Florida Cottage Food Law: Selling Food From Home Up to $250,000

If you bake, cook, or preserve food in your home kitchen, Florida's cottage food law may let you sell it without a state permit or inspection. Under section 500.80, Florida Statutes, you can sell non-TCS foods from home with no permit or inspection as long as your annual gross sales stay at or under $250,000. The Legislature raised that cap from $50,000 through HB 663 in 2021, so older guides and some websites that still cite $50,000 are out of date.

This guide walks through florida cottage food law in plain steps: what the law covers, what it excludes, what you need before your first sale, what the required label says, and when you must move up to an FDACS food permit. It is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Confirm your situation with the agencies named below, and with an attorney or CPA if your business is more complex.

What Florida's Cottage Food Law Allows

Florida's cottage food rules rest on a few core points:

• No permit or inspection for annual gross sales up to $250,000.
• Internet and mail-order sales are allowed, so you can sell online and ship your products.
• LLCs are allowed. You may operate as a sole proprietor or through a limited liability company.
• State preemption. The state sets the food rules under this law, so a city or county cannot add its own cottage food regulations. A local business tax receipt is a separate matter, covered later in this guide.

What the Law Does Not Allow

• No wholesale. The exemption covers direct sales to consumers. Selling your products to stores, restaurants, or other resellers falls outside it.
• Non-TCS foods only. TCS means time and temperature control for safety, which refers to foods that must be kept at certain temperatures to limit bacterial growth. Cheesecake, custard, cream-filled pastries, and foods containing meat or fresh dairy commonly fall into this group. Confirm any specific product with FDACS before you sell it under the exemption.

When You Need an FDACS Food Permit Instead

The cottage food exemption is not your only path. You need a food permit from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) when:

• Your annual gross sales go above $250,000.
• You want to sell a TCS food.
• You want to sell wholesale.

Ask FDACS which permit fits your operation before you expand. Do not assume one permit covers every product line you add later.

Materials and Ingredients You Will Need

Gather these before you start. Your products will drive the details, so treat this as a working checklist rather than a complete one.

• A written recipe for each product, listing every ingredient with an exact weight or volume. Your label will need this ingredient list.
• Ingredients from suppliers you can document, with receipts saved for each purchase.
• A digital kitchen scale and measuring tools so every batch comes out the same.
• Packaging suited to each product, plus a way to seal and label it.
• Labels with the required statement printed in 10-point type.
• A sales log, either a spreadsheet or bookkeeping software, that records gross sales by month and by channel.
• Your legal name, and a fictitious name registration if you sell under another name.
• A Sunbiz account if you form an LLC or file a fictitious name online.

Step-by-Step: How to Start a Cottage Food Business in Florida

1. Confirm every product is non-TCS. Go through your product list one item at a time. Shelf-stable baked goods, jams, and dry mixes are often where home sellers begin. Anything that must be refrigerated to stay safe needs a closer look. If you are unsure about a product, ask FDACS before you sell it.
2. Estimate your annual gross sales. Gross sales means total sales before expenses. Project realistic volume for the next 12 months. If you expect to approach $250,000, plan your move to a permit before you cross the line, not after. Track actual sales from your first day.
3. Choose your business structure. A sole proprietorship requires no state filing. An LLC requires Articles of Organization filed with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations (Sunbiz). The costs are in the table below. Florida has no personal income tax. An LLC classified as a partnership or disregarded entity generally does not file a Florida corporate income tax return, but a Florida Partnership Information Return is required if one or more owners is a corporation. Confirm your filing obligations with a CPA.
4. Register a fictitious name if you use one. If your product or storefront name differs from your legal name, file a Fictitious Name Registration with the Division of Corporations. It costs $50 to register and $50 to renew. Registration is valid for 5 years and expires on December 31 of the fifth year. Renewal is filed between July 1 and December 31 of the expiration year. The name must be advertised at least once in a newspaper in the county where your principal place of business is located, though no proof of advertisement is filed.
5. Register for sales tax if you sell taxable goods. Florida's state sales tax rate is 6%. Businesses selling taxable goods must register as a sales and use tax dealer with the Florida Department of Revenue before they begin business. Whether a specific baked good or prepared item is taxable depends on how it is sold, so ask the Department of Revenue rather than guessing.
6. Check your local business tax receipt. Florida issues no general statewide business license. Many Florida cities and counties levy a local Business Tax Receipt for the address where you operate, under Chapter 205. A business tax receipt is a tax, not a competency license, and not every county or city levies one. Call your city or county tax collector and ask whether your home address requires one and how home-based food sales are treated. Zoning rules are separate from the food law, so check local ordinances for home businesses too.
7. Build the required label. Every package needs the exact statement shown in the label section below, printed in 10-point type. Ask FDACS which other label elements your products need.
8. Set up your sales records. Your gross sales total decides whether you still qualify, so log every sale with its date, amount, and channel, whether it is a farmers market, an online order, or a custom order. Keep receipts for ingredients and packaging so you can document your costs as well.
9. Sell within the rules. Sell directly to consumers at markets, online, or by mail. Do not sell to resellers. Check your running total against $250,000 every quarter.

