Arkansas Cottage Food Law
Tier: Freedom. Sell almost anything direct to consumer with no sales cap. Often called a 'food freedom' law — local zoning is the main remaining constraint.
None
Producers may sell almost any nonperishable, non-potentially hazardous food directly to consumers, including baked goods, candies, condiments, dry goods, preserves, fermented foods, carbonated drinks, and snacks. Interstate sales are permitted and retail/wholesale channels are allowed as long as an informed end consumer is the final buyer.
Registration: No. Food handler cert: No.
Arkansas Food Freedom Act (SB 248 / Act 1040)
Verbatim excerptSB248 - TO CREATE THE FOOD FREEDOM ACT; AND TO EXEMPT CERTAIN PRODUCERS OF HOMEMADE FOOD OR DRINK PRODUCTS FROM LICENSURE, CERTIFICATION, AND INSPECTION. Under the food freedom law, producers can sell their homemade food almost anywhere, including sales through grocery and retail stores. Even interstate sales are allowed. Producers can sell almost any type of nonperishable food, though producers who sell acidified foods (e.g. pickles) must follow additional requirements. There is no sales limit, and a producer does not need to get a permit from the health department. The food freedom law specifically prevents state and local governments from restricting home food producers. Products must be sold to an informed end consumer. For instance, a grocery or retail store could sell your products to their customers, who are end consumers and can see your product labels. If you want to sell pickles or other acidified foods, you must ensure that the final pH level of the product is 4.6 or below by doing one of the following: Use a recipe from an approved source; Get your product tested in a lab; Test each batch with a calibrated pH meter.
Source: arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Detail?ddBienniumSession=2021%2F2021R&measureno=SB248 →
Arkansas Cottage Food Law — Full PDF report
A comprehensive report covering the Arkansas statute, every county we've researched, and authoritative source URLs.
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Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guidelines
Official agency guidance changes without notice. The text below is reproduced for reference only — always confirm current rules on the agency website before relying on it.
- Arkansas Department of Healthhttps://healthy.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/Homemade_Food_Guide-5.21.2026-Update.pdf
The Homemade Food Production Guide was developed to provide standards, guidelines, and consistent information for food vendors and regulators to provide fresh, safe, and quality food to the consumer. This Guide offers advice on food items that may be sold and conditions that must be met at the point of sale. All food manufactured, produced, processed, sold, or dispensed in the State of Arkansas must comply with the Arkansas Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and cannot be contaminated, adulterated, misbranded, or dishonestly presented. During the 93rd Session of the Arkansas General Assembly the Cottage Food Act (Act 399 of 2017) was removed and replaced by the Food Freedom Act (Act 1040 of 2021).
NO PERMIT REQUIRED — Homemade Non-TCS Foods
- Homemade Non-TCS Food is food or drink products that do not require refrigeration to prevent the growth of disease-causing microorganisms and are processed at the private residence of the producer. These products are exempt from ADH permitting and inspection requirements.
- An "informed end consumer" is the last person to purchase a Homemade Non-TCS Food that cannot resell the product. An informed end consumer has been informed through appropriate labeling and signage that the Homemade Non-TCS Food product has not been regulated or inspected.
- Homemade Non-TCS Foods can be sold direct to the informed consumer either in-person, by telephone, or online by the producer of the Homemade Non-TCS Food, by an agent of the producer (i.e. employee, friend, etc.), or by a third-party vendor (i.e. a retail shop or a grocery store).
- From a retail space located at the ranch, farm, home, or office where the Homemade Non-TCS Food is produced.
- At a retail location of a third-party vendor of the Homemade Non-TCS Food. Third-party vendors of Homemade Non-TCS Food who also sell food produced under state or federal inspection must keep the Homemade Non-TCS Foods separate from inspected products.
- Within the State of Arkansas or in another state if the seller complies with all federal laws. Homemade Non-TCS Food producers should contact the United States Food and Drug Administration as well as the state and local public health authorities prior to any sale out of state to ensure compliance with any applicable laws or regulations.
