Business8 min read·Vol. 0

Selling cottage food in Indiana (2026 guide)

A plain-English walkthrough of Indiana's cottage food rules — who needs to register, what you can sell, the labeling requirements, and how the sales cap actually works. Includes the official statute, the state department links, and a county-level companion guide.

If you bake out of your home in Indiana, the rules you live by are set by the state's cottage food law — currently Indiana Code Title 16, Article 42, Chapter 5.3 — Home Based Food Products (enacted as HEA 1149, 2022; prior law under Chapter 5.2). It's a Great-tier law on the Crosodo scale: permissive — a high or no sales cap, broad product list, and multiple sales channels. This post is the plain-English version. The full breakdown — every county-specific zoning rule, the registration link, the latest verified statute citation — lives on the Crosodo Indiana state guide and the downloadable Indiana PDF report.

Not legal advice. We're a small apparel brand that cares about home bakers. For anything serious, read the law directly and call the Indiana State Department of Health.

The quick facts

Cottage food tier: Great
Annual sales cap: No annual sales cap.
Registration required: No
Kitchen inspection: upon-complaint
Food handler certification: yes (specific course)
Indirect sales (retail/online): No — direct-to-consumer only.
Statute: Ind. Code §16-42-5.2

What you can sell

Home-based vendors may sell most nonperishable (non-potentially hazardous) foods, including baked goods, candies, jams and jellies, fermented products (not oxygen-sealed), nut butters, syrups, dried goods, coffee, tea, snacks, and similar shelf-stable items. Whole eggs, traditional pickles not stored in oxygen-sealed containers, and whole chickens or rabbits raised by the vendor (with restrictions) are also allowed.

What's specifically excluded

Perishable baked goods requiring refrigeration, acidified foods (pickles in oxygen-sealed containers, salsas, sauces, ketchup, juices), low-acid canned foods, and meat jerkies are prohibited. Interstate sales and wholesale/catering are not permitted under this law.

Where you can sell

Indiana is a direct-to-consumer state under cottage food. That means farmers markets, home pickup, delivery you do yourself, roadside stands, and similar in-person channels. Selling through a grocery store, restaurant, or third-party retailer is not covered by the cottage food law — that's a commercial license question. See cottage food vs commercial kitchen for the move-up decision.

Labeling requirements

Labels or point-of-sale signs must include: business name, home address, product name, date produced, ingredients, and the statement 'This product is home produced and processed and the production area has not been inspected by the state department of health. NOT FOR RESALE.' Net weight/count is also required.

Texas has the most detailed plain-English label walkthrough we've published — the structure translates well to most other states. See how to label cottage food in Texas for a copy-paste template you can adapt for Indiana.

Common questions

Do I need to register before I start?

No — Indiana does not require home bakers to register before selling cottage food. That said, you should still keep clean records, follow the labeling rules, and check whether your county or city imposes its own home-occupation permit or business license. County-level details for Indiana are on the Crosodo Indiana state guide.

Do I need a food handler certification?

Yes. Indiana requires a food handler or food safety certification for cottage food producers. The Indiana State Department of Health maintains a list of accepted courses — most cost $10-$15 and take about 90 minutes online. Get this done before your first sale.

Is my home kitchen inspected?

Only on complaint. Your home kitchen is not routinely inspected, but the state can come out if a customer files a complaint or there's a foodborne illness report. Keep clean records and clean equipment.

What's the sales cap?

No annual sales cap.. No cap means scale is governed by your zoning and your time, not the cottage food law.

If you're just starting out

Read your statute. Ind. Code §16-42-5.2 It's shorter than you think.
Check your county. State law is the floor; your county can add zoning rules on top. The Crosodo Indiana state guide lists the top counties with their specific requirements.
Pick what you'll bake. The top selling sourdough loaves and beyond bread (cookies, buns, scones) posts cover what tends to actually sell at farmers markets.
Price it right. The cottage baker pricing post walks through unit economics — most new bakers underprice by 30%.
Label it correctly. Adapt the Texas label template to Indiana's required disclaimer language.
Set up your back office. The cottage baker software stack post covers what we use day-to-day.

Official sources

If your county is missing from our Indiana directory, tell us and we'll add it next. And if you want one of our sourdough varsity shirts while you proof your starter, the shop is here.

Crosodo Blog entries are recipe and craft notes from working cottage bakers. Recipes assume working with an active starter and basic equipment. Cottage food sales are governed by your state's law — see our state directory for legal details.