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Selling homemade food in Indiana means your label has to follow the Indiana Home Based Vendor (HBV) law — IC 16-42-5.3 (HEA 1309/2009, expanded by HEA 1149/2022); overseen by the Indiana Department of Health, Division of Food Protection. No license or permit is required, but an accredited food-handler certification is. Here is exactly what that label must show in 2026 — the required fields, the allergen rule, and the verbatim disclaimer and its font size — sourced to the statute and dated.
Print this statement on the label, word for word:
At least 10-point type. Wording is exactly as printed in the official IDOH Home-Based Vendor Handbook.
Indiana's Home Based Vendor (HBV) law (IC 16-42-5.3) requires no license or permit, but it is not a no-strings exemption: the vendor must hold a valid food-handler certificate from an ANSI/ANAB-accredited program, and — the state's signature restriction — HBV sales are limited to farmers markets and roadside stands. Selling from your home, online, by mail order, or wholesale to stores/restaurants is not permitted under HBV. Only non-potentially-hazardous foods qualify (breads and other baked goods, candies, high-acid jams/jellies/preserves, honey, dry mixes); refrigeration-dependent 'TCS' items are excluded. The label must carry the statutory uninspected-kitchen disclaimer plus producer name/address, ingredients, and allergen information under IC 16-42-5.3-5.
Indiana HBV confines you to farmers markets and roadside stands. Selling from home, shipping/mail order, internet sales with delivery, or wholesaling to a shop or restaurant falls outside HBV and is not allowed under this law.
Cheesecakes, cream/custard/meat pies, salsas and other home-canned low-acid vegetables, and anything requiring refrigeration for safety are prohibited. HBV covers only non-potentially-hazardous foods.
IC 16-42-5.3-5 requires the statement that the product is home produced/processed in a kitchen not inspected by the State Department of Health, along with the vendor's name and address, product name, ingredients, and allergen disclosure. Sellers often omit the exact disclaimer or the allergen line.
There is no permit, but the ANSI/ANAB-accredited food-handler certificate is mandatory for HBV. Selling without it is a violation even though the state charges no permit fee.
Timeline: About one day to compliant. There is no application or inspection to schedule. Realistic steps: complete an online ANSI/ANAB-accredited food-handler course and exam (can be finished the same day), confirm your product is a non-hazardous allowed food, print labels with the required IC 16-42-5.3-5 disclaimer and allergen statement, then sell at a farmers market or roadside stand.
Cost: $0 in government fees — no permit or license required. Expect roughly $10–$15 out of pocket for an ANSI/ANAB-accredited food-handler certificate (price varies by provider — confirm with your chosen accredited course), plus label/ingredient costs.
Cottage food laws get revised, and a new disclaimer or font size can quietly make your label non-compliant. Leave your email and we'll write to you only when Indiana's cottage food label rules change. Nothing else, ever — and you can unsubscribe from any message.
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Make my Indiana label →Indiana requires this exact statement on a cottage food label: “This product is home produced and processed, and the production area has not been inspected by the State Department of Health. NOT FOR RESALE.” It must be set at a minimum of 10-point type.
No. Indiana does not require a permit or registration number printed on the label.
At minimum: product name — the common name of the food; your business / producer name; the address of the cottage food operation; a complete ingredient list, in descending order by weight (sub-ingredients included); an allergen declaration — the 9 major FDA allergens, in the ingredient list or a “Contains:” line; net weight, in US customary and metric units; the state's required disclaimer at a minimum of 10-point type (see below); the date the food was made.
No. CottageCompliance gives general information based on each state's published rules, dated to when we last verified them. Always confirm with your state or local agency before selling.
Source: Indiana Home-Based Vendor Handbook, Indiana Department of Health — Division of Food Protection (updated summer 2025), pp. 6 and 9. Verified 2026-08-09. General information, not legal advice — confirm with your state or local agency before selling.