Do I Need a Permit to Sell Food From Home in Florida?

The Short Answer: No State Permit Required

Under Florida Statute § 500.80, cottage food operations are exempt from state food permits, state registration, and routine kitchen inspections. You don't file anything with FDACS (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services) to start selling eligible products from your home kitchen.

This catches a lot of new sellers off guard because the exemption sounds too simple. But it's real — Florida's cottage food law explicitly bypasses the standard commercial permitting requirements of § 500.12. No application, no state cottage-food fee, and no routine pre-sale kitchen inspection.

What "Exempt" Actually Means

The exemption applies if you meet all of these conditions:

• You sell only non-potentially hazardous (non-TCS) foods — shelf-stable items that don't need refrigeration
• Your gross annual sales do not exceed $250,000
• You sell direct-to-consumer only — no wholesale, no consignment, no selling to restaurants or stores
• All sales and deliveries happen within Florida
• Every product carries a compliant label with all seven required elements, including the cottage food disclaimer

Miss any one of these conditions and the exemption doesn't apply. If your best-selling product requires refrigeration, you need a commercial food permit — regardless of how small your operation is.

The "No Permit" Confusion

People search for "Florida home bakery license" expecting to find an application form. There isn't one. Florida doesn't issue home bakery licenses because residential kitchens can't be commercially licensed. You either qualify for the cottage food exemption (no permit needed) or you need to move into a commercial kitchen and apply for a standard food establishment permit through FDACS or DBPR.

Any website or service that charges you a "cottage food registration fee" or "home bakery permit fee" is a private commercial provider, not a state agency. Florida charges exactly $0 to operate as a cottage food business at the state level.

What You Do Still Need

The permit exemption covers state food safety regulation. It doesn't cover everything else:

Local Business Tax Receipt (BTR). A city or county may require a home business to register and pay a BTR fee under its applicable rules; examples in the research range from $25 to $75 per year. This is a local administrative requirement under F.S. Chapter 205, separate from food safety.

Business name registration. If you operate under any name other than your legal name, you need a Fictitious Name Registration ($50 on Sunbiz.org). An LLC costs $125 to form.

Compliant labels. Every product needs a label with your business name and home address, ingredients, net weight, allergen declarations, and the mandatory disclaimer in at least 10-point type.

Sales tax certificate (conditional). If you sell candy, confections, or food for immediate consumption, you'll need to register with the Florida Department of Revenue and collect sales tax. Baked goods sold for off-premises consumption are generally exempt.

When a Permit Is Required

You cross out of cottage food territory and into commercial permitting when:

• Your product requires refrigeration (cream cheese frosting, custard, fresh dairy, meat)
• You want to sell wholesale to stores, cafes, or restaurants
• Your annual gross sales exceed $250,000
• You want to ship products out of Florida
• You want to operate a food truck (DBPR license required — $347/year plus $50 application fee)

At that point, you're looking at either an FDACS commercial food permit or a DBPR food service license, depending on what you're making and where you're serving it. Both require a permitted commercial kitchen — your home kitchen cannot be upgraded to commercial status.

For the full permit-vs-exemption decision tree and a commercial transition planner, see the Florida Cottage Food & Home Food Business Guide.

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