Do I need a license or permit to sell homemade food in Indiana?

No — there’s no home-based vendor license, permit, registration, or state fee. You do need an ANSI-accredited food-handler certificate, with a copy filed with your county health department.

Is there a limit on how much I can earn?

Not under the current home-based vendor law — it has no sales cap. (The new homestead path arriving July 1, 2026 is capped at under $1.5M a year.)

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 today — cheesecake needs refrigeration, and IDOH lists it by name as a TCS food outside the HBV path. Starting July 1, 2026, the new homestead vendor path appears to allow refrigerated prepared foods like cheesecake sold at your property or a farmers market — but that 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 HBV law. 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. (Meat opens up — own-raised and processed under IC 15-17-5 — on the new homestead path July 1, 2026.)

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?

Yes — every home-based 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.)

Cottage food laws · Indiana

Selling homemade food in Indiana

Indiana keeps the current home-food path simple: no license, no registration, no fee, and no sales cap. If you bake bread, make candy, or jar full-sugar jam in your own kitchen, you can sell it across Indiana — at your door, at a farmers market, by phone, or online — once you’ve done two things: earn a food-handler certificate and put the right label on every package. A new “homestead vendor / small farm” path takes effect July 1, 2026 — see “What changed.” Here’s the whole picture, in plain English.

Verified against Indiana Code 16-42-5.3 and IDOH’s Home-Based Vendors FAQ

Last checked June 12, 2026 — every section links its sources.

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

The 2-minute version

Three cards, the whole story. Everything below is detail — with the actual laws linked, so you never have to take our word for it. (At-a-glance reflects current law; on July 1, 2026 a second path — the homestead vendor / small farm — opens up, with a broader menu including meat and refrigerated prepared foods, a $1.5M sales cap, and its own label. See “What changed.”)

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 the law — a cookie or candy table runs under the same rules as any porch shop: non-TCS foods, prepackaged, labeled, and the food-handler certificate the law asks of every vendor. That’s a real step a lemonade-stand state doesn’t require of a kid.

Same light rulesNo minor carve-outFood-handler cert still applies

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

One way to sell today — and it’s a light one

In shortIndiana today has exactly one home-food path: the home-based vendor (HBV) exemption under IC 16-42-5.3. No application, no registration, no fee, no agency sign-off — you follow the rules and the exemption applies automatically. The one requirement with real teeth is an ANSI-accredited food-handler certificate. (A second, much broader homestead-vendor path opens July 1, 2026 — see “What changed.”)

The home-based vendor law · IC 16-42-5.3$0 · automatic

The whole shape of the path

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
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’re making shelf-stable foods in your own home and selling them to the people who’ll enjoy them.

When you outgrow itThe next rung

The food-establishment path

A rented or commissary kitchen, wholesale to grocery stores, or shipping out of state all sit past the HBV line — 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.” (A second home path — the homestead vendor / small farm regime, IC 16-42-5.4 — opens July 1, 2026, with a much broader menu including meat and refrigerated prepared foods, sold at your property or a farmers market, under a $1.5M cap. It’s not law yet; see “What changed.”)

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 16-42-5.3 · IDOH — Home-Based Vendors FAQ · IDOH — Home-Based Vendor Handbook

Where you can sell

In shortIndiana’s HBV law is one of the more generous 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.

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.

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

What you can sell

In shortThe rule behind the list: 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).

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: no. IDOH’s Handbook lists cheesecake by name as a TCS food — it needs refrigeration, so it’s outside the HBV path. (That answer changes for the new homestead path on July 1, 2026 — see “What changed.”)

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 capThe HBV chapter sets no revenue limit — there’s nothing in IC 16-42-5.3 capping what you can earn.
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 unlike the lightest cottage-food states, Indiana asks for one real credential. Here’s the whole 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 HBV 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. Indiana’s price of entry is the food-handler course instead.

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

Labels

In shortEvery HBV product needs a label (or, for unpackaged food, a sign) carrying six things — straight from IC 16-42-5.3 — including one exact sentence, word for word, in at-least-10-point type. The label names the individual producer (name and address), not a business. Allergen labeling is not required for HBVs.

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 June 12, 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.

Allergen labeling is not required for home-based vendors — 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, the label must also be posted on your website. Heads up: the homestead vendor path arriving July 1, 2026 uses a different required statement and does require an allergen description — see “What changed.”

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

Kid stands

Indiana doesn’t write a special kid-stand exemption into the HBV law — there’s no minor carve-out and no minimum age. A young baker’s cookie or candy table runs under exactly the same rules as an adult’s porch shop: non-TCS foods, prepackaged, labeled, and — here’s the Indiana wrinkle — the food-handler certificate the law requires of every HBV. That’s a real step a lemonade-stand state doesn’t ask of a kid; worth knowing before a young seller sets up.

Two honest notes for parents: a baked-goods or candy stand fits the law — cookies, breads, and candy, prepackaged and labeled, are squarely inside IC 16-42-5.3, and local governments can’t ban an HBV’s sales. Plain lemonade isn’t covered — a curbside drink stand isn’t on the HBV 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 · IDOH — Home-Based Vendors FAQ

What changed recently

In shortStarting July 1, 2026, a brand-new and much broader home path opens — 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, and its own label. It does NOT repeal the current HBV law: the two chapters coexist. The HBV law itself has been stable since it took effect July 1, 2022.

Effective July 1, 2026 — a brand-new, much broader home path: the homestead vendor / small farm regime (IC 16-42-5.4)
House Enrolled Act 1424 (2026) adds Chapter 5.4, “Regulation of Community Producers,” effective July 1, 2026. It is dramatically wider than the current HBV 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 will coexist. HB 1424 does not repeal the HBV law (IC 16-42-5.3) — the introduced bill’s repeal was dropped before passage, so after July 1, 2026 a seller can use whichever chapter fits. As of this page’s date (June 2026), the homestead path is not yet in effect — today’s HBV rules above still govern.
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 — there’s no home-based vendor license, permit, registration, or state fee. You do need an ANSI-accredited food-handler certificate, with a copy filed with your county health department.
Is there a limit on how much I can earn?: Not under the current home-based vendor law — it has no sales cap. (The new homestead path arriving July 1, 2026 is capped at under $1.5M a year.)
Can I sell online or take orders by phone?: Yes — Indiana’s HBV law 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.
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 today — cheesecake needs refrigeration, and IDOH lists it by name as a TCS food outside the HBV path. Starting July 1, 2026, the new homestead vendor path appears to allow refrigerated prepared foods like cheesecake sold at your property or a farmers market — but that 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 HBV law. 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. (Meat opens up — own-raised and processed under IC 15-17-5 — on the new homestead path July 1, 2026.)
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?: Yes — every home-based 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.)

Sources: Ind. Code 16-42-5.3 (channels, label, cert, no cap) · House Enrolled Act 1424 (2026) — July 1, 2026 homestead path · IDOH — Home-Based Vendors FAQ · IDOH — Home-Based Vendor Handbook

You won’t be doing this alone

43 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 43 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). A new “homestead vendor / small farm” law takes effect July 1, 2026; this page describes the home-based vendor law in force now and flags that change as upcoming — once the new law is live, the statute controls over older agency guidance written for the current rules. Indiana asks every home-based 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.