Cottage food laws · Pennsylvania

Yes, you can sell what you bake in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania doesn’t have a law called a “cottage food law” — instead it registers your home kitchen as a Limited Food Establishment: $35 a year, a plan review, and one home-kitchen inspection. That’s more setup than some states ask, but you get two things most cottage laws don’t — there’s no sales cap, and you can sell wholesale and across state lines (with federal registration), not just to neighbors. The trade-off is firm: anything that needs refrigeration, cheesecake included, has no home-kitchen path at all. Here’s the whole picture, in plain English.

Verified against Pennsylvania’s Food Safety Act (3 Pa.C.S. Ch. 57) and the PDA Limited Food Establishment packet

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.

Selling shelf-stable goods?

That’s a Limited Food Establishment — Pennsylvania’s “cottage food” path. Register your home kitchen, pass a plan review and one inspection, and pay $35 a year (collected in person at the inspection). Baked goods, jams, candy, even acidified canned goods and jerky — anything shelf-stable.

$0 to apply$35/yearOne inspectionNo sales cap

Selling at a market or stand?

A farmers market or roadside stand may also need a Retail Food Facility license — but if you sell only prepackaged shelf-stable goods you’re exempt from the fee (you still apply and still get inspected). Unusually, Pennsylvania also lets you sell wholesale and across state lines.

Often fee-exemptStill inspectedWholesale OKInterstate OK

Kids’ stands?

Pennsylvania writes no kid-stand exemption — formally, a child’s stand selling packaged baked goods is the same LFE process an adult follows. Softer landings: a charity bake sale (with a buyer notice) and the usual lemonade-stand gray area.

Same LFE processCharity bake-sale carve-outLemonade gray area
Sound doable? Show me the steps ↓Meet the Pennsylvania porch bakers already doing it

How selling works — register, then add a license for markets

In shortPennsylvania runs homemade food through one core registration (the Limited Food Establishment, $35/yr) plus an add-on Retail Food Facility license for markets. The dividing line isn’t who you sell to — it’s whether your food is shelf-stable.

Pennsylvania runs homemade food through one core registration plus add-on licenses. The dividing line isn’t who you sell to — it’s whether your food is shelf-stable. Anything that needs refrigeration — cheesecake included — has no home-kitchen path at all.

Path A · this is the core path — start here$0 to apply; $35/yr

Limited Food Establishment (LFE) registration

The state Department of Agriculture (PDA) registers your home kitchen as a food establishment under the Food Safety Act. $35 a year — nothing to apply, the fee is collected at your inspection — shelf-stable (non-TCS) foods only. You submit a plan, pass a home-kitchen inspection, and you’re registered. This is Pennsylvania’s “cottage food” path.

The one hard line: shelf-stable only. If it needs refrigeration, there’s no home path.

Pick this path if: you make shelf-stable goods — baked goods, jams, candy, acidified canned goods, dry mixes, even meat jerky — in your home kitchen.

Path B · add-on for markets + standsoften fee-exempt

Retail Food Facility license

If you sell at a farmers market, roadside stand, or retail location, that selling spot may also need a Retail Food Facility license — but if you sell only prepackaged shelf-stable goods, you’re exempt from the license fee (you still apply and still get inspected).

New, owner-operated facilities under 50 seats otherwise run $103 (or $241 if not owner-operated or 50+ seats), with $82 to renew and $14 for a temporary (≤14 days/year) license.

Pick this path if: you sell away from your production site — at a farmers market, roadside stand, or retail location.

The thing Pennsylvania can’t do from home: refrigerated foods. Anything that needs refrigeration — cheesecake, cream pies, custard, salsa above pH 4.6, low-acid canned goods — has no home-kitchen path. A home property can host a second, fully separate commercial kitchen for those, but never the household kitchen itself. (One more carve-out: a nonprofit or charity bake sale of shelf-stable food prepared in a private home is exempt from the retail-license rules — but only if the food is donated to or offered by the nonprofit (not sold by the home cook), and the group tells buyers it was “prepared in private homes that are not licensed or inspected.” It’s a bake-sale carve-out, not a business path, and it doesn’t exempt you from the LFE registration if you’re running a porch shop.)

