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Checked 2026-09-08 · Source linked below

Cottage food laws in Alabama

What you can sell from your home kitchen in Alabama, how much of it, where you can sell it, and what has to go on the label — with the government source for every line.

Blake Boykin

Researched and maintained by Blake Boykin, Founder, Boykin Web Management. Last checked 2026-09-08.

We are not lawyers. Confirm anything here with Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), Division of Food, Milk and Lodging before you produce or sell. Fields marked Not confirmed are open questions, not zeros. How we source this.

Alabama

Permissive

Cottage Food Operation program (Alabama Cottage Food Law) · Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), Division of Food, Milk and Lodging

The limits

Sales cap
None (removed by 2021 amendment, SB 160)
You can sell
Cakes, breads, Danish pastries, donuts, pastries, and pies; jams, jellies, and fruit preserves; candy; dried and dehydrated herbs, herb mixes, vegetables, or fruits; roasted coffee; dried baking mixes; and fermented or preserved vegetables or fruit that do not result in the production of alcohol and that meet approved acidity levels.
You cannot sell
Meat, poultry, and fish. Potentially hazardous (TCS) foods requiring time or temperature control are not permitted, which excludes cream- and custard-filled items, cheesecakes, and anything requiring refrigeration for safety.

Getting set up

Permit / registration
No state permit; operator must submit a completed Cottage Food Review Form to the local county health department, which reviews the food safety course certificate and product labels (no home inspection)
Cost
Fees vary by county; confirm with local county health department
Training
Yes — a food safety course approved by the Alabama Department of Public Health. The Alabama Cooperative Extension Service offers an accepted course, and any course from an ANSI-accredited food safety program is also accepted. Certification must be maintained and renewed.
Kitchen inspection
No — cottage food operations are not routinely inspected; ADPH review is triggered by the Cottage Food Review Form and by complaints.
Labeling
Printed in at least 10-point font: the common or usual name of the food; the name of the cottage food operation; the home or P.O. Box address; a list of ingredients in descending order of predominance; a statement that the food is not inspected by the Health Department; and a disclaimer that the food may contain allergens.

Where you can sell

Permitted venues
Direct to consumers only — in person, by phone, or online, within Alabama. Mailing and delivery by an agent are permitted. Sales through retail store consignment or to restaurants for resale are not allowed.
Online sales
Yes — ADPH permits sales direct to consumers by phone or online, provided the buyer is within Alabama. Mail and agent delivery are permitted for those sales.
Delivery in state
Yes — in-person, phone, online, mail, or via an agent of the producer, all within Alabama
Shipping out of state
No — sales limited to Alabama consumers

The fine print

Statute
Alabama Code § 22-20-5.1
Recent changes
2021 amendment (SB 160) expanded allowed foods, added labeling and delivery-method provisions, and removed the annual income limit. No further sales-cap or food-category changes since 2023 were found in agency materials as of this verification.
Notes
No MEHKO or home-restaurant pathway identified for Alabama. Fees and exact application process vary by county health department, so operators should confirm locally. ---

Questions that apply in every state — pricing, insurance, labeling, pet treats, sales caps — are answered in the full FAQ.

Knowing the rules is the easy part

The harder part is selling without a place of your own to sell from.

  • Your buyers are Messenger threads, not customers

    There is no export and no list, so there is no way to tell 400 past buyers that holiday pre-orders open Friday. Every season starts from zero.

  • Marketplace listings do not rank on Google

    Three years of posting can leave you with no searchable presence at all, while the people searching for what you make land on whoever does have a page.

  • Every order costs you a conversation

    Price, pickup time, allergens, payment, three follow-ups — by hand, per order. That is the real ceiling on how much you can sell, and it has nothing to do with how fast you bake.

The longer version, plus what to run your business on, is on the main reference page.

Free, before you decide anything

Stop selling through Messenger threads

Alabama lets you take orders online. A Marketplace listing cannot take an order, hold a pickup window, or collect an email address — a page of your own does all three, and it keeps showing up in Google long after the listing expires.

Tell me what you make and I will build you a sample site — real and clickable, not a mockup. You see it first, and owe nothing if it is not right for you.

  • Built around Alabama's labeling and disclosure rules
  • Order cutoffs and pickup windows, so nothing oversells
  • Yours to keep — your domain, your customer list

No cost and no obligation. You see the sample first and decide from there.