Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Law in Jacksonville, Florida
The rules for selling home baked goods in Jacksonville, in plain words.
On this page
What to remember
- No state food permit is needed to make and sell cottage food products in Florida.
- Duval County does not require a county registration or inspection for cottage food operations.
- Gross sales are capped at $250,000 a year.
- Direct to consumer, online, and mail sales are all allowed.
- Your bakes must not need time or temperature control to stay safe.
If you bake in Jacksonville and sell from your kitchen, this is the county you want to be in. The state rules and the county rules line up, and there is no permit line to stand in before your first order. That said, the details still matter, and the rest of this guide walks through what the law actually asks of you. For the statewide picture, see Florida cottage food law requirements.
What you can sell and what you cannot
Florida uses a broad standard for cottage food. Any food that does not require time or temperature control for safety can qualify. That covers a lot of what home bakers make: breads, cookies, cakes, brownies, muffins, and plenty of other shelf stable bakes. The line to hold in your head is whether the food has to stay cold or hot to be safe. If it does, it is not a cottage food product.
The broad standard is generous, but it is not a free pass on everything. Build your menu around bakes that sit safely at room temperature, and check the rules before you add something new to your list. The Florida cottage food law permit guide explains what a permit would and would not cover if you ever step outside cottage food.
How you are allowed to sell
Direct to consumer sales are allowed. So are online and mail sales, statewide. That means you are not limited to a table at a Jacksonville farmers market or a neighbor’s porch. You can take orders online and ship your bakes, which is a real advantage for a home baker building income from a phone.
What you sell in still has to be labeled correctly, and the label rules are their own topic. Read Florida cottage food label requirements before you print your first sticker. If you are just getting started and want the full checklist in order, how to start selling from your Florida kitchen walks through it step by step.
Keep your records simple and steady
You do not need a county inspection, but you do need to know your own numbers. A simple habit works: note every sale and every batch cost as it happens, so your yearly gross total is never a mystery in December. Your sales total matters for the $250,000 cap, and it matters for taxes too. Florida cottage food law and taxes covers what home bakers owe.
Baking and bookkeeping compete for the same hours, so make the record keeping as small as you can. Recipes with real costing and ingredient inventory make both jobs easier, because the cost of a batch is already worked out when you go to price it.
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Common questions
Do I need a permit to sell baked goods from my Jacksonville home?
No. Cottage food operators in Florida can produce and sell cottage food products directly to consumers without a food permit from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and Duval County requires no county registration or inspection either.
Is there a sales limit in Duval County?
Yes. The cap is $250,000 in annual gross sales. Gross means total sales before expenses, so track your sales as you go rather than guessing at the end of the year.
Can I sell online or ship my bakes?
Yes. Direct to consumer sales and online or mail sales are allowed statewide for Florida cottage food operations.
What kinds of food count as cottage food in Florida?
Florida uses a broad standard: any food that does not require time or temperature control for safety. Most shelf stable bakes fit, while anything that must stay cold or hot to be safe does not.
Do I need to label my bakes?
Labeling is required for cottage food products in Florida, and the label has specific rules. Check the Florida cottage food label requirements before you print your first batch of stickers.
Sources
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules can change, so confirm the current requirements with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Duval County before you rely on them for your business.