Is there a limit on how much I can earn?

Not on the home-based vendor path — it has no sales cap. The homestead vendor path is capped instead at under $1.5M a year.

Can I sell online or take orders by phone?

On the home-based vendor path, yes — it names selling in person, by phone, and through the internet, with delivery in person, by mail, or by carrier. If you sell online, post your product label on your website. The homestead vendor path sells at your property or a farmers market and doesn’t name phone or internet ordering — you can mail a sealed package within Indiana only if you hold an ANSI food-handler certificate.

Can I ship to family in another state?

No — a home-based vendor may not ship or deliver to a buyer outside Indiana.

Can I sell salsa or pickled vegetables?

No — salsa, pickled green beans, and pickled beets are “low-acid” or “acidified” foods that the HBV law treats as prohibited; the only canned food allowed is traditional full-sugar high-acid jams, jellies, and preserves.

Can I sell meat or eggs?

Meat products are out under the home-based vendor law. But the homestead vendor path (in force since July 1, 2026) allows meat you raise on your own property and have slaughtered, processed, and labeled under IC 15-17-5. Eggs from a domestic chicken can be sold under Indiana’s egg law; non-chicken eggs (duck, quail, turkey) need a local-health-department permit.

Can a grocery store carry my cookies?

No — selling through a store is wholesale, which needs a permit and an inspected kitchen. HBV sales are direct to the buyer only.

Can I make my products in a rented commercial kitchen?

No — HBV products must be made in your primary residence (or a permanent structure on the same property). A rented kitchen makes it a licensed food business.

Does anyone inspect my kitchen?

Not on a schedule. IDOH may inspect if your product is found misbranded or adulterated, or if someone files a complaint.

Do I really need the food-handler certificate?

It depends on your path. On the home-based vendor path, yes — every vendor must hold an ANSI-accredited food-handler certificate, file a copy with the county health department, and show it to IDOH or a buyer on request. (Egg-only sellers are the exception — IDOH says they don’t need one.) On the homestead vendor path you need no certificate to sell at your property or a farmers market — only if you want to mail a sealed package within Indiana.

Cottage food laws · Indiana

Selling homemade food in Indiana

Indiana keeps homemade food simple — and as of July 1, 2026 it gives you two light ways to sell from home. The newer homestead vendor law is remarkably hands-off: no license, no registration, no fee, and no required food-handler course — sell baked goods, candy, and more at your door or a farmers market, up to $1.5M a year. The older home-based vendor law asks for one real credential — an ANSI food-handler certificate — but in return lets you take orders by phone and online and mail them anywhere in Indiana. Pick whichever fits; here’s the whole picture, in plain English.

Verified against Indiana Code 16-42-5.3 (home-based vendor), Indiana Code 16-42-5.4 (homestead vendor) and IDOH’s Home-Based Vendors FAQ

Last checked July 2, 2026 — every section links its sources.

A plain-English breakdown, not legal advice — we’re not lawyers. Always confirm the details with your own city and state before you sell.

The 2-minute version

Starting path: The homestead-vendor law — other paths differ (see below)

Sales cap: $1,500,000/yr
State registration: Not required
Kitchen inspection: Not required
Food-handler card: Not required
Sell at markets: Yes
Shipping: In-state only

Three cards, the whole story — this snapshot is the home-based vendor path. Everything below is detail, with the actual laws linked so you never have to take our word for it. (The homestead vendor path — IC 16-42-5.4, in force since July 1, 2026 — is broader: meat and refrigerated prepared foods, a $1.5M sales cap, no required food-handler course, its own label, sold at your property or a farmers market. See “Two ways to sell” and “The homestead vendor law.”)

Selling to neighbors?

Make shelf-stable foods in your own home, put the required label on every package (one exact sentence the law spells out), and sell direct — your door, farmers markets, roadside stands. No application, no registration, no fee. The one real prerequisite: an ANSI-accredited food-handler certificate, with a copy filed with your county health department.

$0 in state feesFood-handler cert requiredNo sales capNo routine inspection

Online orders? Mail?

Indiana’s home-based vendor law is one of the more generous on channels — it names selling in person, by phone, and through the internet, with delivery in person, by mail, or by a carrier. The hard boundaries: never wholesale, and never to a buyer outside Indiana.

