Guide
Cottage food in Florida: the checklist
What cottage food covers in Florida, whether sales are capped, and why a ticketed micro hospitality dinner needs a different route. Checked Sep 2026.
Tenseats · Updated September 25, 2026
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 FDACS before you sell a ticket or open your space.
At a glance
- Covers: non-perishable foods like breads, cookies, candies, jams, granola and nuts, prepackaged and labelled. §500.80 FDACS
- Sales cap: $250,000 a year gross, across all your locations and people. §500.80
- Registration and fee: none. No permit, no inspection; FDACS inspects on complaint. FDACS §500.80
- Doesn't cover: your coq au vin. Ticketed or plated dinners fall under public food service establishment rules. §509.013
- Home-kitchen meal law: none. The 2022 bill that would have allowed it (HB 707) died in committee. FL Senate
Quick answers
What does Florida's cottage food law cover? Non-perishable foods like breads, cookies, candies, jams, granola and nuts, prepackaged and labelled. No registration, fee or inspection. §500.80 FDACS
What is the cottage food sales cap in Florida? $250,000 a year gross, across all your locations and people. §500.80
Does Florida cottage food cover a ticketed dinner? No. Ticketed or plated dinners fall under public food service establishment rules and need a DBPR licence. §509.013 DBPR fees
What this means for a dinner
- Start with a free dinner for friends at home. The licence question starts when money changes hands, or when it's advertised to the public, charge or not. DBPR doesn't say where free ends (unverified). §509.013 DBPR
- Selling tickets to a micro hospitality night? You need a DBPR licence instead: caterer $263 a year, or a temporary event licence from $91 (unverified: usually tied to a community event; call first). DBPR fees
- DBPR food service can't run in a private residence, so your home kitchen sits this one out. Cook in a licensed kitchen or venue. DBPR
- Selling take-home treats? The label needs a 10-point notice: "Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida's food safety regulations." §500.80
Your city
- Orlando: organizer checklist · venue host checklist
- Tampa: organizer checklist · venue host checklist
- St. Petersburg: organizer checklist · venue host checklist
Learn more
Not legal advice. Confirm with a lawyer and FDACS before you act.
Guides by city in Florida
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