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Can I Sell Homemade Baked Goods From My House in Florida?

Use the free tool — Cottage Food & Food Truck Check FL

What Florida's cottage food law allows

Florida's cottage food law, Fla. Stat. 500.80, lets you make certain foods in your home kitchen and sell them directly to the consumer — in person, by mail or delivery within Florida, and online — with no FDACS license, permit or inspection. The catch: your gross sales cannot go over $250,000 a year. Above that, you need a license.

This is not legal advice. It's a plain-language summary. Confirm your specific product and plan with FDACS before you start selling.

Foods you can usually sell this way

FDACS's cottage food list includes:

• Breads, rolls, biscuits
• Cakes without cream fillings, pastries, cookies
• Candies and confections
• Honey, jams, jellies, preserves
• Fruit pies, dried fruits
• Dry herbs and seasonings, dry baking mixes
• Homemade pasta, cereals and granola
• Coated or uncoated nuts
• Vinegar and flavored vinegars, popcorn
• Roasted coffee, tea blends

What's not allowed as cottage food

Anything that needs time or temperature control for safety does not qualify — that includes cheesecake, cream or custard fillings, flan, tres leches, meat, fish, dairy-based sauces, cut fresh fruit, low-acid canned foods, and pickles or fermented foods unless they're acidified and tested under FDACS guidance. Wholesale sales to stores or restaurants and shipping out of state are also not allowed under the cottage food exemption.

If you're not sure whether your product qualifies, ask FDACS directly — see FDACS — Cottage Foods.

The label the law requires

Every cottage food product must carry a label with:

• Your name and address
• The name of the product
• Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight
• Net weight or net volume
• Allergen information as required by federal law
• Nutrition information, if you make a nutritional claim
• In at least 10-point type: "Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida's food safety regulations."

That exact statement is required by Fla. Stat. 500.80 — don't shorten it or leave it off.

Selling from a truck or cart instead?

If you also want to sell prepared food from a truck or cart, that's usually a different rulebook. A mobile food dispensing vehicle that prepares or serves food is licensed and inspected by DBPR's Division of Hotels and Restaurants, not FDACS — see DBPR — Mobile Food Dispensing Vehicles. Since Fla. Stat. 509.102, your city or county cannot charge a separate local license or permit just for the truck, though it can still regulate where and when you operate. A cart selling only prepackaged, non-hazardous foods may fall under FDACS instead — ask both agencies which one applies to your setup.

Cottage food and food-truck sales are generally subject to Florida sales tax; you register with the Florida Department of Revenue before selling. Ask DOR about specific rates or exemptions.

What to do next

Our free tool reads what you type about your own product, how you plan to sell it, and how much you expect to make — nothing is saved. It tells you, product by product, whether it looks like cottage food or whether you'd need a license, what the cap means for your numbers, and which agency handles a truck or cart setup. It's a starting point, not a final answer — confirm anything specific with FDACS or DBPR before you sell.

Cottage Food & Food Truck Check FL explains Florida's cottage food law and food-truck licensing in plain language; it can be wrong, and it is not legal advice. The $250,000 cap, the allowed-foods list and the label statement are from Fla. Stat. 500.80 and FDACS guidance as published; confirm a specific product with FDACS. Nothing you enter is stored.