Cottage food rules
Home Bakery License in Indiana: Requirements
A plain look at Indiana home-based vendor rules, so you know what to confirm before you take your first order.
On this page
What to remember
- Indiana sorts food sellers into two groups: Retail Food Establishments and Home-Based Vendors.
- Home food sales became possible under House Enrolled Act 1309 in 2009.
- House Enrolled Act 1149 in 2022 defines the requirements for home-based vendors.
- ServSafe Food Handler satisfies the training requirement in IC 16-42-5.3.
- Your county health department can tell you whether regulatory compliance applies to you.
The word license gets thrown around a lot in baking groups, and it covers a few different things in Indiana. What matters is that the state law sets the frame, and your county health department helps you work out whether you need to go through a compliance process at all. Hamilton County, for example, has collected documents to help home-based vendors walk through exactly that question. If you have sold bakes in another state before, the shape of it will feel familiar. Our guide to Illinois home bakery requirements is a useful comparison for how a neighboring state handles the same questions.
Start by working out which seller you are
Purdue University puts every person who sells food to an end consumer in Indiana into one of two buckets. You are either a Retail Food Establishment or a Home-Based Vendor. That single question decides almost everything that follows, because the requirements sit on the Home-Based Vendor side. A home baker making cakes and cookies from her own kitchen is trying to be the second thing, not the first. Confirm the answer with your county before you print labels or take a deposit.
What the Indiana laws actually say
House Enrolled Act 1309, passed in 2009, is the law that made it possible for individuals to prepare certain foods out of their homes as a Home-Based Vendor. House Enrolled Act 1149, passed in 2022, defines the requirements for home-based vendors in the preparation and sale of food products. Read together, the first law opened the door and the second one describes what you have to do once you are through it.
The training question
Indiana has a training requirement written into IC 16-42-5.3, and ServSafe Food Handler satisfies it. That is a course you can take online and finish in an afternoon, which is a relief if you are fitting this around school pickups. Keep the certificate somewhere you can find it, because you may be asked to show it. A course like this also tightens up the habits that keep your bakes safe, which is worth something on its own.
What your county will want to see
Confirm your category
Ask your county health department whether you fall under the Home-Based Vendor rules or the Retail Food Establishment rules.
Work through the county checklist
Some counties publish documents specifically to help home-based vendors determine whether regulatory compliance is required. Ask for them by name.
Sort out your training
ServSafe Food Handler satisfies the training requirement outlined in IC 16-42-5.3. Take it early so it is not the thing holding you up.
Get approval from every department that applies
Johnson County advises that once you have gained approval from all the appropriate departments and have a license, you may open.
Follow the food code
Johnson County also notes that the ISDH Food Code Rule must be followed once you are operating. Build your kitchen habits around it from day one.
Before you take your first order
Do the county call before you do anything else, because everything downstream depends on the answer. Once you know what applies to you, you can set up your shop, price your bakes properly, and take orders without wondering whether you are allowed to. If you want to see how another state lays out its home baker rules, the Colorado requirements and the Florida requirements are both worth a read for comparison. Then get your costing sorted so the first month of selling is actually profitable.
Try the free bake pricing calculator
Free, no signup.
Common questions
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from my home in Indiana?
Indiana law draws a line between Retail Food Establishments and Home-Based Vendors, and your county health department is the right place to confirm which applies to you and what approval you need. Johnson County guidance says you may open once you have approval from all the appropriate departments and a license.
What did House Enrolled Act 1149 change?
House Enrolled Act 1149, passed in 2022, defines the requirements for home-based vendors in the preparation and sale of food products in Indiana.
What training do I need as a home-based vendor in Indiana?
There is a training requirement outlined in IC 16-42-5.3, and ServSafe Food Handler satisfies it.
Where do I find out if compliance applies to me?
Start with your county health department. Hamilton County, for example, has collected documents to help home-based vendors work through determining whether regulatory compliance is required.
What rule do I follow once I am open?
Johnson County advises that the ISDH Food Code Rule must be followed.
Sources
This is general information about Indiana rules for home-based vendors, not legal advice. Requirements can change, and your county health department is the authority on what applies to your kitchen.