Cottage Food Law /US
A structured reference to state cottage food rules

Food category

Honey

Raw or bottled honey from the operator.

Informational only, not legal advice.

Status by state

Status comes from each state's allowed and prohibited lists, or from the state's own guidance where the lists don't settle it. "Allowed with limits" means the state allows some products in this category but not others. "Unclear" means the cited sources don't say either way.

Of the 20 states covered, 9 allow honey, 5 allow it with limits, 0 prohibit it, and in 6 the official sources don't settle it.

What each state's lists say

Arizona: Yes

Allowed list:

  • Honey (raw, infused, or creamed)
Source: ADHS Cottage Food Program — Approved Foods · Verified Oct 5, 2026

California: Yes

Allowed list:

  • Honey and sorghum syrups (pure only)
Source: CDPH — Approved Cottage Foods List (reviewed April 2026) · Verified Sep 15, 2026

Florida: Yes

Allowed list:

  • Honey
Source: FDACS — Cottage Foods (Approved Cottage Food Products) · Verified Sep 15, 2026

Georgia: Unclear

GDA's Cottage Food FAQ says honey and syrup are not considered cottage foods, because state regulatory requirements and exemptions for them differ, and refers producers to GDA's Food Safety Division. Honey is regulated outside the cottage food program; the FAQ doesn't say whether home honey sales are allowed.

Source: Georgia Dept. of Agriculture — Cottage Food FAQ · Verified Oct 21, 2026

Illinois: Yes, with limits

IDPH's Cottage Food Guide says honey from your own beehives is "not considered a cottage food product" (it's regulated under the USDA), while honey with an ingredient infused or whipped into it, made in a home kitchen, falls under the Cottage Food Law.

Source: 2024 Cottage Food Guide (IDPH with University of Illinois Extension) · Verified Oct 21, 2026

Indiana: Yes

Allowed list:

  • Honey (raw, creamed, combed, or infused with GRAS ingredients) and maple syrup
Source: Indiana Department of Health — Indiana Home-Based Vendor Handbook (Summer 2025) · Verified Oct 21, 2026

Maryland: Unclear

MDH's FAQ says unflavored honey (including creamed honey) is considered a raw agricultural product and not a cottage food, and that flavored honey requires an on-farm home processing license or a processing license. Honey is regulated outside the cottage food rules rather than listed as allowed or banned.

Source: MDH Office of Food Protection — Cottage Food Frequently Asked Questions (Last Updated 11/2025), Q23 · Verified Oct 21, 2026

Massachusetts: Yes

Allowed list:

  • Unprocessed honey and pure maple products (no permit needed if these, whole uncut fresh fruits and vegetables, and farm fresh eggs are all you sell)
Source: 105 CMR 590.000 (Massachusetts Retail Food Code), as published by MDPH, § 590.001(C) ("Cottage Food Products") · Verified Oct 21, 2026

Michigan: Yes, with limits

MDARD lists flavored honey as an allowed cottage food, but says honey and maple syrup are not considered cottage foods; they have their own licensing exemptions under the Food Law.

Source: MDARD — Cottage Food: What Can I Make? · Verified Oct 21, 2026

Source: MDARD — Maple Syrup and Honey · Verified Oct 21, 2026

Missouri: Unclear

Honey is not one of the foods covered by Missouri's Cottage Law. DHSS treats pure honey as a raw agricultural commodity that may be sold directly to the end consumer; apiaries that harvest, filter, and package their own pure honey on-farm are not routinely inspected, but off-farm or added processing makes an operation subject to inspection. The Missouri Food Code's separate individual-stand exemption, where local codes allow, also lists honey.

Source: Missouri DHSS — Missouri Home-Based Kitchen Food Production Guidance (Aug. 2023) · Verified Oct 21, 2026

Source: Missouri Food Code (19 CSR 20-1.025), as published by DHSS, Ch. 1, "Food establishment" (3)(h) · Verified Oct 21, 2026

New Jersey: Yes, with limits

Allowed list:

  • Processed honey (including infused or flavored honey with no particles) and sweet sorghum syrup
Source: NJDOH — Cottage Food: Approved Food Products · Verified Oct 5, 2026

Prohibited list:

  • Infused or flavored honey with floating particles; elderberry syrup and flower syrups
Source: NJDOH — Cottage Food: Prohibited Food Products · Verified Oct 5, 2026

New York: Unclear

Honey is not on AGM's Home Processor lists. Honey from your own production is covered by a separate AGM exemption, not the Home Processor exemption.

Source: NY Dept. of Agriculture & Markets — Home Processing (Approved and Prohibited Foods) · Verified Oct 21, 2026

Source: NY Dept. of Agriculture & Markets — Home Processing Qualification Flowchart (rev. July 2026) · Verified Oct 21, 2026

North Carolina: Yes

NCDA&CS's Application for Home Processor Inspection lists Honey among the production types an applicant can select. The Home Processor page's list of low-risk foods doesn't name honey.

Source: NCDA&CS — Application for Home Processor Inspection (Section 3) · Verified Oct 21, 2026

Source: NCDA&CS Food & Drug Protection — Home Processor · Verified Oct 21, 2026

Ohio: Yes, with limits

Ohio's cottage food list includes only flavored honey produced by a beekeeper exempt under ORC 3715.021(A). Plain honey is not a listed cottage food; a beekeeper who jars honey at least 75% from their own hives is covered by that separate exemption.

Source: Ohio Adm. Code 901:3-20-04 (approved cottage food products) · Verified Oct 21, 2026

Source: Ohio Rev. Code § 3715.021 · Verified Oct 21, 2026

Pennsylvania: Yes

Allowed list:

  • Condiments (e.g., honey, maple syrup and products, ketchup, mustards, vinegars, nut butters, dressings, sauces, oils other than garlic-in-oil)
Source: PDA Application Packet — Limited Food Establishments (Rev 10-2024), pp. 11–16 · Verified Sep 25, 2026

Tennessee: Yes

Tennessee allows any cottage food not on its prohibited list, and no honey item is on it. Source: 2025 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 431 (SB 484 / HB 130), amending T.C.A. § 53-1-118, § 4 (T.C.A. § 53-1-118(b)(3)) · Verified Oct 5, 2026

Texas: Yes

Texas allows any cottage food not on its prohibited list, and no honey item is on it. Source: Texas DSHS — Texas Cottage Food Production · Verified Sep 15, 2026

Virginia: Yes, with limits

Allowed list:

  • Pure honey from the resident's own hives, under 250 gallons sold a year
Source: VDACS — Virginia's Home Food Processing Exemptions FAQ (Rev. Jul 2026) · Verified Oct 5, 2026

Prohibited list:

  • Value-added honey products (e.g., infused honey, hot honey, honey ice cream, mead)
Source: VDACS — Virginia's Home Food Processing Exemptions FAQ (Rev. Jul 2026) · Verified Oct 5, 2026

Washington: Unclear

Neither Washington list names honey. Source: Washington State Dept. of Agriculture — Cottage Food · Verified Oct 5, 2026

Wisconsin: Unclear

Honey is outside both home-food routes. DATCP says no DATCP license is needed to extract, package, and sell only your own honey or bee products, processed only by straining, heating, or crystallizing, under a separate licensing exemption (Wis. Stat. § 97.29(1)(h)8.). Honey bought from other beekeepers, flavored, whipped, or made into other products such as candy needs a DATCP license.

Source: DATCP — Honey and Honey Products · Verified Oct 21, 2026

Source: Wis. Stat. § 97.29 (Food processing plants)(1)(h)8. · Verified Oct 21, 2026

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