New Mexico Cottage Food Law

New Mexico's cottage food law sets no statewide revenue cap and no state permit or registration is required. Directly to consumers within New Mexico (NMSA § 25-12-3(A)(2)): at farmers markets, festivals, and roadside stands, on the internet, at your home for pickup or delivery, or through mail delivery. NMED says homemade food items "may not be sold to a restaurant, a wholesaler or distributor, or outside the state of New Mexico," that NMED-permitted food facilities may not use them as ingredients, and that grocery stores and similar facilities may not buy or resell them.

Watch for: Only non-TCS food qualifies, and NMED reads that narrowly: salsa, pickles and other acidified foods, hot pepper and other vegetable jellies, canned fruits and vegetables, caramel apples, cream cheese frosting, juices, kombucha, and cider are all out. The label information must also appear on any webpage where you sell, and for phone or custom orders you must tell the buyer the item is produced at a private residence exempt from state licensing and inspection and may contain allergens (§ 25-12-3(B)).

Annual revenue cap

No cap

Permit / registration

Not required

Kitchen inspection

Not required

Food handler training

Required

Acidified foods

Excluded

Interstate shipping

In-state only

Where you can sell

Directly to consumers within New Mexico (NMSA § 25-12-3(A)(2)): at farmers markets, festivals, and roadside stands, on the internet, at your home for pickup or delivery, or through mail delivery. NMED says homemade food items "may not be sold to a restaurant, a wholesaler or distributor, or outside the state of New Mexico," that NMED-permitted food facilities may not use them as ingredients, and that grocery stores and similar facilities may not buy or resell them.

Direct (in-person)
Farmers markets
Online (in-state)
In-state mail
Online order, in-person pickup

What's required before your first sale

No permit, registration, or inspection. Before producing, complete a food handler certification course approved by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMSA § 25-12-3(A)(3)); NMED describes this as a Food Handler Card from an approved program. The Act also requires a sanitary kitchen, good hygiene, pest control, keeping pets and children out of the kitchen during production, and sanitary transport (§ 25-12-3(A)(4)-(5)). NMED may run a voluntary permit system (§ 25-12-3(E)), and a combined local health department formed by a class A county and a home rule municipality may run a mandatory or voluntary one (§ 25-12-3(F)); otherwise local governments may not regulate homemade food (§ 25-12-5). NMED stopped issuing Homebased Food Processor permits on July 1, 2021. Albuquerque and Bernalillo County run their own food safety programs; the City of Albuquerque says the Act allows these sales without a permit from NMED, Bernalillo County, or the city.

Allowed and excluded foods

Examples of permitted foods

Any food is allowed except those listed under “Excluded” →

baked goods that need no refrigeration and have no cream filling, such as cakes, cookies, yeast breads, pies, and pastries
candy
popcorn
chocolate-covered pretzels
dehydrated fruits
granola and dry mixes
roasted coffee
whole fruits and vegetables
standard high-sugar fruit jams and jellies

Illustrative examples, not a complete list.

Excluded from cottage food

time and temperature control for safety (TCS) foods
food containing alcohol, and alcoholic beverages
meat and meat products, including jerky, and fish products such as smoked fish
salsa, acidified foods, and canned pickled products such as corn relish, pickles, and sauerkraut
vegetable jams and jellies, such as hot pepper jelly
canned fruits and vegetables
pies and cakes that require refrigeration, such as banana cream, pumpkin, lemon meringue, and custard pies, cheesecake, and cakes with cream cheese frosting
milk and dairy products such as cheese and yogurt
cut fruits and vegetables, and foods with fresh vegetables, fruits, or cheeses
caramel apples, hummus, garlic-in-oil mixtures, sprouts, and salad dressings
beverages such as fruit or vegetable juices, kombucha, and apple cider
foods containing CBD, hemp, or hemp extract (these require a commercial hemp manufacturing permit)

Label requirements

Name, home address, telephone number, and email address of the processor (NMSA § 25-12-3(C)(1))
Common or usual name of the food item
Ingredients in descending order of predominance; NMED also requires all sub-ingredients, for example "butter (cream (milk), salt)"
Verbatim disclosure required by NMSA § 25-12-3(C)(4): "This product is home produced and is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens."
Where the information goes (§ 25-12-3(B)): a label on each package sold as a unit, a label on a bulk container, a placard at the point of sale for unpackaged items, and the webpage where the item is offered. For telephone or custom orders no label is required, but the seller must tell the buyer the item is produced at a private residence exempt from state licensing and inspection and may contain allergens, and must provide the full information on request (§ 25-12-3(D))
Federal allergen labeling (FALCPA as amended by the FASTER Act) is not listed in the Homemade Food Act or NMED's FAQ; a "Contains:" line naming any of the nine major allergens (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, sesame) is recommended

How Ardent Seller helps

Generate your New Mexico disclosure label in one click

Ardent Seller assembles a print-ready cottage food label for New Mexico 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 Mexico requires that's missing before you print. Included on every plan.

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