- Delivery of the product can be by the producer, agent of the producer, third-party vendor, or third-party carrier (mail, parcel post, etc.).
- NOTE: Homemade Non-TCS Foods cannot be sold to restaurants for use within the restaurant because Homemade Non-TCS Foods are not from approved sources.
- While foods produced under the Food Freedom Act are exempted from ADH labeling requirements, the Act does require certain information to be provided to the informed end consumer by disclosing:
- 1. The date that the Homemade Non-TCS Food was manufactured, produced, or processed.
- 2. The name, address, and telephone number of the producer. Producers who do not wish to disclose this information for safety reasons may request an identification number provided by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture to be used instead of this information.
- 3. The common or usual name of the food.
- 4. The ingredients of the food in descending order of predominance.
- 5. The statement: "This product was produced in a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens."
- This information must be disclosed on a label affixed to the package or container if the product is offered for sale from a bulk container (with a separate written document containing all required disclosures provided to the consumer at the time of sale), or for products offered for sale online, the website must include the above labeling information and the package itself must be labeled.
- Any food that requires time and/or temperature control to prevent the growth of microorganisms that cause food borne illness. The following foods are considered Time/Temperature Control for Safety Foods (TCS Foods) and CANNOT be sold without a permit from ADH:
- 1. A food of animal origin (meat, poultry, seafood, wild game, dairy) that is raw, or heat treated (cooked).
- 2. A food of plant origin that is heat treated (except for foods specifically listed in Appendix A of this document).
- 3. Raw seed sprouts.
- 4. Cut leafy greens — Defined as: Fresh leafy greens whose leaves have been cut, shredded, sliced, chopped or torn. Leafy greens that have only been cut from their root in the field (often called a "harvest cut") with no further processing are not "Cut leafy greens". The term "leafy greens" does not include herbs such as cilantro or parsley.
- 5. Cut or sliced fresh tomatoes.
- 6. Cut or sliced melons.
- 7. Garlic-in-oil mixtures.
- 8. Or any food that because of the interaction of its water activity (aw) and pH values is designated as Product Assessment Required in Table A or B of the official guide.
Pickled Cucumbers and Other Acidified Vegetables
- Pickled cucumbers and other acidified vegetables that have an equilibrium pH of 4.6 or less are considered Homemade Non-TCS Food under Act 1040 of 2021 provided:
- 1. The recipe is from a source approved by ADH (See Links in Appendix A); has been tested by an appropriately certified Food Process Authority who has confirmed the process will result in a product with a final equilibrium pH of 4.6 or less; or the producer tests each batch with a calibrated pH meter to confirm the finished product has an equilibrium pH value of 4.6 or less. Only pH meters with a resolution of 0.1 pH units and an accuracy of +/- 0.1 pH units should be used.
- 2. The product is labeled with a unique number for each batch (batch number).
- 3. The producer maintains records that include: the batch number; the recipe used; the source of the recipe used or the pH of the batch as measured using a calibrated pH meter by the producer; and the date the batch was prepared.
Other Foods — No Permit Required
- Whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables may be offered for sale without a permit or inspection from ADH.
- Maple syrup, sorghum, or honey that is produced by a maple syrup, sorghum producer, or beekeeper may be sold.
- Creamed honey (whipped) and honey flavored with dry non-TCS ingredients (ground cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.) may be sold.
- Honey with TCS ingredients as additives or flavorings is not allowed.
PERMIT REQUIRED — ADH Permitted and Inspected Facilities
- Canning is the process of preserving food by packing the food into glass jars and heating the jars to kill organisms that would create spoilage or cause illness.
- Growth of the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum in canned food may cause botulism, a deadly form of food poisoning. Botulinum spores are very hard to destroy at boiling water temperatures; the higher the canner temperature, the more easily they are destroyed.
