Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Law Tennessee: What Home Bakers Can Sell
A plain look at Tennessee's cottage food rules so you can sell with confidence.
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What to remember
- The law is called the Tennessee Food Freedom Act (TFFA).
- Homemade food items are exempt from state licensing, permitting, inspecting, packaging, and labeling rules, except in some situations involving the department.
- No dairy, meat, or poultry in what you sell.
- You sell your homemade items directly to the person who eats them, in person or remotely.
If you bake from your home kitchen in Tennessee and sell to neighbors, coworkers, and people who find you online, this is the set of rules that covers you. It is worth reading closely before you take your first paid order, because the exemptions are generous but the limits are firm. Start with cottage food law requirements so you know what to check before you bake for money.
What the Tennessee Food Freedom Act exempts
The law says that producing and selling homemade food items is exempt from all licensing, permitting, inspecting, packaging, and labeling laws of the state, except in specified circumstances involving the department. In plain terms, you are not applying for a state food permit to sell a tray of brownies from your kitchen, and you are not required to run your kitchen through a state inspection to do it.
That exemption is the reason home baking is possible for so many people in Tennessee. It also means the responsibility sits with you. Nobody is checking your kitchen for you, so your own habits, your own cleaning, and your own record keeping become the thing that protects your customers and your name.
The dairy, meat, and poultry line
This is the rule that changes recipes. Homemade food items that do not contain dairy, meat, or poultry may be sold by the producer to the consumer. So the bakes you sell cannot contain dairy, meat, or poultry.
For a baker, that reaches further than it first sounds. Butter is dairy. Milk is dairy. Cream, cheese, and yogurt are dairy. So a butter heavy cookie, a cream filled cake, or a milk based glaze sits outside what you can sell under this law. Before you build a menu, go through each recipe line by line and write down every ingredient, then mark the ones that are dairy, meat, or poultry.
If you are unsure whether a specific ingredient counts, do not guess and do not rely on a forum answer. Ask the department. Our guide to cottage food law restrictions walks through how to sort the ingredients you use most.
Who you can sell to, and how
The law describes sales by the producer to the consumer, whether in person or remotely. That means you sell your homemade items to the person who is buying them to eat, and it can happen face to face at a market or pickup, or remotely, such as an order placed online and handed over or delivered.
What that does not describe is your bakes passing through a middleman on the way to the eater. If you are considering selling through a shop, a cafe, or another business that would resell your items, stop and confirm with the department first, because that is a different kind of sale than the one the law describes.
Pricing comes next. Once you know what you can legally sell, work out what a batch costs so your prices cover your ingredients, your packaging, and your time. Our guide to cottage food law guidelines is a good next read on keeping your home shop tidy and consistent.
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Before you take your first order
Confirm the current law
Read the Tennessee Food Freedom Act page from the department and check the exemptions and the specified circumstances involving the department.
Audit every recipe
Write down each ingredient in each bake you plan to sell. Remove anything that is dairy, meat, or poultry.
Decide how you will sell
In person at markets and pickups, or remotely by order. Both are described in the law. Confirm anything else with the department first.
Set up a simple label
Bake name, your name, and the ingredient list, so buyers know what they are eating.
Price before you advertise
Know your cost per batch and your price per item before you post a menu.
Common questions
What is the cottage food law called in Tennessee?
It is the Tennessee Food Freedom Act, also commonly called the Tennessee Cottage Food Law or the Cottage Food Industry Act.
Do I need a permit or license to sell baked goods from my home in Tennessee?
The law exempts the production and sale of homemade food items from all licensing, permitting, inspecting, packaging, and labeling laws of the state, except in specified circumstances involving the department. Check those exceptions before you sell in a new way.
Can I sell cookies made with butter in Tennessee?
Homemade food items that do not contain dairy, meat, or poultry may be sold by the producer to the consumer. Butter and milk are dairy, so a butter based cookie falls outside that description. Confirm with the department if you are unsure about an ingredient.
Can I sell my bakes online in Tennessee?
The law describes sales by the producer to the consumer, whether in person or remotely. Selling to the person who eats the bake, including by remote order, fits that description. Selling through a business that resells your items is a different situation, so confirm it first.
Who can I sell to?
The law describes the producer selling to the consumer. Your bakes go to the person buying them to eat, not through another business that resells them.
Sources
This is general information about Tennessee's cottage food rules, not legal or tax advice. Rules can change and details depend on your situation. Confirm with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture before you sell.