Internet & phone sales legalMail & carriers OKIndiana only — no out of state

Kids’ stands?

Indiana didn’t write kids into either law — a cookie or candy table runs under whichever path the family picks. On the homestead vendor path there’s no food-handler certificate at all for selling at your property; the home-based vendor path asks for the certificate the law requires of every vendor.

Same light rulesNo minor carve-outNo cert on the homestead path

Sound doable? Show me the steps ↓Meet the Indiana porch bakers already doing it

Two ways to sell from home in Indiana

In shortAs of July 1, 2026 Indiana gives you two home-food laws, and you pick the one that fits. Both are light; neither needs a state license or charges a fee, and you don’t register for either. The homestead vendor law (IC 16-42-5.4) is the friendlier default for most bakers — no required food-handler course and a much broader menu, sold at your property or a farmers market. The home-based vendor law (IC 16-42-5.3) asks for a food-handler certificate but lets you take orders by phone and online and mail them anywhere in Indiana. The two chapters coexist — HB 1424 kept the HBV exclusion (IC 16-18-2-137(b)(8)) alongside the new homestead-vendor and small-farm exclusions (9–10), so nothing repeals the older law.

The homestead vendor law · IC 16-42-5.4$0 · no cert · under $1.5M/yr

The lightest path — sell from your property

Almost no requirements. The state, local governments, and local health departments may not impose any rules, certifications, or licensing beyond federal law — no license, no registration, no fee, no required food-handler course
A much broader menu — meat you raise and process under IC 15-17-5, prepared foods including baked goods, candy, produce, natural sweeteners, and fruit spreads. There’s no TCS prohibition, so refrigerated prepared foods like cheesecake appear to be allowed — but the statute is brand new with no agency guidance yet, so confirm before you rely on it
Sell at your property or a farmers market, direct to the buyer, under a $1,500,000-a-year gross-sales cap
Put the homestead label on every package (below). To mail a sealed package within Indiana you’ll need an ANSI food-handler certificate — for in-person sales, no credential at all

Pick this path if: you’re selling at your own place or a farmers market and you’d rather skip the food-handler course — or you want a broader menu (meat you raise, refrigerated prepared foods).

The home-based vendor law · IC 16-42-5.3$0 · food-handler cert · no cap

The mail-order path — sell by phone and online

Make shelf-stable foods (nothing that needs refrigeration to stay safe — the law calls these “not potentially hazardous”) in your own home, or a permanent structure on the same property like a barn or shed
Sell direct to the person buying — in person, by phone, or online — and deliver in person, by mail, or by a carrier, anywhere in Indiana. No sales cap
Put the required label on every package (below — including one exact sentence the law spells out)
Earn an ANSI-accredited food-handler certificate and file a copy with your county health department

Pick this path if: you want to take orders by phone or online and mail them anywhere in Indiana — and you’re selling shelf-stable foods.

When you outgrow bothThe next rung

The food-establishment path

A rented or commissary kitchen, wholesale to grocery stores, or shipping out of state all sit past both home-food paths — that’s a licensed, inspected food establishment under 410 IAC 7-24, permitted by your county health department. A rented kitchen alone is enough to push you there: IDOH treats it as “a food business [that] requires a license.”

Pick this path if: you want a rented or commissary kitchen, want to sell wholesale to grocery stores, or want to ship out of state.

Sources: Ind. Code 16-42-5.4 (homestead vendor) · Ind. Code 16-42-5.3 (home-based vendor) · IDOH — Home-Based Vendors FAQ

Where you can sell

In shortOn the home-based vendor path, Indiana is one of the more generous states on sales channels — it names phone and internet sales outright. Direct to the end consumer only, statewide but Indiana only, with delivery in person, by mail, or by carrier. Never wholesale, never out of state. (The homestead vendor path sells at your property or a farmers market and doesn’t name phone or internet ordering — shipping a sealed package is allowed only with an ANSI food-handler certificate, never out of state.)

Direct to the end consumer only. The buyer is the last person to own the food; your product can’t be resold — that’s why “NOT FOR RESALE” is on the label. You may sell in person, by telephone, or through the internet, and deliver in person, by mail, or by a third-party carrier.

