Indiana HEA 1424: a homestead and small-farm food path beside the home-based vendor rules
Indiana House Bill 1424 became Public Law 163 on March 12, 2026. The official digest adds homestead vendors and small farm vendors, exempt from specified food-establishment health rules, alongside the existing home-based vendor path. It does not change a sales cap.
Indiana home bakers have been working under the home-based vendor chapter (HEA 1149 / 2022, IC 16-42-5.3). HEA 1424 does not repeal that chapter. It adds another path — homestead vendor and small farm vendor — and limits how the Indiana Department of Health and local health units may regulate people on that path.
The bill, in official facts
- Bill
- HB 1424 / HEA 1424 / Public Law 163 (2026)
- Title
- Farm and homestead food sales
- Author
- Rep. Hunter Smith
- Co-authors
- Reps. Robert Morris, Matt Lehman, and Robb Greene
- Senate sponsors
- Sens. Brian Buchanan, Gary Byrne, Tyler Johnson, Eric Koch, Blake Doriot, and Stacey Donato
- Status
- Signed by the Governor — Public Law 163 on March 12, 2026
- Effective date
- July 1, 2026 (Indiana’s default for acts that do not print a different date; confirm on the enrolled act)
- What the official digest describes
- A homestead vendor / small farm vendor path, exempt from specified food-establishment health regulations
- Sales cap
- No cap change appears on the official digest
- Official page
- https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/house/1424/details
What the official digest says
The Indiana General Assembly digest on the bill page, as published, states all of the following:
50 states + DC, county zoning, and free PDF reports.
- The executive board of the Indiana Department of Health may adopt rules concerning time/temperature control for food safety, but those rules may not be applied to a homestead vendor or small farm vendor.
- Homestead vendors and small farm vendors are exempt from specified health regulations applicable to food establishments.
- The Indiana Department of Health, a local unit of government, the health and hospital corporation of Marion County, or a local health department may not impose any rules, regulations, certifications, or licensing requirements on a homestead vendor or small farm vendor that are (the published digest is truncated on the public details page at that clause).
That is the entire official digest available on the IGA details page. This post does not fill in definitions of “homestead vendor” or “small farm vendor,” allowed foods, or labeling from unofficial summaries.
What this post does not claim
- This is not legal advice. It restates the official IGA digest and action history.
- No sales-cap change is claimed. Indiana’s home-based vendor chapter already has no annual dollar cap. The official digest does not mention a new cap.
- The public digest is truncated. For the rest of the sentence about local licensing, open the enrolled House Bill on the IGA page.
- Effective date: the action history lists Public Law 163 on March 12, 2026, and does not print a special effective date. This post uses July 1, 2026, Indiana’s default under IC 1-1-3-3, unless you confirm a different date in the enrolled act.
Official sources
- HB 1424 — official IGA details page
- Crosodo Indiana state guide
- Selling cottage food in Indiana — still written around the HEA 1149 / HBV path
Crosodo Journal entries are recipe, craft, and cottage-food notes for home bakers. Recipes assume an active starter and basic equipment. Cottage food sales are governed by your state's law — start with the free state directory, check a product with Can I sell this?, or grab a label template. Not legal advice.
