Guide
Cottage food in Indiana: the checklist
What cottage food covers in Indiana, 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 IDOH before you sell a ticket or open your space.
At a glance
- Covers: home-based vendors can sell non-TCS foods like baked goods, candy, jams and roasted coffee. IDOH
- Homestead vendors (since 2026-07-01) can add prepared foods, produce, and meat from their own animals. HEA 1424
- Sales cap: none for home-based vendors. $1,500,000 a year for homestead vendors. IDOH memo HEA 1424
- Registration and fee: $0 on both tracks. Home-based vendors file an ANSI food handler certificate with the county. IDOH
- Doesn't cover: ticketed or plated dinners. "Ready-made meals" are excluded, and homestead food can't be served or reheated. Think take-home, not table service. IDOH IDOH memo
- Home-kitchen meal law: none, and we found no pending bill (unverified). IDOH memo
Quick answers
What does Indiana's cottage food law cover? It depends on the track. Home-based vendors sell non-TCS foods like baked goods, candy and jams. Since 2026-07-01, homestead vendors can add prepared foods, produce and meat from their own animals. IDOH HEA 1424
Is there a sales cap on cottage food in Indiana? None for home-based vendors. Homestead vendors can sell up to $1,500,000 a year. IDOH memo HEA 1424
Does Indiana's cottage food law cover a ticketed dinner? No. "Ready-made meals" are excluded, and homestead food can't be served or reheated. Indiana exempts home dinners the occupants cook "free of charge"; a ticketed dinner isn't one. IDOH HEA 1424
What this means for a dinner
- Start with a free dinner for friends at home. The licence question starts when money changes hands. HEA 1424
- The law exempts a home where the occupants cook "free of charge" for guests. A ticket ends that. HEA 1424
- Serve outside homestead rules and you count as an unlicensed retail food establishment. IDOH memo
- For a micro hospitality night, use a local licence instead. In Indianapolis, a shared kitchen user licence is $150 a year. MCPHD
Your city
- Indianapolis: organizer checklist · venue host checklist
Learn more
Not legal advice. Confirm with a lawyer and IDOH before you act.
Guides by city in Indiana
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