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Can I sell food from home in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania cottage food law at a glance
| Home food sales allowed | yes Limited Food Establishment (home food processing registration) |
|---|---|
| Law | 3 Pa.C.S. Ch. 57, Subch. B (Food Safety Act); PDA Limited Food Establishment program |
| Sales cap | No cap |
| Permit or registration | registration. Register with PA Dept. of Agriculture (PDA): submit the application and plan at least 60 days before operating; PDA reviews it within 15 business days, then does an on-site home kitchen inspection. Fee $35, renewed at $35/yr; routine inspections follow. Private wells need annual water testing (secondary source). Lab testing for some products such as jams and sauces. Event or market sales may also need a Retail Food Facility license. |
| Sell in person | yes |
| Take online orders | yes |
| Ship within the state | yes |
| Ship to other states | limited |
| Sell to shops and cafes | limited |
| Where you can sell, details | PDA lists farmers markets, community events, roadside stands, direct-to-consumer and internet sales. Some retail stores may carry properly labeled products. Wholesale distribution or preparing food for restaurants needs a different license. Interstate sales may require FDA registration and nutrition labeling. Shipping details come from a secondary source. |
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 Pennsylvania?
Allowed: Shelf-stable, non-potentially-hazardous foods: baked goods without cream fillings, jams, jellies, candies, snack mixes, dry goods, condiments. Some acidified items need testing. Secondary sources say even meat jerky is allowed with approval.
Not allowed: Foods needing refrigeration or hot holding (cream or custard baked goods, cheesecake, meat or dairy dishes, shellfish) and low-acid canned foods.
Label requirements in Pennsylvania
Home-kitchen statement: No statement required. PDA-registered home food businesses (Limited Food Establishments) have no home-produced disclaimer; registered businesses may use 'Reg. Penna. Dept. of Agr.'. no statement required
Other label items: Minimum: product name; ingredients from most to least by weight; allergen declaration if needed; name and address of the manufacturer or distributor; net weight or count in the bottom third of the main panel, in at least 8-point type (PDA Limited Food Establishment packet). Bakery items the baker sells directly to Pennsylvania consumers need no label on the product, but ingredient information must be available on request. The registration is not available in Philadelphia County.
Selling from home in Pennsylvania? The Cottage Kitchen Toolkit prices your recipes for markets, pre-orders and shops. It scales batches and prints ingredient and allergen labels and tells you that Pennsylvania needs no home-kitchen statement on the package. It also has this guide for all 50 states and DC. One-time price, and it works offline.
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PA has no true cottage food law. Home processors are registered and inspected food establishments, so the burden is heavier but sales are unlimited. PDA moved its site to pa.gov, and the old agriculture.pa.gov URLs redirect. Kitchen rules (pets excluded, separate ingredients) are in the application packet. Label check (2026-10-25): PDA's LFE packet section 5 and its Farmers' Market guidelines (Rev 2/2026) list the label items above and no disclaimer.
Sources
- PDA - Limited Food Establishment application packet (PDF) official
- PDA - Farmers' Market guidelines (Rev 2/2026, PDF) official
- PDA: Limited Food Establishment official
- PDA: Commercial Food Establishments (registration fee, label mark) official
- Forrager: Pennsylvania secondary
Last checked: 2026-10-25 · 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.