Statewide — but Indiana only. You may not ship or deliver to a buyer outside Indiana. For anything you ship or mail, keep the delivery address at least one year after the sale.

Farmers markets, fairs, and festivals: yes, if the organizer allows it. The law lets these events admit home-based vendors but doesn’t require them to — that’s the market’s call. Roadside stands are a named channel for the produce/poultry/egg side of the law (a structure visible from and within 100 feet of a road).

No wholesale, no grocery shelves. Selling through a grocery store is wholesale and needs a permit and an inspected kitchen. And if you sell online, the product’s label must also be posted on your website.

These channels are the home-based vendor path. The homestead vendor path sells at your property or a farmers market, direct to the buyer, and doesn’t name phone or internet ordering — shipping a sealed package is allowed only if you hold an ANSI food-handler certificate, and never out of state. See “The homestead vendor law.”

Sources: Ind. Code 16-42-5.3 · IDOH — Home-Based Vendors FAQ

What you can sell

In shortThese lists are the home-based vendor menu — an HBV food must be “not potentially hazardous,” nothing that needs temperature control to stay safe. Baked goods, candy, whole produce, honey, full-sugar high-acid jams — yes. TCS foods, meat, salsa, low-acid pickles — no. Cheesecake: no (IDOH lists it as a TCS food). The homestead vendor path is much broader — meat you raise, prepared foods including baked goods, candy, produce, sweeteners, and fruit spreads, with no TCS bar (so refrigerated foods appear allowed, though the day-old statute has no agency guidance yet).

IDOH’s allowed list

Baked items — cookies, cupcakes, cake pops, bread, muffins
Candy & confections — chocolates, nougats, caramels
Chocolate-covered nuts
Whole & uncut produce
Tree nuts & legumes
Honey, molasses, sorghum & maple syrup
Mushrooms grown as a product of agriculture
Traditional jams, jellies & preserves (full-sugar, high-acid)

IDOH notes that traditional jams, jellies, and preserves made from high-acid fruits with full-sugar recipes are “the only canned food allowed.” Wild-mushroom sellers are urged to be certified by a mushroom-identification expert. If a product isn’t clearly shelf-stable, IDOH points sellers to Purdue Food Science for testing and to their local health department before selling.

Not allowed on the HBV path

Any potentially hazardous / TCS food
Cheesecake (a TCS food)
Meat products
Salsa, pickled green beans & beets (low-acid / acidified)
Oxygen-sealed acidified or fermented pickles
Non-chicken eggs (duck, quail, turkey) — need a local permit

The rule of thumb is TCS (“time/temperature control for safety”): raw or heat-treated animal foods, raw sprouts, cut melons/tomatoes/lettuce, garlic-in-oil, and anything that grows bacteria or toxins at room temperature. Cheesecake test on this path: no. IDOH’s Handbook lists cheesecake by name as a TCS food — it needs refrigeration, so it’s outside the home-based vendor path. (On the homestead vendor path, in force since July 1, 2026, refrigerated prepared foods like cheesecake appear to be allowed — that chapter has no TCS prohibition — but it’s a brand-new statute with no agency guidance yet, so confirm before you rely on it. See “The homestead vendor law.”)

Sources: Ind. Code 16-42-5.3 · IDOH — Home-Based Vendors FAQ · IDOH — Home-Based Vendor Handbook

The rules that actually matter

In shortNo sales cap. Make it in your own home — a rented kitchen makes it a licensed business. Direct to the buyer only, Indiana only. No routine inspection. A food-handler certificate is mandatory. And local governments can’t add requirements beyond the state law.

No sales cap on this pathThe home-based vendor chapter sets no revenue limit — there’s nothing in IC 16-42-5.3 capping what you can earn. (The homestead vendor path is capped instead at under $1,500,000 in gross sales a year.)
Make it in your own homeProducts must be made at your primary residence, or in a permanent structure on the same property (a barn or shed is fine). A rented kitchen does not qualify — IDOH treats that as a licensed food business. No wholesale, ever — direct to the buyer only — and Indiana only, with no shipping or delivery out of state.
No routine inspectionIDOH may inspect only if your product is found misbranded or adulterated, or if a complaint comes in. Local health officers may also check general sanitary conditions and labeling at farmers markets. Nobody inspects you on a schedule.
A food-handler certificate is mandatoryEvery home-based vendor must hold an ANSI-accredited food-handler certificate and file a copy with the county health department (see “Getting set up”). The flip side: local governments can’t add requirements — a city or county may not require any licensing, certification, or inspection of an HBV’s food beyond the state law.

