Cottage Food Label Requirements in North Carolina (2026)

Cottage food rules in North Carolina — the whole program

Who can sell homemade food in North Carolina

North Carolina has no 'cottage food' statute and no self-certifying exemption: it runs a home processing program administered by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS), Food and Drug Protection Division, Food Program. Anyone who wants to produce food for human consumption at home and sell it must first have the home kitchen inspected, before any sale. That obligation covers every outlet — selling to retail stores, to restaurants, or directly to consumers — and it also covers a person who merely opens and repackages food products or ingredients bought elsewhere. A home processor is treated by NCDA&CS as a food manufacturing facility, so the home must meet the federal Good Manufacturing Practices of 21 C.F.R. Part 117 Subpart B and the N.C. Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (G.S. 106-120 et seq.). Two eligibility conditions rule people out immediately. First, the production kitchen must be the home kitchen itself: if the kitchen is in a separate area of the property such as a garage or basement, or in a separate building, the business does not qualify as home processing and is handled as a commercial business under the routine inspection program. Second, no pet may come into the home at any time, even only at night — NCDA&CS treats an indoor pet as a pest and as a violation of the Good Manufacturing Practices, which disqualifies the kitchen. Beyond the building and the pets, eligibility is decided by the food: only low-risk, shelf-stable products that do not require refrigeration or freezing may be made at home. Products that are not processed or manufactured in any way, such as gift baskets of prepackaged goods, do not require an inspection at all.

What you may and may not sell

Allowed:

• Baked goods that do not require refrigeration (breads, cakes, pies, cookies)
• Jams, jellies and preserves
• Candies
• Dried mixes and spices
• Freeze-dried candies
• Freeze-dried fruits and vegetables (shelf-stability evaluation required)
• Some liquids such as iced tea, coffee and lemonade
• Some sauces such as balsamic dressing, after evaluation confirming shelf stability
• Acid and acidified foods such as pickles and barbecue sauce, subject to the extra acidified-food requirements
• Honey
• Peanuts
• Dry goods
• Cream cheese frostings only if laboratory testing shows the product can be produced in a home kitchen
• Products that are not processed or manufactured at all, such as gift baskets of prepackaged goods (no inspection needed for these)

Not allowed under the program:

• Refrigerated or frozen products of any kind
• Low-acid canned foods such as jarred fruits and vegetables
• Dairy products
• Seafood products
• Bottled water and juice products
• Bakery products with cream fillings or cream cheese fillings
• Cheesecakes
• Prepackaged products bought from a retailer or wholesaler that require refrigeration, even when only opened and repackaged
• Any finished product that is not shelf stable, i.e. that needs refrigeration to stay safe
• Any ingredient that is not an FDA-approved food ingredient (some herbs and mushrooms sold as supplements are not approved for food use without special FDA permission)

How much you may sell

No cap. North Carolina sets no annual sales limit, revenue ceiling or production volume limit for home processors: neither the NCDA&CS home processor programme page nor the Application for Home Processor Inspection states any dollar figure, and the gate to selling is the kitchen inspection and the low-risk shelf-stable product list, not turnover. The application asks how often production will occur and how many employees are anticipated, but it attaches no threshold to either answer.

Where you may sell

• Direct to consumers from the home, including customers picking up orders at the house
• Delivery of finished products directly to consumers
• Delivery to special events such as weddings and birthday parties
• Farmers markets, flea markets, curb and tailgate markets
• Retail stores and distributors (wholesale is allowed once the kitchen is inspected)
• Restaurants
• Shipping by postal or courier service such as USPS or FedEx (an affixed label is then mandatory)
• Labelling depends on the point of sale: products packaged for self-service, sold at markets for self-service, shipped by post, or sold to stores, distributors or restaurants must carry an affixed label; custom or on-demand foods handed to the consumer, including from behind the counter or from a secure bulk container or display case, are exempt from the affixed label, but ingredient information must be available on request

Permit, registration and fees

Registration is handled by N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Food and Drug Protection Division, Food Program (4400 Reedy Creek Road, 1070 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1070; telephone (984) 236-4820; homeprocessing@ncagr.gov).