Sources: 3 Pa.C.S. § 5734 · 3 Pa.C.S. § 5703 · 3 Pa.C.S. § 5712 · PDA — LFE Application Packet · PDA — Farmers Market Guidelines

Where you can sell

In shortPennsylvania is unusually permissive on venues — the constraint is the food type, not the channel. From home (including internet sales), farmers markets, roadside stands, fairs, wholesale, and even across state lines (with FDA registration).

From home, including internet sales. The LFE program lists “sales direct from the production site including internet sales,” and the application itself asks you to check retail / wholesale / internet. The constraint is the food type, not the channel.

Farmers markets, roadside stands, fairs. Allowed — the selling location may also need a Retail Food License, but you’re often exempt from the fee (see “How selling works,” above).

Wholesale and interstate — unusual among home-food states.Wholesale, in-state and out-of-state, is permitted; out-of-state wholesalers may need FDA facility registration. Interstate sales and shipping (including internet) are contemplated and permitted by PDA: processors selling interstate “may be required to register with the US Food & Drug Administration,” and interstate products must meet federal nutrition labeling (a small-business exemption is available). Most cottage laws stop at the state line.

Juice is the exception — retail juice may only be sold direct to the consumer from your production site or a satellite you own (a market or roadside stand). And some local health jurisdictions (Philadelphia, Allegheny County, and others) run their own retail licensing — where they apply, the county license comes before the PDA registration.

Sources: PDA — LFE Application Packet · PDA — Farmers Market Guidelines

What you can sell

In shortThe governing principle: shelf-stable (non-TCS) foods only — and PDA evaluates products individually, so the lists are illustrative, not closed. Refrigerated/TCS foods have no home-kitchen path.

Allowed in a home kitchen (shelf-stable)

  • Baked goods (cakes, breads, cookies, most fruit pies)
  • Jams & jellies (65% Brix floor)
  • Candy & fudge
  • Acidified / fermented canned (pH ≤ 4.6)
  • Salsa, pickles, kimchi, hot sauce
  • Acidic beverages (root beer, lemonade, kombucha)
  • Dry goods (cereals, coffee, tea, spices, pasta, nuts)
  • Dehydrated foods, including meat jerky
  • Honey, maple syrup, vinegars, mustards, nut butters

Acidified/fermented canned foods at a finished pH of 4.6 or below are allowed — with lab testing and written recipes. Chocolate-covered fruit is fine only if the fruit is whole, intact, and pH 4.6 or below. PDA evaluates products individually, so the list is illustrative, not closed — if you’re unsure, ask your regional office.

Prohibited in a home kitchen (TCS)

  • Cheesecake, cream pastries, custard pies
  • Fluid milk & dairy, eggs
  • Meat, poultry, fish, shellfish
  • Cut / prepared fresh fruits & vegetables
  • Garlic-in-oil, tofu & soy-protein foods
  • Low-acid canned (pH > 4.6 — soups, gravies)
  • Freshly brewed coffee or tea

All TCS (Time/Temperature Control for Safety) foods are out — including perishable baked goods like cream pastries, cheesecakes, and custard pies. The governing line, in PDA’s words: “any product which is not shelf-stable at room temperature and requires refrigeration after preparation would be considered TCS food.” Low-acid canned foods (pH above 4.6 — soups, gravies, un-pickled vegetables, fruit in syrup) and freshly brewed coffee or tea are also out. These need a separate commercial kitchen, not a home one.

Sources: PDA — LFE Application Packet

The rules that actually matter

In shortNo sales cap. Shelf-stable only — if it needs refrigeration there’s no home path. Acidified/canned foods come with paid lab work. No pets in the home at all if your personal kitchen is used for the business.