Sources: Ind. Code 16-42-5.3 · IDOH — Home-Based Vendors FAQ

Getting set up

In shortThere’s no state form or fee — but unlike the lightest cottage-food states, Indiana asks for one real credential: an ANSI-accredited food-handler certificate, with a copy filed with your county health department. The rest is reading.

There’s no state form or fee — but the home-based vendor path asks for one real credential (the homestead vendor path asks for none unless you ship — see the note below). Here’s the whole home-based vendor checklist.

Confirm your products are non-TCSCheck them against IDOH’s allowed list and Handbook tables; ask Purdue Food Science or your local health department about edge cases.
Earn a food-handler certificateFrom a certificate issuer accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The state sets no price and names no single provider — private companies offer the courses (IDOH’s Handbook points to Purdue Extension among others).
File a copy with your county health departmentThe department for the county where you live. This filing is the one registration-like step. Also keep a copy to show IDOH or any buyer on request.
Label every productNext section — and post the label on your website if you sell online.
Keep shipping recordsFor anything shipped or mailed, hold the delivery address at least one year.

That’s it for the food law — no kitchen inspection, no state business license, and local governments can’t add their own licensing or inspection for home-based vendor products. (General local obligations like sales tax are separate and not part of the food law — check with your county.) Compare: in many states step 1 is an application and a fee. On the home-based vendor path, Indiana’s price of entry is the food-handler course instead. On the homestead vendor path there’s even less to do — no course, no filing, no fee, just the right label — with the same ANSI certificate needed only if you want to mail a sealed package within Indiana.

Sources: Ind. Code 16-42-5.3 · IDOH — Home-Based Vendors FAQ · IDOH — Home-Based Vendor Handbook

Labels

In shortThe two paths use different labels — pick the one for the path you’re selling under. The home-based vendor label carries six things from IC 16-42-5.3, including one exact sentence in at-least-10-point type, and needs no allergen labeling. The homestead vendor label (IC 16-42-5.4) is a different set: name, address, ingredients, a product description, an allergen description, and its own verbatim statement — with no net-weight and no process-date element. Both name the individual producer, not a business.

Indiana home-based vendor label

The name and address of the producer — Indiana keys this to the individual producer (your own name and address), not a business or operation name
The common or usual name of the food product
Ingredients, in descending order by predominance by weight
Net weight or volume by standard measure or numerical count
The date the product was processed
The exact sentence in the sample label, word for word, in at least 10-point type

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Jane Baker · 123 Maple Lane, Bloomington, IN 47401
Ingredients: flour (wheat), butter (milk), brown sugar, oats, raisins, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, salt.
Net Wt 8 oz (227 g)
Processed July 2, 2026
This product is home produced and processed and the production area has not been inspected by the state department of health. NOT FOR RESALE.

Indiana HBV label — note the verbatim required statement, word for word.

Indiana homestead vendor label

The name of the homestead vendor or small-farm owner who produced it — the individual producer, not a business name
The address of that producer
Ingredients, in descending order by predominance by weight
A description of the food product
A description of the allergens that might have come in contact with the product
The exact sentence in the sample label, word for word, in at least 10-point type

Blueberry Muffins
Jane Baker · 123 Maple Lane, Bloomington, IN 47401
Ingredients: flour (wheat), butter (milk), sugar, blueberries, eggs, baking powder, salt.
A soft, home-baked breakfast muffin.
Allergens: wheat, milk, eggs. Made in a home kitchen that also handles tree nuts.
This product was produced by a homestead vendor or the owner of a small farm that is exempt from government licensing and inspection.

Indiana homestead vendor label — no net-weight or date element, but it adds a product description and an allergen description, with its own verbatim statement.

On the home-based vendor path, allergen labeling is not required — IDOH’s FAQ says so directly: “Is it necessary to include allergen labeling on my HBV? No, it is not necessary.” If you sell online, that label must also be posted on your website. The homestead vendor path uses the different statement above and does require an allergen description — pick the label for the path you’re selling under.

