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Can I sell food from home in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire cottage food law at a glance
| Home food sales allowed | yes Homestead Food Operation (exempt tier and Homestead Food License) |
|---|---|
| Law | RSA 143-A:12, 143-A:5, 143-A:13 (amended 2017, 2022, 2024, 2025) |
| Sales cap | No cap |
| Permit or registration | none. Exempt tier: no license or routine inspection (DHHS may inspect on suspected imminent health hazard). Homestead Food License from NH DHHS required for internet/mail-order/wholesale/restaurant sales and for freeze-dried fruits, vegetables and dairy; fees set by rule (amount unverified). Training requirement not stated in statute. |
| Sell in person | yes |
| Take online orders | limited |
| Ship within the state | limited |
| Ship to other states | unverified |
| Sell to shops and cafes | yes |
| Where you can sell, details | License-exempt sales: from the home, the owner's own farm stand, farmers markets, and retail food stores. Internet sales, mail order, sales to restaurants or other food establishments, and to wholesalers/distributors for resale require a Homestead Food License. Out-of-state shipping not addressed in the statute. |
yes = allowed; limited = allowed with conditions; no = not allowed; unverified = we could not confirm it from an official source.
What foods can you sell from home in New Hampshire?
Allowed: All foods except potentially hazardous (TCS) foods, as further defined by DHHS rule: e.g., baked goods, candy, jams/jellies, dry mixes. Freeze-dried fruits/vegetables/commercial dairy allowed only with a license.
Not allowed: Potentially hazardous foods needing temperature control, including low-acid canned foods; foods barred by DHHS rule.
Label requirements in New Hampshire
Required statement: This product is exempt from New Hampshire licensing and inspection. exact wording from an official source
Other label items: Licensed tier statement: "This product is made in a residential food production area licensed by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services." Home/farm-stand sales: operation name, address or email and phone, product name, ingredients by weight, allergens - or name/contact, product name, allergens plus QR code/website listing ingredients with an ingredient sign at the display. Farmers market/online/wholesale: name, contact, product name, ingredients, allergens.
Selling from home in New Hampshire? The Cottage Kitchen Toolkit prices your recipes for markets, pre-orders and shops. It scales batches and prints ingredient and allergen labels with New Hampshire's required statement filled in. It also has this guide for all 50 states and DC. One-time price, and it works offline.
Get the toolkit Try the free cookie price checkNotes
Frequent recent amendments: RSA 143-A:12 amended 2024 (ch. 77, eff. Aug 13, 2024) and 2025 (chs. 18 and 28 eff. July 13, 2025; ch. 46 eff. July 28, 2025; ch. 193 eff. Nov 12, 2025), including freeze-dried food licensing and a QR-code ingredient labeling option. Exempt sales to retail food stores were added in recent amendments (exact year unverified). NH DHHS food protection site blocked automated fetch; detail taken from the statute.
Sources
- RSA 143-A:12 Homestead Food License Required official
- RSA Chapter 143-A (merged text) official
Last checked: 2026-10-24 · confidence: high (high = key facts confirmed on an official page; medium = partly confirmed or secondary sources agree; low = a single secondary or outdated source). Summaries are our own wording, not the text of the law.
This page is a research summary, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities and counties can add their own rules. Confirm with your state agency and local health department, using the official sources below, before you sell.