Cottage Food Law Map › Handouts › Indiana

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Cottage food quick guide · Last reviewed October 2026

Selling homemade food in Indiana

Mendocino
Food Consulting

Sales cap
No cap (HBV); $1.5M (homestead vendors)
Permit or registration
None; food handler certificate
Online & shipping
Online with delivery or mail within Indiana
Sell through stores
No stores, restaurants, or wholesale
Refrigerated foods
Not for home based vendors; homestead vendors can sell some prepared foods (July 2026)

Allowed from a home kitchen

Sourdough bread · Cookies & brownies · Fruit pie · Strawberry jam · Granola · Spice rubs & seasoning blends · Roasted coffee · Loose-leaf tea blends · Freeze-dried candy · Chocolates & truffles · Toffee, fudge & caramels · Nut butter · Pure honey

Home kitchen, with a special license or program

Home-cooked meals

Needs a commercial kitchen or other license

Pumpkin pie · Cheesecake · Cake with cream cheese frosting · Meat tamales · Low-sugar or freezer jam · Pepper jelly · Shelf-stable salsa · Fresh salsa (refrigerated) · Hot sauce · Canned pickles · Sauerkraut & kimchi · Canned tomato sauce · Vanilla extract · Garlic or herb-infused oil · Beef jerky‡ · Cheese & yogurt‡ · Cold-pressed juice‡ · Kombucha

Ask the agency first

Cake with buttercream · Macarons · Fruit tamales · Dried fruit & fruit leather · Marshmallows · Infused honey · Fruit-infused vinegar · Mustard (no egg)

Every product has conditions, such as registration, training, labeling, and sales limits. See the full guide for each one. ‡ General rule; not specifically addressed in this state's guidance.

How to start

  1. Check that the product doesn't need refrigeration and isn't excluded (acidified, fermented, kombucha, homemade extracts, and others).
  2. Get a food handler certificate from an ANSI-accredited provider.
  3. No permit or inspection is needed, but check local zoning.
  4. Sell directly to Indiana consumers in person, by phone, or online, and deliver in person, by mail, or by carrier. Keep each buyer's address for a year.
  5. Label every product and post labels on your website.

Key label items

Use the exact required wording shown in the full guide and on the agency's site.

  • “This product is home produced and processed and the production area has not been inspected by the state department of health. NOT FOR RESALE.”
  • Producer's name and primary residence address
  • Common or usual name of the product
  • Ingredients in descending order by weight
  • Net weight or volume
  • Date the product was processed
  • Post each label on your website

Scan for the full Indiana guide: product-by-product rules, label details, and official sources.

your-site.netlify.app/cottage-food-laws/indiana/

Created by Mendocino Food Consulting (mendocinofoodconsulting.com). Food science questions about your product? Book a call: calendly.com/mendocinofoodconsulting. We are food scientists, not attorneys.

General information only, not legal advice, and no warranty that it is complete or current. Quick facts come from 50-state trackers; product rules come from the state sources listed in the full guide. Cities and counties may add their own rules, and selling across state lines can bring in federal FDA requirements. Confirm with your state agency or local health department before selling. Last reviewed October 2026.

Free to print and share. Read the full Indiana guide

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