Cottage food in Alabama: the checklist

Not legal advice. This is a starting checklist, checked 2026-09-25. Rules change and differ by county and city. Talk to a lawyer and confirm with ADPH before you sell a ticket or open your space.

At a glance

• Covers: shelf-stable foods like baked goods, jams, candy, dried herbs and fruit, roasted coffee and dry baking mixes. SB 160
• Sales cap: none. SB 160 removed the $20,000 cap in 2021. SB 160
• Registration and fee: no food permit SB 160, but you register with your county health department. Review fees vary by county. ADPH
• Doesn't cover: your smothered pork chops. Ticketed or plated dinners are out, because meat, poultry, fish and anything needing refrigeration are excluded. SB 160
• Home-kitchen meal law: none, and no pending bill found (unverified). ADPH food rules

Quick answers

What does Alabama's cottage food law cover? Shelf-stable foods like baked goods, jams, candy, dried herbs and fruit, roasted coffee and dry baking mixes. SB 160 No permit, but you register with your county health department. ADPH

Is there a cottage food sales cap in Alabama? No. SB 160 removed the $20,000 cap in 2021. SB 160

Does Alabama cottage food cover a ticketed dinner? No. Meat, poultry, fish and anything needing refrigeration are excluded. SB 160 ADPH rules call "a charge for profit for the food, or a membership fee" a sale. Treat any ticket as one; break-even tickets are untested. ADPH food rules

What this means for a dinner

• Start with a free dinner for friends at home. The licence question starts when money changes hands. ADPH food rules
• ADPH rules call "a charge for profit for the food, or a membership fee" a sale, and exempt private gatherings "where no sale of food takes place." Treat any ticket as a sale. ADPH food rules
• For a micro hospitality night, use a permitted venue, a county food permit with a permitted kitchen, or a temporary event permit (unverified: usually tied to a community event; call first) instead. JCDH
• Cottage goods can't be sold through restaurants or permitted food businesses, so leave the take-home jam at home when you're at a permitted venue. ADPH

Your city

• Birmingham: organizer checklist · venue host checklist

Learn more

• ADPH cottage food
• Ala. Code § 22-20-5.1
• JCDH cottage food guide
• ADPH food rules

Not legal advice. Confirm with a lawyer and ADPH before you act.