Business Formation Costs (LLC and Name Filings)

If you form an LLC or register a fictitious name, budget for these state figures. Online LLC filings go through Sunbiz eFile.

Item	Cost	Timing or notes
Articles of Organization (LLC filing fee)	$100	No guaranteed turnaround is published. Online filings are processed in the order received.
Registered agent designation (LLC)	$25	Requires a physical street address in Florida, with no P.O. box. The agent must sign to accept the appointment.
Annual Report (LLC)	$138.75	Filed each year between January 1 and May 1.
Late annual report (LLC)	$538.75 total	Includes a $400 late fee for reports received after May 1.
Name reservation (optional)	$25	Holds a name for 120 days.
Fictitious name registration	$50 to register, $50 to renew	Valid for 5 years.

Your LLC name must end in Limited Liability Company, LLC, or L.L.C. Do not assume a name is approved until you receive a filing acknowledgment. Florida offers no expedited filing service for these documents. Walk-in service is available at 2415 N. Monroe Street, Suite 810, Tallahassee, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, where most requests are completed while you wait. If an LLC fails to file its annual report by the third Friday in September, the state administratively dissolves it.

An LLC can separate business debts from your personal assets, but it does not protect you from your own negligence and does not remove your labeling or sales tax duties. Whether the added cost is worth it for your situation is a question for an attorney.

The Required Label

Florida law requires this statement on products sold under the cottage food exemption, printed in 10-point type:

Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida's food safety regulations

Put the statement on every package and keep it legible. The label must also show the name and address of the cottage food operation, the product name, the ingredients in descending order by weight, the net weight or volume, and allergen information, plus nutrition information if you make a nutritional claim. Confirm with FDACS which additional label elements apply to your products.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using $50,000 as your limit. The current cap is $250,000 under section 500.80.
• Selling a refrigerated or cream-filled product under the exemption without confirming it is non-TCS.
• Selling to a local shop or restaurant. That is wholesale, which the exemption excludes.
• Leaving off the label statement, or printing it in type smaller than 10-point.
• Counting only farmers market sales. Online and mail-order sales count toward the same annual cap.
• Skipping the local business tax receipt check because you assume a home business is exempt. Not every city or county levies one, but many do.
• Forgetting sales tax registration before your first taxable sale.
• Letting the LLC annual report lapse. Miss the third Friday in September and the state can administratively dissolve the company.
• Selling under a business name you have not registered as a fictitious name.
• Making health claims on labels or in marketing, such as saying a product treats or prevents a condition. Describe your products factually and avoid claims about health effects.

Expected Results

Results vary widely, and no one can promise you income. What you can reasonably expect is a relatively short path to a first sale if your products are non-TCS and your paperwork is in order. Many home sellers start with a small product line, sell through markets and online orders, and expand as they learn what customers buy. Early sales may be modest while you refine recipes, pricing, and packaging.

Plan around the steps rather than a launch date. No guaranteed turnaround is published for Sunbiz filings, so build in processing time. Sales tax registration and a local business tax receipt can add time as well, depending on your city or county.

Any sales growth, timeline, or income figure you read online is an example, not a forecast. Your results will depend on your products, pricing, location, and marketing.

Next Steps and Professional Help

Start with the agency pages. Use FDACS for food rules, the Florida Department of Revenue for sales tax, and Sunbiz for LLC and fictitious name filings. You can register for sales tax through the Department of Revenue registration page, and file a fictitious name through the Sunbiz fictitious name registration page. The Florida SBDC Network offers business advising if you are deciding between a sole proprietorship and an LLC.

Talk to an attorney about liability and entity choice, and to a CPA about sales tax and income tax treatment. Do this before you approach $250,000 in annual sales or consider any wholesale account.

Disclaimer: This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Florida statutes, agency rules, and fees change. Verify every figure with the agency named before you act.