Cottage food laws in Vermont

The limits

Sales cap

$30,000 or less in gross annual receipts from cottage food product sales (set by Act 42, effective July 1, 2025); a separate $10,000 exemption applies to processed/packaged foods sold for resale (per a nonprofit summary cross-check — see Notes)

You can sell

Non-potentially-hazardous, shelf-stable items — baked goods, candy, jams, jellies, dry herbs, trail mix, granola, cereal, mixed nuts, flavored vinegar, popcorn, coffee beans, dry tea, and home-canned goods with pH ≤ 4.6 or water activity ≤ 0.85 using approved recipes

You cannot sell

Any product requiring refrigeration or time/temperature control for safety; sales to restaurants or other licensed establishments

Getting set up

Permit / registration

Yes — an annual license-exemption filing through the state's online portal, due before January 15 each year (next deadline January 15, 2026), plus completion of the "License Exempt Food Processors and Cottage Food Operators Online Training"

Cost

None — no licensing fee for exemption holders

Training

Yes — mandatory annual online training covering manufactured food emergency rules and food safety

Kitchen inspection

No routine inspection is required for the cottage food license-exemption tier (gross annual sales of $30,000 or less). Instead of an inspection, an exempt cottage food operator must file an annual license-exemption notice with the Vermont Department of Health, attest to completing required food-safety training, and label every product with the disclaimer "Made in a home kitchen not inspected by the Vermont Department of Health." That labeling requirement -- printed in at least 10-point contrasting type -- effectively confirms in the regulatory text itself that the home kitchen is not inspected under this exemption. (This is distinct from Vermont's separately licensed "home bakery" and "home caterer" categories, which do require an opening inspection by an assigned public health inspector -- but those are licensed operations above the cottage food exemption threshold, not the cottage food exemption itself.)

Labeling

"Made in a home kitchen not inspected by the Vermont Department of Health" in minimum 10-point contrasting font, plus product name, ingredients, net weight, and allergen information

Where you can sell

Permitted venues

Per a cross-checked nonprofit aggregator, retail food stores, farmers markets, personal residence, roadside stands, online, by mail, and wholesale distributors; the Dept. of Health source fetched described direct-to-consumer sales from the home kitchen/personal property but did not itself confirm the broader venue list — see Notes for this discrepancy

Online sales

Not confirmedUnverified -- confirm with the Vermont Department of Health, Food & Lodging Program (https://www.healthvermont.gov/environment/food-lodging-program/home-based-food-licenses-and-exemptions).

Delivery in state

Not confirmedUnverified -- confirm with the Vermont Department of Health, Food & Lodging Program (https://www.healthvermont.gov/environment/food-lodging-program/home-based-food-licenses-and-exemptions).

Shipping out of state

Not confirmedUnverified -- confirm with the Vermont Department of Health. Note that even if Vermont law does not itself prohibit it, federal rules generally bar shipment of unlicensed/uninspected home-kitchen food in interstate commerce.

The fine print

Statute

18 V.S.A. § 4351; Act 42 (2025)

Recent changes

Act 42 (2025), effective July 1, 2025 — increased the sales threshold and expanded eligible food categories; also introduced (or reaffirmed) the January 15, 2026 annual re-filing deadline

Notes

Source conflict — the Vermont Department of Health page (primary) emphasizes direct-to-consumer sale from the home kitchen/personal property and did not itself list farmers markets, online, mail, or wholesale as permitted channels, whereas a nonprofit aggregator (pickyourown.org) states cottage food operators may also sell at retail food stores, farmers' markets, roadside stands, online, by mail, or to wholesale distributors. Per the accuracy rules, the more restrictive primary-source description is treated as authoritative for "Where Sales Are Permitted," with the broader aggregator claim flagged here rather than merged in as fact. Confirm both the full venue list and the $10,000 resale-processing exemption figure directly with the Food & Lodging Program before publishing.