Sources: Ind. Code 16-42-5.3 (home-based vendor label) · Ind. Code 16-42-5.4 (homestead vendor label) · IDOH — Home-Based Vendors FAQ

Kid stands

Indiana doesn’t write a special kid-stand exemption into either law — there’s no minor carve-out and no minimum age. A young baker’s cookie or candy table runs under whichever path the family picks, and which one you pick changes the paperwork. On the homestead vendor path there’s no credential at all for selling at your property — no food-handler certificate, no filing, no fee — the lightest route Indiana offers a kid. On the home-based vendor path the food-handler certificate applies, the same ANSI credential the law asks of every vendor; what you gain for it is phone, internet, and mail-order sales the homestead path doesn’t name.

Two honest notes for parents: a baked-goods or candy stand fits the law — cookies, breads, and candy, prepackaged and labeled, are squarely inside both chapters, and local governments can’t ban a home-food seller’s sales. Plain lemonade isn’t covered — a curbside drink stand isn’t on either food list, and Indiana has no statewide lemonade-stand law, so that classic paper-cup stand runs on local tolerance, not a state exemption.

Sources: Ind. Code 16-42-5.3 (home-based vendor) · Ind. Code 16-42-5.4 (homestead vendor) · IDOH — Home-Based Vendors FAQ

The homestead vendor law (2026)

In shortIn force since July 1, 2026, a much broader second home path — the homestead vendor / small farm regime, IC 16-42-5.4 (House Enrolled Act 1424-2026) — with a $1.5M cap, meat and refrigerated prepared foods, almost no requirements, and its own label. It does NOT repeal the home-based vendor law: the two chapters coexist, and you pick whichever fits. The home-based vendor law itself has been stable since it took effect July 1, 2022.

In force since July 1, 2026 — a much broader second home path: the homestead vendor / small farm regime (IC 16-42-5.4)
House Enrolled Act 1424 (2026) added Chapter 5.4, “Regulation of Community Producers,” effective July 1, 2026. It is dramatically wider than the home-based vendor law. A homestead vendor prepares and sells food or meat products from their property (primary residence or agricultural land, owned or leased) or at a farmers market; a small farm is the farm-land version. Both are capped at under $1,500,000 in gross sales a year.
The allowed menu is far broader: meat products (raised on your own property and slaughtered/processed/labeled under IC 15-17-5), “prepared foods, including baked goods,” candy, produce, natural sweeteners, and fruit spreads. There’s no TCS prohibition in the chapter, and IDOH’s TCS rules are barred from applying — so refrigerated prepared foods like cheesecake appear to be allowed on this path, sold at your property or a farmers market — but this is a fresh statute with no agency guidance yet, so confirm before you rely on it.
Almost no requirements: the state, local governments, and local health departments may not impose any rules, certifications, or licensing beyond federal law — only a complaint-based foodborne-illness investigation is preserved. Sales are at your property or a farmers market, direct to the consumer. Shipping or delivering a sealed package is allowed only if the vendor holds an ANSI food-handler certificate — and never out of state. The path uses a different label — producer’s name, address, ingredients, a product description, a description of allergens (required here, unlike the HBV path), and this verbatim statement in at least 10-point type: “This product was produced by a homestead vendor or the owner of a small farm that is exempt from government licensing and inspection.”
Both paths coexist. HB 1424 does not repeal the home-based vendor law (IC 16-42-5.3) — the introduced bill’s repeal was dropped before passage, and the enrolled “food establishment” definition keeps the HBV exclusion (IC 16-18-2-137(b)(8)) alongside the new homestead-vendor and small-farm exclusions (9–10), so a seller uses whichever chapter fits.
The HBV law itself has been stable since July 1, 2022IC 16-42-5.3 took effect July 1, 2022 (HEA 1149-2022) and hasn’t changed since. Its food-safety term was later modernized from “potentially hazardous food product” to “time/temperature control for safety food” (TCS) — IDOH’s Handbook notes the rename; the substance is effectively the same.

