To start a cottage food business in South Carolina, you confirm your product is non-perishable, label it correctly, and start selling — there's no registration, no license, and no sales cap, and unusually you can sell both direct to consumers and wholesale to retail stores, plus online and shipped within South Carolina. This is the step-by-step playbook; for the full legal detail, see our South Carolina cottage food law guide.
The short version: South Carolina requires nothing to start — no registration (an SCDA ID number is optional for privacy) and no revenue cap. You can sell a broad list of non-perishable foods both directly and wholesale to retail stores, a rare combination. Online sales and shipping are allowed within South Carolina. Every label needs your name and address (or SCDA ID) and the all-caps "NOT FOR RESALE… NOT SUBJECT TO SOUTH CAROLINA'S FOOD SAFETY REGULATIONS" statement. (Oversight moved from DHEC to the SC Department of Agriculture on July 1, 2024.) Confirm your product, label it, and you can start.
South Carolina is one of the cheapest states to start because nothing is required:
Most South Carolina sellers start for under $150.
You can legally start the same day — there's nothing to apply for:
South Carolina allows a broad list of non-perishable foods: baked goods, jams, candies, dried items, and dry mixes. The full allowed/prohibited lists and labeling rules are in our South Carolina cottage food law guide and cottage food labeling guide.
South Carolina is unusually flexible:
Because South Carolina allows direct, wholesale, and online sales, a real storefront helps you manage orders and payments in one place while you also pitch local stores. Homegrown gives South Carolina cottage food sellers an online storefront with built-in payments and pickup or shipping for $10/month at 0% commission — you keep every dollar except standard card processing. Start a free trial and have a South Carolina-ready storefront live in about 15 minutes.
There's no cap — and the rare direct-plus-wholesale combination opens real scale. 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 South Carolina you may also need a retail license to collect sales tax depending on what you sell.
No. South Carolina requires no registration, license, or inspection. An SCDA ID number is optional for label privacy.
Often under $150 — nothing is required, so your main costs are labels, packaging, and ingredients. An online storefront adds $10/month.
There's no revenue cap — you can sell an unlimited amount.
A broad list of non-perishable foods: baked goods, jams, candies, dried items, and dry mixes.
Yes — unusually, South Carolina allows both direct-to-consumer and wholesale to retail stores, plus online and shipping within the state.
You can start the same day — 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.
South Carolina is one of the most opportunity-rich states: no cap, plus both direct and wholesale sales. Confirm your product, label correctly, and set up an easy way for customers and stores to order and pay. Set up a Homegrown storefront to take South Carolina cottage food orders online, see the best platform to sell food from home, read the full South Carolina 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 South Carolina Department of Agriculture before you start selling. Last verified: June 2026.*
Selling at farmers markets? See our South Carolina farmers market vendor permit guide for the permits you need on market day.
