Pennsylvania Cottage Food (2026): Registering a Limited Food Establishment

Pennsylvania has no cottage food statute. Home kitchens are handled through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's (PDA) Limited Food Establishment (LFE) registration. The upside is wide: no sales cap, internet sales, and retail or wholesale all allowed. The cost is more up-front work than in most states: a plan review, an on-site inspection, and lab testing for some products.

Step by step

1. Check local zoning first. Township and borough rules vary, and PDA registration doesn't override them. 2. Fill out the LFE application packet. It asks how you'll sell (retail from home, farmers' market, internet, wholesale in or out of state), where you'll sell, and what you'll make. Attach draft labels. 3. Test your water if you're on a well. Send one Total Coliform sample and one Nitrate/Nitrite sample to a DEP-approved lab, and include the results. 4. Lab-test products where required. PDA's packet lists products that need testing: - Acid, acidified, or fermented foods: pH - Dressings, sauces, and salsa: pH and water activity - "Moist" breads, cakes, and some pies: water activity and pH - Jams and jellies: possibly soluble solids, to confirm product identity Retest whenever a recipe changes. 5. Plan review. Allow 3–5 weeks. Your regional inspector then schedules an on-site inspection. 6. Pay at inspection. Registration is $35, collected at your first compliant inspection, and $35 a year to renew. Your inspection report acts as your approval until the formal registration arrives, which can take up to 60 days.

Pets: read this before you apply

PDA's packet says no animals or pets are allowed in the home at any time if the home kitchen is used. There is one exception: the home is laid out so pets can never reach the food processing and storage area. For many applicants this is the deciding factor.

What you can make

Only non-TCS foods, meaning foods that don't need refrigeration or hot holding. Common examples are baked goods without cream fillings, jams and jellies, candy, fudge, snack mixes, dried herbs, spices, maple products, and nut mixes. Because PDA allows pH-controlled products after testing, acidified and fermented foods are possible here, unlike in many states. Low-acid canned foods are not.

Where you can sell

LFE registration covers sales from the production site, including internet sales. You can also sell retail and wholesale. Two cautions from PDA:

• Selling across state lines may also require FDA registration and brings in federal nutrition labeling.
• Selling at events or farmers' markets may require a separate Retail Food Facility License.

The Institute for Justice reports no annual sales limit for Pennsylvania LFEs.

The Pennsylvania label

PDA's minimum label for packaged products:

1. Name of the product
2. Ingredients, from most to least by weight
3. Allergen declaration, if needed
4. Name and address of the manufacturer or distributor
5. Net weight or count, placed in the bottom third of the principal display panel in type no smaller than 8 point

There's one notable exception. Bakery items made and sold directly to a Pennsylvania consumer by the baker or their employee, at the production site or a satellite such as a farmers' market, don't need a label on the product. Ingredient information must still be available on request. Pennsylvania doesn't require a separate home-kitchen disclaimer sentence.

Nutrition Facts in Pennsylvania

PDA's packet says it plainly: food sold interstate must meet nutrition labeling requirements, and you should contact FDA about the small business exemption. Nutrient claims trigger it as well. A dual-column label works well for products sized between one and three servings.

Official source

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture — Limited Food Establishment and Apply for or renew LFE registration.