Cottage food quick guide · Last reviewed October 2026
Selling homemade food in Louisiana
- Sales cap
- $100,000 (from Aug 2026)
- Permit or registration
- No health permit; sales tax certificates
- Online & shipping
- Online sales in Louisiana
- Sell through stores
- Stores and restaurants, except breads, cakes, cookies, and pies
- Refrigerated foods
- Custard and cream items with pasteurized dairy
Allowed from a home kitchen
Sourdough bread · Cookies & brownies · Fruit pie · Cake with buttercream · Macarons · Strawberry jam · Pepper jelly · Shelf-stable salsa · Hot sauce · Canned pickles · Granola · Spice rubs & seasoning blends · Freeze-dried candy · Chocolates & truffles · Toffee, fudge & caramels · Pure honey · Mustard (no egg)
Needs a commercial kitchen or other license
Meat tamales · Garlic or herb-infused oil‡ · Home-cooked meals‡ · Beef jerky‡ · Cheese & yogurt‡ · Cold-pressed juice‡ · Kombucha‡
Ask the agency first
Pumpkin pie · Cheesecake · Cake with cream cheese frosting · Fruit tamales · Low-sugar or freezer jam · Fresh salsa (refrigerated) · Sauerkraut & kimchi · Canned tomato sauce · Roasted coffee · Loose-leaf tea blends · Dried fruit & fruit leather · Marshmallows · Nut butter · Infused honey · Vanilla extract · Fruit-infused vinegar
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.
Limited sources: the detailed rules for Louisiana rely on the statute digest plus a secondary summary (Forrager). Confirm with the state agency.
How to start
- Check that the product is a low-risk homemade food covered by R.S. 40:4.9. Low-acid canned foods are excluded.
- Get a Louisiana sales tax certificate and local sales tax certificates where you sell. No health permit is needed.
- Sell in Louisiana from home, at markets and events, or online. Breads, cakes, cookies, and pies must be sold directly; other cottage foods can also go through stores and restaurants.
- For breads, cakes, cookies, and pies: no employees in production, no pets in the kitchen, and refrigerated ingredients at 45°F or below.
- Label every product.
Key label items
Use the exact required wording shown in the full guide and on the agency's site.
- A statement that the food was not produced in a licensed or regulated facility
- Product name and ingredients
- Your name and contact information