Cottage food rules
Indiana Cottage Food Laws: What Home Bakers Can Sell
Know what Indiana lets you sell from your home kitchen, and what has to come from somewhere else.
On this page
What to remember
- Indiana’s home-based vendor rules come from House Enrolled Act 1149, passed in 2022.
- IC 16-42-5.3 took effect on July 1, 2022, and begins with food you made, grown, or raised yourself.
- The law covers shelf stable homemade food sold direct to consumers.
- You need an ANSI food handler certificate and the required label statement.
- Food outside the scope has to come from a permitted, inspected food establishment.
The rules set a scope rather than a menu of approved bakes. Once you know the scope, you can hold any recipe up against it and get a straight answer. Start with the label side too, because the required statement has to be on your packaging from your very first sale. Our guide to Indiana cottage food label requirements walks through that wording line by line.
What the law covers
Indiana code IC 16-42-5.3 sets out what a home-based vendor may prepare and sell, beginning with food that is made, grown, or raised by an individual. From there it covers shelf stable homemade food sold direct to consumers. That is the whole shape of the list: your own food, stable on a shelf, sold straight to the person who eats it. A loaf, a tray of cookies, a jar of jam you put up yourself all sit inside that description. A cream filled cake that needs a fridge does not.
What falls outside it
Foods that are not covered within the scope of Indiana’s home-based vendor rule must be produced by a permitted operator within a food establishment inspected by a local health department or the Indiana Department of Health. That is the line to watch. If a bake does not fit the scope, it does not belong in a home kitchen sale, no matter how good it is. It belongs to a permitted, inspected setup instead.
What to line up before your first sale
Confirm the food is yours
IC 16-42-5.3 begins with food that is made, grown, or raised by an individual. Your own baking is the starting point.
Confirm it is shelf stable
Indiana’s law covers shelf stable homemade food. If a bake depends on refrigeration, check it against the scope before you sell it.
Sell direct to consumers
The law is described as selling shelf stable homemade food direct to consumers. That is the sales route it covers.
Get your ANSI food handler certificate
Indiana’s home-based vendor law requires an ANSI food handler certificate.
Put the label statement on
The law requires a label statement on what you sell. Have the wording sorted before your first order goes out.
Check anything that falls outside
Foods not covered by the home-based vendor rule must be produced by a permitted operator in an inspected food establishment.
Compare with the states around you
If you sell across a state line or you are just working out how Indiana compares, the neighbours are worth a read. Ohio’s cottage food rules and Illinois label requirements both cover ground that will feel familiar. Every state draws its own line on what a home kitchen can sell, so do not carry one state’s answer into another.
One more thing worth doing early: write down what you sell and what is in it. When a customer asks whether a bake contains nuts or dairy, you want that answer on hand, and it makes the label statement simpler to fill in every time.
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- Indiana Cottage Food Law: Label Requirements
- Does Ohio Have Cottage Food Laws? What Home Bakers Can Sell
- Illinois Cottage Food Law: Label Requirements
Common questions
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from my Indiana home?
Indiana's law is written for home-based vendors. It has operated since 2022 and covers shelf stable homemade food sold direct to consumers, with an ANSI food handler certificate and a required label statement. Foods that fall outside that scope must be produced by a permitted operator in a food establishment inspected by a local health department or the Indiana Department of Health.
When did the Indiana home-based vendor law take effect?
Indiana code IC 16-42-5.3 took effect on July 1, 2022. House Enrolled Act 1149, passed in 2022, defines the requirements for home-based vendors in the preparation and sale of food products.
What certificate do I need to sell from home in Indiana?
An ANSI food handler certificate. Indiana's home-based vendor law requires it, along with the required label statement on what you sell.
Is there an official list of approved foods?
The law sets a scope rather than a menu. It begins with food that is made, grown, or raised by an individual, and it covers shelf stable homemade food sold direct to consumers. Foods that are not covered within that scope must be produced by a permitted operator in an inspected food establishment.
Can I sell to a shop instead of direct to customers?
Indiana's home-based vendor law is described as selling shelf stable homemade food direct to consumers. If your plan goes beyond that, the food has to be produced by a permitted operator in a food establishment inspected by a local health department or the Indiana Department of Health.
Does the label need to be on every item?
Indiana's home-based vendor law requires a required label statement. Our guide to Indiana label requirements covers the wording, so you can get it right on your packaging before your first order.
Sources
This is general information about Indiana's home-based vendor rules, not legal advice. Rules can change, so check with the Indiana Department of Health or your local health department before you sell.