Cottage food rules
New Cottage Food Laws in Tennessee: What to Know
What Tennessee's home food law lets you sell, and the two limits to check first.
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What to remember
- The Tennessee Food Freedom Act is also called the Tennessee Cottage Food Law or the Cottage Food Industry Act.
- No dairy, meat, or poultry in anything you sell.
- You sell directly to the consumer, whether in person or remotely.
- State licensing, permitting, inspection, packaging, and labeling rules do not apply, apart from specific situations involving the department.
- Start with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and your local health department.
If you bake in your own kitchen and sell to people nearby, Tennessee is one of the friendlier states to do it in. The state runs one of the most open home food laws in the country, and the basics are short enough to read over coffee. If you sell near a state line, the rules in Mississippi and Kentucky are worth a look too.
What the Tennessee Food Freedom Act covers
The law goes by a few names. You will see it called the Tennessee Food Freedom Act, the Tennessee Cottage Food Law, or the Cottage Food Industry Act. Under it, making 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.
That is a wide exemption. For most home bakers it means no state license to apply for, no inspection of your kitchen, and no state label approval to wait on before you sell a loaf or a box of cookies.
The two limits that decide what you can bake
First, the food cannot contain dairy, meat, or poultry. That one line shapes your whole menu. Butter, milk, cream, and cheese are all dairy, so a butter heavy cookie or a cream filled pie sits outside the law as written. Second, the sale has to run from you, the producer, to the consumer. The law covers that whether the sale happens in person or remotely, so a porch pickup and a local delivery both fit.
Why the rules keep moving
Tennessee has revisited this law more than once. A fiscal note on SB 693/HB 813 said the legislation would decrease what the Department of Agriculture spends traveling to and investigating community kitchens, food manufacturers using a community kitchen, and small manufacturers. In plain terms, the state has been stepping back from chasing small home producers. That direction is good news for you, but it also means the details can shift from session to session, so check before you build a season around them.
Confirm your rules before you take orders
Guidance for home based food businesses in Tennessee says to start with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and your local health department. They can tell you the current rules, which foods are allowed, and whether any registration step applies to you. Do that before you announce a menu, not after. If you also sell across a state line, check that state’s rules on their own, like Arkansas.
Read the exemption yourself
Look up the Tennessee Food Freedom Act on the Department of Agriculture site so you are working from the current wording, not a post from three years ago.
Check your ingredient list
Go through every recipe you plan to sell and mark anything with dairy, meat, or poultry.
Call the department and your local health department
Ask about current rules, allowed foods, and any registration step that applies to your kitchen.
Try the free bake pricing calculator
Free, no signup.
Once your menu is inside the rules, the next question is what to charge. A clear cost per bake makes that decision much easier than guessing.
Common questions
Do I need a license to sell baked goods from my home in Tennessee?
Under the Tennessee Food Freedom Act, the production and sale of homemade food items are exempt from state licensing, permitting, inspection, packaging, and labeling laws, except in specified circumstances involving the department. Confirm your situation with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and your local health department.
Can I sell online or only in person?
The law covers homemade food items sold by the producer to the consumer, whether in person or remotely.
Can I use butter in my cookies?
Homemade food items sold under the law must not contain dairy, meat, or poultry. Butter, milk, and cream are dairy, so those recipes fall outside it as written.
Who should I contact first?
Guidance for home based food businesses in Tennessee points to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and your local health department for current rules, allowed foods, and any registration steps.
Is this law likely to change again?
Tennessee has revisited it before. A fiscal note on SB 693/HB 813 described savings from reduced travel and investigation of community kitchens and small manufacturers, so the direction has been toward less oversight of small producers. Check the current text before each season.
Sources
This is general information about how the law reads, not legal advice. Rules change, and only the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and your local health department can confirm what applies to your kitchen.