Sources: House Enrolled Act 1424 (2026) · HB 1424 bill page · Ind. Code 16-42-5.3

Common questions

Do I need a license or permit to sell homemade food in Indiana?: No — neither path has a license, permit, registration, or state fee. The one credential is path-specific: the home-based vendor path requires an ANSI-accredited food-handler certificate, with a copy filed with your county health department; the homestead vendor path requires none unless you want to mail a sealed package within Indiana.
Is there a limit on how much I can earn?: Not on the home-based vendor path — it has no sales cap. The homestead vendor path is capped instead at under $1.5M a year.
Can I sell online or take orders by phone?: On the home-based vendor path, yes — it names selling in person, by phone, and through the internet, with delivery in person, by mail, or by carrier. If you sell online, post your product label on your website. The homestead vendor path sells at your property or a farmers market and doesn’t name phone or internet ordering — you can mail a sealed package within Indiana only if you hold an ANSI food-handler certificate.
Can I ship to family in another state?: No — a home-based vendor may not ship or deliver to a buyer outside Indiana.
Can I sell cheesecake from home in Indiana?: Not on the home-based vendor path — cheesecake needs refrigeration, and IDOH lists it by name as a TCS food outside that path. On the homestead vendor path (in force since July 1, 2026), refrigerated prepared foods like cheesecake appear to be allowed, sold at your property or a farmers market — that chapter has no TCS prohibition — but the statute is brand new and IDOH hasn’t issued guidance on it yet, so confirm before you rely on it.
Can I sell salsa or pickled vegetables?: No — salsa, pickled green beans, and pickled beets are “low-acid” or “acidified” foods that the HBV law treats as prohibited; the only canned food allowed is traditional full-sugar high-acid jams, jellies, and preserves.
Can I sell meat or eggs?: Meat products are out under the home-based vendor law. But the homestead vendor path (in force since July 1, 2026) allows meat you raise on your own property and have slaughtered, processed, and labeled under IC 15-17-5. Eggs from a domestic chicken can be sold under Indiana’s egg law; non-chicken eggs (duck, quail, turkey) need a local-health-department permit.
Can a grocery store carry my cookies?: No — selling through a store is wholesale, which needs a permit and an inspected kitchen. HBV sales are direct to the buyer only.
Can I make my products in a rented commercial kitchen?: No — HBV products must be made in your primary residence (or a permanent structure on the same property). A rented kitchen makes it a licensed food business.
Does anyone inspect my kitchen?: Not on a schedule. IDOH may inspect if your product is found misbranded or adulterated, or if someone files a complaint.
Do I really need the food-handler certificate?: It depends on your path. On the home-based vendor path, yes — every vendor must hold an ANSI-accredited food-handler certificate, file a copy with the county health department, and show it to IDOH or a buyer on request. (Egg-only sellers are the exception — IDOH says they don’t need one.) On the homestead vendor path you need no certificate to sell at your property or a farmers market — only if you want to mail a sealed package within Indiana.

Sources: Ind. Code 16-42-5.3 (channels, label, cert, no cap) · Ind. Code 16-42-5.4 / House Enrolled Act 1424 (2026) — homestead path · IDOH — Home-Based Vendors FAQ · IDOH — Home-Based Vendor Handbook

You won’t be doing this alone

42 porch bakers are already selling across Indiana under these exact laws. Browse their pages and learn from people two steps ahead of you — what they sell, how they price, how they talk about their bread. Cottage bakers are famously generous with what they’ve learned, and most are a DM away on Instagram.

See all 42 in the directory →List your porch shop — always free to list

This page is educational, not legal advice — we’re not lawyers, just neighbors who read Indiana’s official sources and wrote down what they say (every claim above links to its source). Indiana now runs two home-food laws side by side — the home-based vendor law (IC 16-42-5.3) and the homestead vendor / small farm law (IC 16-42-5.4, in force since July 1, 2026) — and this page describes both; the statute controls over older agency guidance written before it. The homestead law is brand new, so where it has no agency guidance yet (like refrigerated foods) we flag the uncertainty rather than promise an answer. The home-based vendor path asks every vendor for an ANSI-accredited food-handler certificate — that’s a real requirement, not optional. Local zoning and sales-tax rules are separate and set locally — check yours. Always double-check the details with your own city and state before you sell. When something here and the law disagree, the law wins; if you spot that happening, tell us and we’ll fix it.