1. Step 1 — Confirm the product may be made at home: only low-risk, shelf-stable items. Sauces must first be evaluated for shelf stability; call (984) 236-4820 before planning pickles or other acidified foods.
2. Step 2 — Confirm no pet enters the home at any time; a pet in the home disqualifies the kitchen under 21 C.F.R. Part 117 Subpart B.
3. Step 3 — Bring the processing area up to 21 C.F.R. Part 117 Subpart B and the N.C. Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act: smooth easily cleanable food contact surfaces, no insects or rodents, hot and cold running water at kitchen and bathroom sinks accessible from the processing area, hand washing at a separate sink or the bathroom sink because the kitchen sink is for food preparation only, thermometers in refrigerator and freezer, waste carried away by sewer or septic, and shielded or shatterproof light bulbs. Acidified foods additionally fall under 21 C.F.R. Part 114 and 21 C.F.R. Part 108.
4. Step 4 — Contact the local city or county planning and zoning department to confirm a food business may be operated from the home and whether local permits are needed; also check any homeowners association or leasing office.
5. Step 5 — Document the water supply: attach a recent water bill (or a letter from the leasing office or HOA showing the service address) for municipal water; for a private well, attach results of coliform bacteria and E. coli testing done within the past year by a certified testing agency — store-bought test kits are not accepted, and the well test must be done before an inspection is scheduled.
6. Step 6 — Write a short business plan containing exactly the six required items: named list of specific products, detailed list of ingredients and their suppliers, storage plan for supplies, equipment, ingredients and finished product, general production flow with procedures and equipment, how products will be transported, and the potential selling locations. Plans that omit an item or pad the file with unrequired material are not accepted.
7. Step 7 — Prepare labels for any product that will need one: product name; manufacturer's name and physical address (a website address may not be substituted); net quantity in ounces or pounds with the gram equivalent, or fluid ounces with the millilitre equivalent; and a complete ingredient list in descending order of predominance by weight, with sub-components in parentheses. All allergens must appear in the ingredient list or in a 'Contains' statement immediately after it (milk, egg, tree nuts by kind, wheat, soy, peanuts, sesame seeds, fish by species, shellfish). Nutrition labelling is not required for home processors unless a claim such as low fat, sugar free or gluten free is made.
8. Step 8 — Send the completed Application for Home Processor Inspection (writable PDF or Word form on the NCDA&CS home processor page) with the supporting documents, by email to homeprocessing@ncagr.gov with attachments in PDF or Word format, or by post to Kaye J. Snipes, 169 Boone Square Street, #168, Hillsborough, NC 27278. Pictures pasted into an email body and links to online documents are not accepted; posted applications should be followed up about a week later.
9. Step 9 — If the product falls in a tested category (acid or acidified foods, dressings and sauces, homemade cream cheese frostings, 'moist' breads, cakes and some pies, or any questionable product), have pH or water activity testing done and submit the Process Authority Letter from the laboratory with the application. Applicants planning acidified foods may also be required to take an Acidified Food Course and submit the Certificate of Completion (course information from N.C. State University, 919-513-2090).
10. Step 10 — Wait for a Food Regulatory Specialist to make contact, normally within eight to twelve weeks of receipt of the application, to arrange the inspection; scheduling is usually done by email, or by telephone for applicants without email. The stated period is approximate and can run longer.
11. Step 11 — Pass the inspection. No permit is issued: the inspector leaves a copy of the inspection report and a 'Notice of Inspection' evidencing that the home has been inspected. Selling may begin only after the kitchen has been inspected.

Fee: NCDA&CS does not charge for the home processing inspection, according to the NC State Extension Food Safety Repository page on the NCDA&CS home processing programme (updated 21 May 2024). No fee appears anywhere on the NCDA&CS home processor page or on the Application for Home Processor Inspection. Separate costs are borne by the applicant where required: certified well water testing, and pH or water activity laboratory testing with the Process Authority Letter, plus the Acidified Food Course where NCDA&CS requires it.

Renewal: No permit or registration certificate is issued, so there is nothing to renew on a calendar. NCDA&CS instead warns that any violation of the N.C. Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act occurring after the inspection may bring further action from local, county, state and federal agencies. How often a home processor is re-inspected, and whether a new application is needed when products or address change, is not stated on the NCDA&CS page or on the application form.

