Cottage Food Laws by State
Kentucky Cottage Food Laws
Kentucky treats home-based processors as a registered category rather than an unregulated one. You register with the Food Safety Branch for $50 a year, make only non-potentially hazardous foods in your own home, and keep gross sales at or under $60,000. No state training course is required for this tier, and kitchens are not routinely inspected under the regulation.
Annual sales cap
$60,000
Permit
Required
Training
Not required
Online sales
Allowed
Across state lines
Not allowed
Wholesale
Not allowed
Verified against official sources on 2026-10-21.
Where You Can Sell in Kentucky
Sales must go straight to consumers inside Kentucky. State law names pickup or delivery from your home, markets, roadside stands, community events, and online sales as acceptable channels. The regulation also lists festivals, fairs, and charity events. Selling across state lines or reselling through other businesses falls outside the exemption, and each product needs the home-produced label statement.
| Channel | Status |
|---|---|
| From home | Allowed |
| Farmers markets | Allowed |
| Events & festivals |
Conditions apply
Regulation lists flea markets, festivals, county fairs, craft fairs, and non-profit charity events. |
| Roadside stands | Allowed |
| Online orders |
Conditions apply
Sales must be directly to consumers within Kentucky; orders and payment may be taken by phone, electronically, or online. |
What You Can Sell in Kentucky
Baked goods like bread, cakes, cookies, and fruit pies are covered, along with jams, jellies, candy, dried herbs, nuts, granola, and popcorn. Cream, custard, and meringue items and cheesecake are excluded, as are garlic-in-oil products and raw sprouts. Canned acid or low-acid foods need the separate farmer-only microprocessor certification.
Non-potentially hazardous foods; the statute's list is illustrative, and the regulation (902 KAR 45:090) sets out the foods covered.
Bread
Candy
Dry goods
Preserves
Snacks
Allowed with conditions
- Glass containers for jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butter — Must have suitable rigid metal covers.
Not allowed
Limits and Requirements
Annual sales cap
$60,000
- Gross income from product sales may not exceed $60,000 per year
- Must be a Kentucky resident
- Products may be sold only directly to consumers within Kentucky
- Must be produced in your home
- No acid, acidified, or low-acid canned foods unless certified as a home-based microprocessor
- Hygiene rules apply: no children under 12 or pets in the kitchen and no domestic activities during production
How to Start Selling in Kentucky
-
1
Confirm your products
Check that each item is non-potentially hazardous and appears in KRS 217.015(56) or 902 KAR 45:090; canned low-acid or acidified foods need the separate microprocessor certification.
-
2
Apply for registration
Submit form DFS-250 with the $50 fee to the Food Safety Branch. Forms are available from the Branch or a University of Kentucky Extension office.
-
3
Prepare your kitchen
Follow the regulation's hygiene rules, including hand washing, sanitized surfaces, and keeping pets and young children out during production.
-
4
Label your products
Include the required label information, the home-produced statement, and allergen information.
-
5
Sell directly to Kentucky consumers
Sell from home, at markets, roadside stands, community events, or online to in-state buyers.
-
6
Renew each year
Registration expires March 31; renew with a new DFS-250 and $50 fee.
What a Compliant Kentucky Label Looks Like
Quickly Cottage builds your ingredient list, detects allergens, and adds the required disclosure automatically.
Product
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake Pops
Net Wt: 8 oz (227g)
Produced: October 24, 2026
Sunflower Home Bakery
412 Maple Ave, Springfield, KY
Ingredients:
Enriched Bleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Sugar, Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Corn Starch, Salt, Soybean Oil; Sugar, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Milkfat, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla; Sugar, Corn Starch, Vegetable Oil (Palm), Confectioner's Glaze, Carnauba Wax, FD&C Colors; Water, Propylene Glycol, FD&C Red 40.
Contains:
This product is home-produced and processed.
Label Requirements
Every cottage food product sold in Kentucky must have a label that includes the following.
| Required field |
|---|
| All 9 FDA major allergens present |
| Complete ingredient list, in descending order by weight |
| Business name |
| Business address |
| Product name |
| Net weight |
| Date of production |
| "Not inspected" disclosure statement |
Kentucky Labeling Notes
- Products not labeled as required are deemed misbranded.
Required Label Disclosure
This exact text must appear on every label you sell in Kentucky.
This product is home-produced and processed.
Quickly Cottage adds this to your label automatically.
Generate your Kentucky label in minutes
Ingredient lists, allergens, and the required disclosure — built in automatically.
Kentucky Cottage Food — Common Questions
Register with the Kentucky Department for Public Health, Food Safety Branch, using form DFS-250 and a $50 fee; registration expires each March 31 and is renewed annually.
The limit is $60,000 in gross sales.
The home-based processor rules do not require training; only the separate home-based microprocessor tier requires a Food Processing School.
Online sales are allowed. Sales must be directly to consumers within Kentucky; orders and payment may be taken by phone, electronically, or online.
Not allowed: Acid foods, acidified foods, formulated acid foods, and low-acid canned foods (microprocessor tier only); Cream-filled pies, custard and custard pies, meringue-topped pies, cheesecake, and cream, custard, or meringue pastries; Raw seed sprouts; Garlic-in-oil products; Pureed baby foods.
Resources and Law History
Who to contact
Kentucky Department for Public Health, Food Safety Branch
502-564-7181
Agency website2018
Home-based processor law expanded; registration system required beginning January 1, 2020.
2026
SB 73 (2026 Acts ch. 52) added pork lard or tallow-based cosmetic products to the home-based processor definition and requires regulations to delineate covered products.
Law reference: Kentucky Cottage Food Law (KRS 217.015(56) and KRS 217.136 (home-based processors)) · Last updated 2026 · Always verify requirements with your state's department of agriculture before selling.
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