A home food license, not an exemption
Outside food sovereignty towns, Maine has no cottage food exemption that lets you skip licensing. Instead, the state rule for "home food manufacturing" covers a home kitchen where food is prepared and packaged for sale, directly to consumers or through other distribution methods. DACF calls the permit a Home Food License.
The license is not needed if all you sell is fresh produce, fresh eggs from a farm with fewer than 3,000 birds, or poultry under the 1,000-bird exemption.
Which foods you can make at home
The foods must be shelf-stable. Anything that has to be refrigerated or frozen to control microbial growth needs a commercial food processing license instead.
| Food | Home Food License? |
|---|---|
| Breads, cookies, fruit pies and candy that keep at room temperature | Yes |
| Pickles, relishes, BBQ sauce and other canned shelf-stable foods | Yes, after review by UMaine Food Testing Services or another acidified process authority |
| Cream-filled pies and pastries, custards, meringue toppings and other foods that need refrigeration | No |
| Home canned foods that need pressure cooking to seal | No |
For jars, the rule allows only new glass containers or home canning jars made for reuse, sanitized first. Lids and seals may not be reused.
What your kitchen needs to pass
- Smooth, non-absorbent, corrosion-resistant food contact surfaces
- Smooth, easily cleanable floors, walls and ceilings
- Screens on doors and windows in the preparation area
- A two-bay sink, or a one-bay sink plus a dishwasher, with hot and cold water under good pressure
- A thermometer in the refrigerator, which stays at 41°F or below
- A yearly coliform and nitrate test if you are on a private well
- Pets out of the processing area during production, and surfaces sanitized before you start
- No tobacco use while processing food
DACF issues the license once its inspector finds proper labeling, general sanitation, adequate food protection and thermometers in use where required.
Where and how you can sell
Maine's license opens a lot of doors. What changes with the place of sale is the label.
| Way of selling | Allowed? | Label? |
|---|---|---|
| Directly to consumers from your home | Yes | Not required |
| Farmers markets, fairs and other public marketing | Yes | Required |
| Retail stores | Yes | Required |
| Wholesale, in Maine and to other states | Yes, according to DACF | Required |
Shipping to buyers in another state also brings in that state's rules and federal labeling, so check both before you take those orders.
Food sovereignty towns: direct sales without a state license
Maine's Food Sovereignty Act lets a town, a plantation or a county (for its unorganized territories) adopt an ordinance on direct producer-to-consumer sales. Where one is in force, the State does not enforce its food laws and rules on the sales the ordinance governs.
Direct sales mean food sold or traded from producer to consumer on your property, at roadside stands, fundraisers, farmers markets and community social events, or through buying clubs, deliveries and similar private arrangements. Baked goods, sandwiches and other meals are named in the law.
- Ask your town office whether an ordinance exists and what it covers
- Meat and poultry stay under the state inspection program in every town
- Food sold any other way, like to a store, follows all state and federal food safety laws
When you outgrow the home license
Refrigerated or frozen products, or production that leaves your home kitchen, move you to a commercial food processing and manufacturing license, $50 a year under the state fee rule. As sales grow, check the federal Nutrition Facts rules as well.
Nutrition Facts Label Requirements →