Last verified: October 20, 2026. I’m a Texas home baker, not a lawyer — laws change, so always confirm with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture before you sell.

Cottage Food Laws by State

TENNESSEE COTTAGE FOOD AT A GLANCE

Annual sales cap: None — the Tennessee Food Freedom Act (T.C.A. § 53-1-118) sets no limit on how much you can sell

License or permit: Not required — no license, no permit, no registration, no fee. The Act exempts qualifying homemade foods from state licensing and permitting, and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture does not issue permits for products made under this law

Kitchen inspection: Not required (the one exception: the Tennessee Department of Health can investigate if a foodborne illness is reported)

Food handler course: Not required — the Act sets no training condition (still a smart idea — you’re responsible for the safety of what you sell)

Shipping: Shelf-stable (non-TCS) foods can be sold online or by phone and delivered inside Tennessee by you, your agent, a third-party vendor, or a third-party carrier. Foods that need refrigeration (TCS foods) can only be handed over in person — no shipping. No sales out of state under this exemption

Wholesale: Allowed for shelf-stable (non-TCS) foods only — the Act lets an agent or a third-party vendor, such as a retail shop or grocery store, sell them to the consumer. Refrigerated (TCS) foods cannot be sold wholesale

WHY TENNESSEE GIVES HOME BAKERS SO MUCH FREEDOM

Tennessee’s law is called the Food Freedom Act for a reason. Since July 1, 2022, it has exempted qualifying homemade foods from state licensing, permitting, and inspection — with no sales cap at all. Cities and counties can’t add their own rules on top of it, either: the Act preempts local jurisdictions from prohibiting or regulating the production and sale of homemade food items. And on July 1, 2025, the legislature widened it further, allowing certain foods that need refrigeration for the first time. If your food qualifies and your information for the consumer is right, Tennessee mostly gets out of your way.

WHAT YOU CAN (AND CAN’T) SELL

Tennessee splits homemade food into two groups, and the group decides how you can sell it.

Shelf-stable foods (non-TCS — no time or temperature control needed for safety): Breads, cookies, cakes, brownies, muffins, and pastries without custard or cream filling; candy, chocolate, fudge, hard candy, caramels, peanut brittle, pralines, and gummies; canned fruit, jams, jellies, and preserves; acidified canned foods like salsas, pickles, pickled vegetables, chow chow, and relish; low-acid canned foods that are pressure canned, like canned vegetables and beans; dry goods like pasta, spice blends, rice, and roasted coffee; dried fruits, vegetables, and candy; bottled condiments like ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, hot sauce, and marinades; and canned fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, and kombucha. Tennessee covers more than baked goods — that wider list surprises a lot of bakers.

Refrigerated foods (TCS — added July 1, 2025): Certain foods that need time or temperature control for safety can now be sold too, but only in person (see Where You Can Sell). A TCS food may not contain unpasteurized milk, alcoholic beverages, fish, shellfish products, meat, meat byproducts, or meat food products. Poultry is only allowed under the federal rules written into the Act — either the federal 1,000-poultry exemption (9 CFR 381.10(c)) or federally or state-inspected poultry bearing the official mark of inspection (9 CFR 381.10(d)).

Never under this exemption: Alcoholic beverages, and foods containing them; meat and meat products, including meat jerky (UT Extension is clear that no dried meats, including jerky, are allowed); fish and shellfish products; unpasteurized milk in a refrigerated (TCS) food; and pickled, canned, or preserved eggs, which UT Extension lists as excluded. Also out: anything made somewhere other than a private residence — a community kitchen, church kitchen, or commercial facility needs a food manufacturing license from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture instead.

One honest caution for canners: low-acid and acidified canned foods carry real risk if they’re processed wrong. Follow tested recipes and methods (UT Extension publishes guidance on choosing water bath vs. pressure canning under this Act), and when you’re not sure whether a food is shelf-stable or needs refrigeration, get it assessed before you sell it.

TENNESSEE LABELING REQUIREMENTS

Here is the trade-off for all that freedom: Tennessee is strict about the information you give the consumer. The Act requires this information on every homemade food item. The first three items come straight from the statute, worded as your name, home address, and telephone number — all three are required, with no substitutes:

  1. Your name — the name of the producer of the homemade food item
  2. Your home address — specifically your home address, not a P.O. box
  3. Your telephone number
  4. The name of the product — its common or usual name, like “Chocolate Chip Cookies,” not just your brand name
  5. Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight. Name specific allergens right in the ingredient list, the way federal rules require — the warning sentence below does not replace that
  6. Net weight or net volume in both U.S. and metric units — good practice, and the standard bakers in most other states follow. Note: Tennessee’s statute itself does not list a net weight requirement, so treat this one as best practice rather than a Tennessee rule
  7. This exact statement, verbatim (the Act does not specify a font size): This product was produced at a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens.

Where that information goes depends on how you sell: on a label affixed to the package if the item is packaged; on a label affixed to the container if it’s sold from a bulk container; on a placard displayed at the point of sale if it’s neither packaged nor in a bulk container; or on the webpage where the item is offered for sale, if it’s offered only online. Selling by telephone or custom order? You don’t have to display all of it, but you must tell the consumer the food is produced at a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection and may contain allergens — and have your name, address, phone number, product name, and ingredients readily available to give them on request.

WHERE YOU CAN SELL IN TENNESSEE

Directly from your home, farmers markets, roadside and farm stands, community events — and, for shelf-stable foods, much further. Non-TCS foods can be sold by you to the consumer in person or remotely, including by telephone or internet, or by your agent or a third-party vendor such as a retail shop or grocery store. They can be delivered by you, your agent, a third-party vendor, or a third-party carrier — so in-state shipping to a Tennessee customer is allowed for shelf-stable foods. Two firm limits: every sale must stay inside Tennessee (the exemption only applies to intrastate sales), and refrigerated (TCS) foods can only be sold in person, by you or by your agent — for example, at a farm stand on the property where the food was prepared. One more caution: UT Extension notes the Tennessee Department of Health does not allow restaurants or other food service establishments to use homemade products as ingredients in what they serve, so don’t count on restaurant sales.

YOUR 3 STEPS TO START

  1. Confirm which group your food falls in. Shelf-stable or refrigerated? That one answer decides whether you can sell online, ship, and sell through a shop — or only hand food to a customer in person. If a food contains unpasteurized milk, alcohol, fish, shellfish, or meat, it doesn’t qualify at all.
  2. Get your consumer information right. Name, home address, and telephone number; product name; ingredients in descending order by weight; and the verbatim statement. Put it on the package label, bulk container, placard, or webpage, depending on how you sell.
  3. Remember what the Act doesn’t exempt. It doesn’t exempt you from tax law, from other business rules, or from your responsibility to sell safe, unadulterated food. Keep simple sales records from day one — there’s no cap to watch, but good records protect you if a question ever comes up.

OFFICIAL TENNESSEE SOURCES

This guide is for informational purposes only and isn’t legal advice. Cottage food laws change — I last verified this page on October 20, 2026. When in doubt, ask the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

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