- Low-acid foods (canned foods with a finished equilibrium pH greater than 4.6 and an aw greater than 0.85) require much stricter controls to protect public safety and can only be produced under a permit from the Arkansas Department of Health.
- Low-Acid Canned foods include, without limitation, canned: beans, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, corn, artichoke, asparagus, okra, olives, spinach, onions, squash, peas, green beans, fish, meat, poultry, broth, and eggs.
- Smoking, curing, and drying meat is a preservation process that removes the available moisture in the meat. By removing moisture, enzymes cannot contact or react with the food.
- The Food Freedom Act does not allow for the sale of any products that contain meat, poultry or seafood and a permit is required to produce these products.
- Permitted facilities who produce these products must have a variance approved by ADH for the specific food process that addresses all the critical food safety factors for the product, including monitoring of the processing temperatures and the aw of the finished product.
- Sprouts may include alfalfa, clover, sunflower, broccoli, mustard, radish, garlic, dill and pumpkin as well as mung, kidney, pinto, navy, soybeans, and wheat berries (wheat grass).
- Raw and lightly cooked sprouts, especially alfalfa, clover, and mung bean sprouts have been associated with foodborne illness in a number of outbreaks.
- Production of sprouted seeds or beans requires a permit and a variance from ADH for this specific food process that addresses all critical food safety factors for the product, including the disinfection of the seeds used to grow the sprouts and testing of the irrigation water from each batch of sprouts for the presence of pathogenic microorganisms.
- NOTE: Microgreens — sprouted seeds that are harvested after the emergence of "true leaves" are allowed to be sold under the Food Freedom Act. However, microgreens may only be cut once, during harvest. Sprouted seeds that still have roots, or the cotyledons are still un- or under-developed are considered sprouts and must be produced under a permit.
- Any TCS food, even if the food is commercially pre-packaged, can only be sold or served from an ADH permitted and inspected facility. This is to ensure that the proper refrigeration and monitoring is present to maintain food safety.
- These food items must be kept in refrigeration equipment that can always maintain the food at below 41°F or above 135°F.
- Common examples of TCS Food include, without limitation, dairy products, cheeses, meat and poultry products, deli salads, casseroles, cream or custard pies, and cheesecakes.
- Any ready-to-eat food that is prepared on-site or any commercially prepared food that is provided to the consumer in a non-prepackaged form can only be sold or served from an ADH permitted and inspected facility.
- Any establishment preparing, selling, or serving any of these food items must fully comply with the ADH Rules Pertaining to Retail Food Establishments.
Reproduced from the official Arkansas Department of Health Homemade Food Production Guidelines (May 21, 2026). Contact your ADH Local Health Unit Environmental Health Specialist for products not covered here.
Arkansas Counties
75 counties tracked. Pick yours for the local zoning + health department links.
View all 75 counties →City zoning rules in Arkansas
City zoning rules apply on top of the state cottage food law — home occupation, customer pickup, signage, and employees.
The Cottage Baker's Field Guide (PDF)
A 6-page reference covering all 51 jurisdictions with methodology and tier explainers — same data as this directory, ready to print and tape to your wall.
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Arkansas cottage food law — FAQ
Do I need a license or permit to sell homemade food in Arkansas?
Yes — No. Food handler certification: No.
What foods can I sell under the Arkansas cottage food law?
Producers may sell almost any nonperishable, non-potentially hazardous food directly to consumers, including baked goods, candies, condiments, dry goods, preserves, fermented foods, carbonated drinks, and snacks. Interstate sales are permitted and retail/wholesale channels are allowed as long as an informed end consumer is the final buyer.
Is there a sales cap for cottage food in Arkansas?
None
How good is Arkansas's cottage food law?
Arkansas is a Freedom-tier cottage food state by Crosodo's rating criteria. Sell almost anything direct to consumer with no sales cap. Often called a 'food freedom' law — local zoning is the main remaining constraint.
Cottage food laws are amended every year. This is a starting reference, not legal advice. Verify with Arkansas Department of Health and your local health department before relying on this data.