name, a complete ingredient list in descending order by weight, net weight or volume, and federally required allergen information. Nutrition information is only required if you make a nutrient or health claim on the label. Florida also requires this exact disclosure in type at least 10 points in size and in a color that contrasts with the background: "Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida's food safety regulations."
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Florida require a food handler card to sell cottage food?
No. Florida's cottage food operation exemption falls outside Chapter 500 permitting and outside Chapter 509's food-employee training rules, so no food handler card is required. Some markets or buyers may still ask for one on their own.
What is the sales cap for cottage food in Florida?
$250,000 in gross sales per year, combined across all products and locations. Florida raised this cap from $50,000 in 2021 under the Home Sweet Home Act (HB 663).
Do I need to register my cottage food operation in Florida?
No. Florida's cottage food exemption is fully self-executing — there is no registration, permit, license, or fee. Operators must be able to show written sales records to FDACS on request.
Can I ship cottage food products in Florida?
Yes. Florida allows cottage food sales through the operation's own website and by mail order or internet sale, with delivery via USPS or a commercial carrier, in addition to in-person and event sales.
Weighing whether to get a food handler card anyway? Find approved courses and requirements for your state.
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