What a food processor license covers
A food processor license, also called a food manufacturing license, lets a business process and package food at a fixed location for sale to others. Washington's definition is a good picture of how wide that is:
Washington then lists what needs the license. Cooking, baking, freezing, slicing, dehydrating, smoking, roasting coffee beans, bottling water and repackaging food are all on it, and so is processing or packaging food for someone else.
When you need a food processor license
Most makers meet this license the day their business outgrows the home kitchen. Our state pages show the same triggers again and again:
- You want to sell to stores, restaurants, wholesalers or distributors
- You want to ship to customers in other states
- Your food isn't on your state's cottage food list, like many refrigerated foods
- You pass your state's cottage food sales cap
- You move production to a rented or shared commercial kitchen
What states call the food manufacturing license
| State | License or program | Agency |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | Food Processor License | Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) |
| Georgia | Food Sales Establishment License for a rented or shared kitchen; Manufactured Food Establishment License where FDA rules apply | Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) |
| New Mexico | Commercial manufactured food permit | New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) |
| Missouri | Manufactured Food program, for firms that don't sell directly to the end consumer | Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) |
Georgia adds a limit that holds in many places: its Manufactured Food Establishment License can't be issued for food made in a domestic kitchen. A license usually means a separate, approved space.
Missouri describes the businesses its program covers in words that will sound familiar from FDA's registration rule:
Who doesn't need a food processor license
Each state writes its own exceptions. Washington's list shows the common ones:
- Washing and trimming a raw agricultural product and packing it in its natural state
- Having your product processed or packaged by a co-packer
- Processing honey under a license from the state's honey law
- Other activities already licensed under their own state law, like egg handling or shellfish
Cottage food makers who stay inside their state's law also skip the processor license, though some states ask for a cottage food permit or registration instead. And the co-packer route is popular for a reason: the co-packer's plant holds the license, and you focus on the brand.
Co-packer: how it works and what to hand over →Cottage Food Permit →A state license doesn't replace FDA rules
The food processor license is a state matter. FDA runs its own requirements next to it, and a licensed plant usually meets both:
| Requirement | Who runs it | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Food processor license | Your state | Permission to process at this location, often with inspections |
| Food facility registration | FDA | A free online registration for facilities that make, pack or hold food |
| Acidified and low-acid canned foods | FDA | An extra plant registration and a filed process for each product and container size |
| Food labeling | FDA, plus some state rules | The label on every package you sell |
How to get a food processor license
- Find the agency in your state: the agriculture, health or environment department, depending on the state
- List every product and process you want covered, since the license names them
- Line up a space that can be approved, usually not your home kitchen
- Send the application with the fee your state charges
- Prepare for the inspection: facility, storage, food handling and your labels
- Fix anything on the inspection report, then keep the license current
Washington describes the process step by step. After WSDA receives the application and fee, a Food Safety Compliance Specialist schedules a visit, and the first inspection normally takes one to two hours. The license is renewed every year, doesn't transfer to a new owner and doesn't move with you to a new address.
So adding a new product type later means amending the license in Washington. Ask your own agency how it handles new products before you launch one.
The inspector will look at your labels
A food processor license doesn't stop at the kitchen. Washington's inspectors check packaging and labels on the first visit, so labels belong on your to-do list before the inspection, not after.
Leaving cottage food also means leaving the simpler cottage label. Packaged food from a licensed plant carries the full federal label: product name, net quantity, ingredients by weight, allergens, your business name and address and, unless an exemption fits, Nutrition Facts. Our tool makes the panel, the ingredient list and the Contains line from the recipe you already have. You get a print-ready PDF and a calculation report you can show the inspector when they ask where the numbers came from.
Nutrition Facts Label Requirements →Start your label free →