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Food Freedom (no cap) Last reviewed 2026-09-15

2026 reference

New Hampshire Cottage Food Law

New Hampshire's cottage food law sets no statewide revenue cap and no state permit or registration is required. Without a license (RSA 143-A:12, II): sales from your home, at your own farm stand, at farmers markets, or at retail food stores. With a Homestead Food License (RSA 143-A:12, III): sales to restaurants or other retail food establishments, over the Internet, by mail order, or to wholesalers, brokers, or other food distributors who resell. The statute does not say whether mail-order sales may cross state lines; shipping out of state brings in federal rules and the destination state's law, so confirm with DHHS Food Protection first.

Watch for: The line is the sales channel, not a dollar amount. Home, farm stand, farmers market, and retail food store sales are exempt; selling over the Internet, by mail order, to a restaurant, or to a reseller requires the $150-a-year Class H Homestead Food License and its inspection. Pickles and other acidified foods are a gray area: the DHHS rules still prohibit processed acidified foods, while UNH Extension says they can be made with exact National Center for Home Food Preservation recipes. Confirm with DHHS Food Protection before selling them.

Key facts

Annual revenue cap
No cap
Permit / registration
Not required
Kitchen inspection
Not required
Food handler training
Not required
Acidified foods
Excluded
Interstate shipping
In-state only

Where you can sell

Without a license (RSA 143-A:12, II): sales from your home, at your own farm stand, at farmers markets, or at retail food stores. With a Homestead Food License (RSA 143-A:12, III): sales to restaurants or other retail food establishments, over the Internet, by mail order, or to wholesalers, brokers, or other food distributors who resell. The statute does not say whether mail-order sales may cross state lines; shipping out of state brings in federal rules and the destination state's law, so confirm with DHHS Food Protection first.

  • Direct (in-person)
  • Farmers markets
  • Retail / grocery
  • Online (in-state)
  • In-state mail
  • Restaurants / food service

What's required before your first sale

Exempt homestead food operations need no license, registration, or routine inspection; DHHS may inspect only when it suspects an imminent health hazard (RSA 143-A:12, II). To sell online, by mail order, to restaurants or other retail food establishments, or to resellers, apply to DHHS for a Class H food service license (He-P 2311.01): $150 a year (He-P 2304.05), a sample label, a product list, and process review documentation where required, with a provisional license issued only after an inspection (He-P 2304.02). Licensed operations making jams and jellies without a National Center for Home Food Preservation recipe need a process review by a food processing authority (He-P 2311.05). Selling freeze-dried fruits, vegetables, or commercially prepared dairy products requires a food service license under RSA 143-A:4, even at exempt venues (RSA 143-A:12, IV). Since July 2, 2026, towns and cities may not require licenses, restrictions, or exclusions for exempt homestead food activities (RSA 147:1, IV, added by SB 418).

Allowed and excluded foods

Permitted under cottage food

  • baked items, including breads, rolls, muffins, cookies, brownies, and cakes
  • double-crusted fruit pies
  • candy and fudge
  • packaged dry products, including spices and herbs
  • acid foods, including vinegars and mustards
  • jams and jellies

Excluded from cottage food

  • potentially hazardous foods, including any food that requires refrigeration
  • processed acidified foods and low-acid canned foods (He-P 2310.01(c); see the acidified foods note above)
  • freeze-dried fruits, vegetables, and commercially prepared dairy products, unless you hold a food service license under RSA 143-A:4

Label requirements

  • Name, physical or e-mail address, and phone number of the homestead food operation (RSA 143-A:12, V; a license number does not substitute)
  • Name of the product
  • Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight — for packages sold from your home or farm stand, RSA 143-A:12, V(a)(2) instead allows a QR code or website listing the ingredients, together with a physical sign at the display that lists them
  • Allergy information: the name of each major food allergen not already clear from the ingredient names (He-P 2310.01(d)(6); He-P 2311.04(g))
  • A product code: a batch number or date of manufacture for exempt operations (He-P 2310.01(d)(8)); the date of manufacture, container size, and lot or batch number for licensed operations (He-P 2311.04(i))
  • Exempt operations: verbatim statement required by RSA 143-A:12, V(c)(1), in at least the equivalent of 10-point type in a color that clearly contrasts with the background (He-P 2310.01(d)(7)): "This product is exempt from New Hampshire licensing and inspection."
  • Licensed operations: verbatim statement required by RSA 143-A:12, V(c)(2): "This product is made in a residential food production area licensed by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services." (He-P 2311.04(h) still shows an older version, "This product is made in a residential kitchen licensed by NH DHHS"; the statute controls), in at least the equivalent of 10-point type in a contrasting color, plus net weight, volume, or count in both US customary and metric units (He-P 2311.04(f))
How Ardent Seller helps

Generate your New Hampshire disclosure label in one click

Ardent Seller assembles a print-ready cottage food label for New Hampshire from data you already track — the state's required disclosure statement rendered verbatim (and sized to meet the state's minimum type size where one applies), your operator info, ingredients in descending order by weight, the federal "Contains:" allergen line, net weight, and lot code. A validation checklist flags anything New Hampshire requires that's missing before you print. Included on every plan.

Start free See all food features

Adjacent programs

Homestead Food License (Class H, Category H-1)

$150/year

Required for homestead food operations that sell over the Internet, by mail order, to restaurants or other retail food establishments, or to wholesalers, brokers, or other distributors (RSA 143-A:12, III; He-P 2311). DHHS issues a provisional license after an inspection, and licenses run one year. The fee is $150 a year (He-P 2304.05). Approved products are the same six categories as exempt operations (He-P 2311.02); labels add net quantity in both US customary and metric units and a product code with the date of manufacture, container size, and lot or batch number (He-P 2311.04).

Sources

Reference content only — not legal advice. State laws change frequently. Verify against the official source before launching.

Tools that work with New Hampshire

Revenue cap tracker

Enter your year-to-date gross sales and see how close you are to the No cap cap.

50-state PDF guide

Printable reference covering every state with quick-scan cards.

Compare with nearby states

ME No cap

Maine

No cap (Home Food License)

MA Local

Massachusetts

No statewide cap (local rules vary)

VT Mid cap

Vermont

$30,000 (cottage food products)

Run your New Hampshire cottage food business in one place

Ardent Seller tracks ingredients, batches, labels, and revenue against your state's cap — built for cottage food producers.

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