  • No sales capPennsylvania’s Food Safety Act imposes no revenue or volume limit on a Limited Food Establishment. (The only dollar thresholds in the materials are federal FSMA tiers, which change federal compliance burden — not a state sales cap.)
  • Shelf-stable onlyIf it needs refrigeration, there’s no home-kitchen path — full stop.
  • Acidified / canned foods come with lab workSalsa, pickles, and fermented foods are allowed, but each recipe needs pH (and sometimes water-activity or Brix) testing, paid for by you, with retesting on any recipe change.
  • No pets in the homeNo pets in the home at any time if your personal kitchen is used for the business — stricter than most states, which only bar pets from the kitchen during production.

Sources: 3 Pa.C.S. § 5734 · PDA — LFE Application Packet

Getting set up

In shortThe LFE path is a real, gated process — not a self-attestation. Zoning → water test → product lab testing → application packet → pre-operational inspection (where the $35 is collected). No food-handler certificate needed for the LFE itself.

The LFE path is a real, gated process — not a self-attestation. PDA reviews plans within 15 business days; the packet tells applicants to allow 3–5 weeks for plan review and 30–60 days total, and to apply about 60 days before opening. In order:

The LFE process, in order

  1. Confirm zoningConfirm with your municipality that a home food business is allowed; you attest to this in the application. If you’re in a county health-department jurisdiction, the county license comes first.
  2. Test your water (well or other non-public supply only)A DEP-approved lab tests for Total Coliform and Nitrate/Nitrite up front, with coliform retested annually. On municipal water, no test is needed.
  3. Get product lab testing where requiredpH and water activity for acidified/fermented foods, dressings, sauces, and salsa; Brix for jams and jellies off a standard recipe. You pay, and you retest on any recipe change.
  4. Submit the application packet to your PDA regional officeBusiness info, zoning and water attestations, your sales-tax license (or exemption), a no-pets attestation, a written business plan (suppliers, storage, equipment, production, transport, sales channels), draft labels, and lab results.
  5. Pass the pre-operational inspectionYour regional food inspector inspects your home kitchen (arrange it at least 10 days before you produce). The $35 registration fee is collected in person at the satisfactory inspection — nothing is due at application. The inspection report serves as your approval until the registration card arrives. Routine inspections follow; renewal is $35/year.
  6. No food-handler or manager certificate is required for the LFE itselfPennsylvania’s certified-food-employee mandate applies to retail food facilities, and food establishments (LFEs) are exempt. You do need a basic employee health policy and basic food-safety knowledge.
  7. Follow the standing rules while you operateNo pets in the home if the personal kitchen is used; no children in the kitchen during business production; business ingredients stored separately from personal; no simultaneous home cooking during production.
  8. Add the Retail Food License if you sell at a market or standOften fee-exempt for prepackaged shelf-stable goods, but you still apply and get inspected.

It’s a real process — but it’s a known one, with a 15-business-day plan-review SLA. Apply about 60 days before you want to open.

Sources: PDA — LFE program page · PDA — LFE Application Packet · 3 Pa.C.S. § 6510 (food-employee exemption) · PDA — Farmers Market Guidelines

Labels

In shortPennsylvania is unusual: there is NO required “made in a home kitchen” disclaimer — its kitchens are inspected, so the usual “uninspected” disclaimer would be false. Your label just needs the standard misbranding-floor elements. Direct-sold bakery items need no on-product label at all.

LFE label — the misbranding floor

  • Product name (statement of identity)
  • Ingredient list, most to least by weight (including sub-ingredients)
  • Allergen declaration, if needed (this flows from federal law / the PDA packet, not the state misbranding statute)
  • Name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor — Pennsylvania keys this to the operation: your porch-shop / business name and its place of business satisfy it; an individual’s personal name isn’t separately required
  • Net weight or count — in the bottom third of the front panel, in no less than 8-point type
  • NO “made in a home kitchen” disclaimer — Pennsylvania mandates no such statement (its kitchens are inspected, so it would be false)
Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread
Ingredients: flour (wheat), water, honey, butter (milk), yeast, salt.
Contains: wheat, milk.
Maple Lane Bakery · 123 Maple Lane, Lancaster, PA 17602
Net Wt 24 oz (680 g)
LFE label — required elements (note: no home-kitchen disclaimer).

