To start a cottage food business in Mississippi, you confirm your product is non-perishable, label it correctly, and start selling directly to customers — there's no permit, no registration, and no food-safety course, but the state keeps a $35,000 annual cap and is strict on online sales. This is the step-by-step playbook; for the full legal detail, see our Mississippi cottage food law guide.
The short version: Mississippi requires nothing to start — no registration, permit, fee, or training — but caps sales at $35,000/year and restricts how you can sell. Multiple 2024–2026 bills to raise the cap and legalize online sales have failed, so confirm the current rules with the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) before advertising or selling online. You can sell non-perishable baked goods, jams, candies, and dried products directly to consumers. Every label needs the "not subject to Mississippi's food safety regulations" statement in 10-point type. Confirm your product, label it, and you can start.
Mississippi is one of the cheapest states to start because there's nothing to apply for:
Most Mississippi sellers start for under $150.
You can legally start the same day for in-person sales — there's nothing to apply for:
Mississippi allows non-perishable foods: baked goods, jams, candies, and dried products. Anything needing refrigeration is off-limits. The full allowed/prohibited lists and labeling rules are in our Mississippi cottage food law guide and cottage food labeling guide.
Mississippi is direct-to-consumer, with limits on online sales:
Where online ordering is permitted, a real storefront makes selling far easier than juggling DMs. Homegrown gives Mississippi 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 Mississippi-ready storefront live in about 15 minutes (use it for in-person ordering and pickup where online sales are limited).
The cap is $35,000 in annual gross sales. 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 Mississippi you may also need a sales tax permit from the Department of Revenue depending on what you sell.
No. Mississippi requires no permit, registration, fee, or training to sell non-perishable foods directly to consumers.
Often under $150 — there's nothing to apply for, so your main costs are labels, packaging, and ingredients.
The cap is $35,000 in annual gross sales. Bills to raise it (to $120,000 or $200,000) have repeatedly failed, so the $35,000 limit remains.
Mississippi is strict on online sales, and reform bills to allow them have failed. Confirm the current rules with the Mississippi State Department of Health before advertising or selling online.
Non-perishable foods: baked goods, jams, candies, and dried products. Refrigerated items aren't allowed.
You can start the same day for in-person sales — there's nothing to apply for.
No. Most sellers start as sole proprietors. An LLC is optional and mainly about liability protection if you scale.
Mississippi asks for nothing upfront — just keep to non-perishable foods, the $35,000 cap, and the current online-sales rules. Confirm your product, label correctly, and set up an easy way for customers to order and pick up. Set up a Homegrown storefront for Mississippi cottage food orders and pickup, read the full Mississippi cottage food law, and compare other states on our cottage food laws by state hub.
Comparing your options? See the best platform to sell food from home.
*This guide is general information, not legal advice. Cottage food rules change — verify current requirements (especially online-sales rules) with the Mississippi State Department of Health before you start selling. Last verified: June 2026.*
