To start a cottage food business in Kentucky, you pick your path — Home-Based Processor ($50/year) for shelf-stable foods, or Home-Based Microprocessor for farmers selling pickles, salsas, and canned goods — register, label correctly, and start selling, with a $60,000 annual sales cap. This is the step-by-step playbook; for the full legal detail, see our Kentucky cottage food law guide.
The short version: Kentucky's Home-Based Processor (HBP) path costs $50/year and covers non-perishable foods like baked goods, jams, candies, and dried foods. The Home-Based Microprocessor (HBM) path is for farmers who grow their main ingredient and want to sell acidified or canned foods — it requires a University of Kentucky workshop ($50), recipe approval ($5/recipe), and a $50 annual certification. Both cap sales at $60,000/year and require direct-to-consumer sales with the "home-produced and processed" label statement. Pick your path, register, and you can start.
Costs depend on your path:
Most HBP sellers start for under $200.
Plan for one to a few weeks, driven by registration (and the workshop/recipe approval for HBM):
The HBP path covers non-perishable baked goods, jams, candies, and dried foods. The HBM path adds acidified and canned foods (pickles, salsas) for farmers who grow the main ingredient. The full allowed/prohibited lists and labeling rules are in our Kentucky cottage food law guide and cottage food labeling guide.
Kentucky cottage food is sold direct to consumers:
Because Kentucky allows online ordering with local pickup, a real storefront makes selling far easier — and helps you track sales toward the $60,000 cap. Homegrown gives Kentucky cottage food sellers an online storefront with built-in payments and pickup for $10/month at 0% commission — you keep every dollar except standard card processing. Start a free trial and have a Kentucky-ready storefront live in about 15 minutes.
Both paths cap sales at $60,000/year. To get the most out of it:
Starting a cottage food business doesn't require an LLC, but it's worth understanding the basics: see whether you need an LLC to sell food from home and how cottage food taxes work on Schedule C. In Kentucky you may also need a sales tax permit from the Department of Revenue depending on what you sell.
You register for one of two paths: Home-Based Processor ($50/year, form DFS-250) for shelf-stable foods, or Home-Based Microprocessor (workshop + recipe approval + $50/year) for farmers selling acidified/canned foods.
HBP is $50/year. HBM adds a $50 workshop, $5/recipe approval, and $50/year certification. Plus labels, packaging, and ingredients — most HBP sellers start under $200.
Both paths cap sales at $60,000 in gross annual sales.
HBP: non-perishable baked goods, jams, candies, dried foods. HBM (farmers): acidified and canned foods like pickles and salsas.
One to a few weeks, driven by registration and (for HBM) the workshop and recipe approval.
No. Most sellers start as sole proprietors. An LLC is optional and mainly about liability protection if you scale.
Kentucky gives you a simple $50 path for shelf-stable foods and a farmer path for canned goods — both up to $60,000 a year. Pick your path, register, label correctly, and set up an easy way for customers to order and pay. Set up a Homegrown storefront to take Kentucky cottage food orders online, see the best platform to sell food from home, read the full Kentucky cottage food law, and compare other states on our cottage food laws by state hub.
*This guide is general information, not legal advice. Cottage food rules change — verify current requirements with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services before you start selling. Last verified: June 2026.*
Selling at farmers markets? See our Kentucky farmers market vendor permit guide for the permits you need on market day.