Bakery direct-sale exemption — no label needed

  • Bakery items you make and sell directly to a Pennsylvania consumer — by you or your employee, at your production site or a satellite like a farmers market — need NO labeling on the product at all
  • The one condition: ingredient information must be available on request
  • Goods you bought or baked off elsewhere still need full labels
  • Selling interstate adds FDA nutrition labeling unless you obtain the small-business exemption
Sourdough Boule
Sold directly at the porch / market.
No on-product label required —
ingredients available on request.
Direct-sold bakery — ingredient info on request, no on-product label.

One verbatim warning applies only to unpasteurized retail juice: “WARNING: This product has not been pasteurized and, therefore, may contain harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness in children, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems.” The label maker below builds the misbranding-floor label; direct-sold bakery items can skip it entirely.

Sources: 3 Pa.C.S. § 5729 · PDA — LFE Application Packet

What changed recently

In shortPDA’s farmers-market guidance was refreshed (Rev 2/2026), confirming the current fee schedule. HB 77 (a food-allergy bill) passed the House and sits in the Senate; its LFE effect is undetermined.

  • PDA’s farmers-market guidance was refreshed — Rev 2/2026The current fee schedule is confirmed: $103 new / $82 renewal / $14 temporary, and the fee-exempt-but-still-inspected rule for prepackaged shelf-stable vendors.
  • HB 77 — a food-allergy-awareness bill — pending, not lawA bill amending Title 3; it passed the House in February 2025 and sits in the Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee. It looks retail-facing; its effect on LFEs is undetermined, and we haven’t read the bill text.
  • Act 62 of 2024 — milk labeling (no effect on home kitchens)Milk sell-by/best-by labeling (3 Pa.C.S. §§ 5741–5747); dairy processors only, no effect on home kitchens (milk can’t be made in an LFE anyway). Noted only because it touched the same chapter. No cottage-food, food-freedom, or microenterprise-kitchen bill was found in the 2023–24 or 2025–26 sessions that would change the LFE framework.

Sources: PDA — Farmers Market Guidelines · 3 Pa.C.S. Ch. 57

Common questions

Can I sell cheesecake from home in Pennsylvania?
No — cheesecake needs refrigeration, and Pennsylvania gives no home-kitchen path for refrigerated foods at all. You’d need a separate, fully commercial kitchen.
What does it cost to start in Pennsylvania?
Nothing to apply — the $35/year registration is collected in person at your inspection.
Do I really need an inspection?
Yes — a plan review plus a pre-operational home-kitchen inspection, and routine inspections after.
Is there a limit on how much I can sell in Pennsylvania?
No — there’s no sales cap.
Can I ship out of state from Pennsylvania?
Yes — unusually, Pennsylvania permits interstate and wholesale sales, though you may need to register your facility with the FDA and meet federal nutrition labeling.
Do I need a “made in a home kitchen” label in Pennsylvania?
No — Pennsylvania requires no such disclaimer. Your label needs the standard product-name / ingredients / allergens / business-name-and-address / net-weight elements.
Can I sell salsa or pickles from home in Pennsylvania?
Yes — acidified and fermented canned foods at pH 4.6 or below are allowed, but each recipe needs lab testing (and retesting on changes).
Do I need a food-handler card to sell homemade food in Pennsylvania?
Not for the LFE itself — food establishments are exempt from Pennsylvania’s certified-food-employee requirement.

Sources: 3 Pa.C.S. § 5734 ($35/yr registration, no sales cap) · 3 Pa.C.S. § 5729 (label / misbranding floor) · 3 Pa.C.S. § 6510 (food-employee exemption)

You won’t be doing this alone

58 porch bakers are already selling across Pennsylvania under these exact rules. 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 58 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 Pennsylvania’s official sources and wrote down what they say (every claim above links to its source). This page covers the statewide PDA track. Pennsylvania registers and inspects home kitchens, so the “getting set up” steps here are a real process, not a formality — and refrigerated foods have no home-kitchen path at all. Some counties and cities (Philadelphia, Allegheny County, and others) run their own retail licensing and fees — check locally before you sell at a market. When something here and the law disagree, the law wins; if you spot that happening, tell us and we’ll fix it. 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.