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Do I Need a License to Sell Home-Baked Goods in Florida?

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What Florida calls "cottage food"

Florida has a "cottage food" law for certain home-baked and other non-refrigerated foods made in a home kitchen and sold directly to the public, up to a sales cap set in the statute. This is set out in Fla. Stat. 500.80. The Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) is the state agency over food rules, including cottage food and retail food stores and markets.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm your specific product, packaging and sales cap question with FDACS before you sell.

Do you need a state license to bake and sell from home?

• Cottage food products (home-baked, non-refrigerated, within the statutory sales cap) generally do not need an FDACS food license, but they do have labeling requirements under Fla. Stat. 500.80. Confirm your labels and your product against the statute with FDACS.
• If you sell food that falls outside the cottage food definition — for example something that needs refrigeration, or sales above the statutory cap — it is most likely treated as a retail food operation, which FDACS licenses. Confirm with FDACS which category your product and volume fall into.
• A restaurant or a mobile food truck is a different category, licensed by DBPR's Division of Hotels and Restaurants — that is not the cottage food path. If you plan to add a truck or a storefront kitchen later, that will most likely need a separate state license from DBPR.

What still applies locally, even without a state food license

Not needing an FDACS license does not mean nothing else applies. Local rules are separate from the state cottage food question, and they differ by county and city.

• Zoning and home occupation: Fla. Stat. 559.955 limits what a city or county can require of a home-based business, but a home occupation permit and HOA rules may still apply to your address. Confirm with your local zoning office — usually not required for every home business, but you have to check.
• County and city business tax receipt: most counties and cities require a local business tax receipt before you operate, under Fla. Stat. ch. 205. This is most likely required even for a small home-based food business — confirm the fee and process with your county tax collector and your city.

Other registrations that likely still apply

• Entity or fictitious name: if you operate under a business name other than your own legal name, Florida law (Fla. Stat. 865.09) requires registering that fictitious name (DBA) with Sunbiz, the Florida Division of Corporations. This is also where you'd register an LLC or corporation if you form one.
• EIN: if you have employees, or you form an LLC or corporation, you generally need an EIN from the IRS.
• Sales and use tax account: if you are selling taxable goods, you generally need a sales and use tax account with the Florida Department of Revenue. Confirm whether your specific baked goods are taxable.
• Workers' compensation: under Fla. Stat. ch. 440, coverage rules kick in at different employee counts depending on the industry — construction from 1 employee, other industries from 4. Confirm where a home bakery falls.

A sensible order

1. Register your entity or fictitious name with Sunbiz, if applicable.
2. Get an EIN if you have employees or you formed an LLC/corporation.
3. Check with FDACS whether your product and sales volume qualify as cottage food, and review the labeling rules in Fla. Stat. 500.80.
4. Check zoning/home occupation rules and any HOA rules for your address.
5. Get your county business tax receipt, then your city one, per Fla. Stat. ch. 205.
6. Register for sales tax with the Department of Revenue if applicable.
7. Arrange insurance and confirm workers' comp status if you plan to hire.

Confirm this order and every requirement with the issuing office, since county and city rules differ. The Florida SBDC offers free one-on-one help opening a business.

What to do next

This page is general guidance, not legal, tax or financial advice, and local rules differ by county and city. A free tool can read what you type about your specific home-baked business — the product, the city, and whether you plan to sell online, at markets, or both — and show you which of these steps most likely apply to you, in order, with links to the issuing offices. Confirm everything with FDACS, your county and city offices, or the Florida SBDC before you spend money.

Local Permit Finder gives general guidance about Florida business licensing in plain language; it can be wrong, and it is not legal, tax or financial advice. Requirements differ by county and city — confirm with the issuing office, the Florida SBDC, or a Florida business attorney. Nothing you paste is stored.