Food safety training

No general food handler certificate or food safety course is required of a home processor. Training becomes mandatory only for acidified foods: applicants planning to produce acidified food products may be required to take an Acidified Food Course and to submit the Certificate of Completion with the application; N.C. State University (919-513-2090) is the contact given for that course. Acidified and other borderline products also need laboratory pH or water activity testing resulting in a Process Authority Letter, which is a product evaluation rather than a personal qualification.

Inspection

Inspection is the heart of the North Carolina programme and is compulsory before any sale. A Food Regulatory Specialist from the NCDA&CS Food and Drug Protection Division visits the home, normally eight to twelve weeks after the application arrives. The inspector checks that the kitchen is clean, built of suitable materials and free of insect and rodent activity, and treats indoor pets as pests that are not permitted. Standard household equipment, appliances and sinks are acceptable, and they may be used for both personal and business production. The kitchen should be free of decorative materials that collect dust. Running water at suitable temperature and pressure is required; there is no fixed hot-water temperature so long as it is hot enough to clean and sanitise equipment and utensils. Waste must be conveyed away from the house by sewer or septic tank, and lights over processing or packaging areas must be shielded against accidental breakage. The inspection covers the kitchen and every other area where processing or packaging happens, plus the areas where materials, ingredients and equipment are stored, and the inspector may walk the exterior of the house to verify that the foundation is intact and will not let pests in. At the end, no permit is granted: the home processor receives the inspection report and a 'Notice of Inspection' showing the home has been inspected, along with notice of any possible violations of the N.C. Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Major violations found during the inspection may disqualify the applicant from operating a home-based food business.

What your city or county may add

NCDA&CS makes the local check a required step of its own process: before applying, the prospective home processor must contact the local city or county planning department to determine whether a food business may be operated from that home and whether local permits are required, and is also told to check with the homeowners association or, for a rented home or apartment, the leasing office. NCDA&CS points applicants to the N.C. Association of County Commissioners (ncacc.org) to find their county government. County environmental health departments remain the regulator for time/temperature control for safety foods sold to the public, which is a further reason those foods cannot be produced at home for sale. Beyond planning and zoning, NCDA&CS also lists non-food registrations the business will need: a Sales and Use Tax number (NC-BR), a federal employer identification number and N.C. withholding tax number if there are employees, and registration of the business name — a Certificate of Assumed Name filed with the Register of Deeds for a sole proprietorship or partnership, or registration with the N.C. Secretary of State for a corporation or LLC. What each individual county or municipality requires on top of the state inspection was not confirmed from a primary source.

Program sources: NCDA&CS, Food and Drug Protection Division, Food Program — 'Food & Drug - Food Program - Home Processor' (starting a home-based food business, Steps 1-8, product lists, inspection process, labelling, contacts) — https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/food-drug-protection/food-program/food-drug-food-program-home-processor · NCDA&CS, Food and Drug Protection Division — 'Application for Home Processor Inspection' (official PDF form: business information, home requirements, production information, business plan contents, product labelling and label example) — https://www.ncagr.gov/food-drug/fdpd-home-processing-app-pdf-0/download?attachment · 02 NCAC 09B (Rules and Standards Adopted by Reference), full subchapter text published by the N.C. Office of Administrative Hearings — rules .0116 Adoptions by Reference (including 21 C.F.R. Parts 101, 108, 110, 113, 114, 117), .0133 Document Availability, .0134 Defining Establishment (eff. 1 May 2018), .0135 Current Good Manufacturing Practices for Retail Food Establishments (eff. 1 February 2019); authority cited G.S. 106-139 — http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2002%20-%20agriculture%20and%20consumer%20services/chapter%2009%20-%20food%20and%20drug%20protection/subchapter%20b/subchapter%20b%20rules.html · NC State Extension, Food Safety Repository — 'NCDA&CS Food Program - Home Processing Focus', updated 21 May 2024 (source for the absence of an inspection fee and for the FDA-approved-ingredient point) — https://foodsafetyrepository.ces.ncsu.edu/ncdacs-food-program-home-processing-focus-2/