2026 reference
South Carolina Cottage Food Law
South Carolina's cottage food law sets no statewide revenue cap and no state permit or registration is required. Direct sales (including farmers markets), online and mail order delivered only within South Carolina, and sales to retail stores including grocery stores. The store — not the producer — must post signage that home-based products are not subject to commercial food regulations. Restaurants may sell packaged, labeled product but may not serve it or use it as an ingredient without an operational variance the RESTAURANT obtains from SCDA.
Watch for: Administration moved from DHEC to the SC Department of Agriculture on July 1, 2024 (Act 60, formerly S.399) — DHEC no longer exists, so any guidance naming it is stale. The 2022 amendment also DELETED "NOT FOR RESALE" from the required label statement, which many third-party templates still include. Acidified products (BBQ sauce, hot sauce, salsa, pickles, relish, pepper jelly, low-sugar jams) are excluded, as are cheesecake, pumpkin/sweet potato pies, cold brew, sourdough starter sold alone, boiled peanuts, pet treats, and — named in the statute itself — aluminum canned goods and charcuterie boards. Subsection (I) lets any contrary local ordinance override the state exemption.
Key facts
Read the full South Carolina cottage food law guide
Editorial guide with statute citations, special-program details, label requirements, and complete FAQ coverage.
Where you can sell
Direct sales (including farmers markets), online and mail order delivered only within South Carolina, and sales to retail stores including grocery stores. The store — not the producer — must post signage that home-based products are not subject to commercial food regulations. Restaurants may sell packaged, labeled product but may not serve it or use it as an ingredient without an operational variance the RESTAURANT obtains from SCDA.
- Direct (in-person)
- Farmers markets
- Online (in-state)
- In-state mail
- Retail / grocery
What's required before your first sale
No permit, license, registration, inspection, or state-mandated food handler training. S.C. Code 44-1-143(F) exempts home-based operations from Regulation 61-25 entirely, and SCDA states it "does not issue permits, licenses, certificates, or registrations of HBFP operators." An SCDA identification number is voluntary and exists only so a producer can keep a home address off the label. The kitchen and hygiene standards in subsections (B) and (C) are still legally binding — they are simply never inspected.
Label requirements
- Name and address of the home-based food production operation (an SC-issued identification number may be used in place of the address on request)
- Name of the product
- Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight
- Verbatim disclosure required by S.C. Code § 44-1-143(D)(4), conspicuous, in all capital letters in a color that contrasts with the background: "PROCESSED AND PREPARED BY A HOME-BASED FOOD PRODUCTION OPERATION THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO SOUTH CAROLINA'S FOOD SAFETY REGULATIONS."
- Federal allergen labeling under FALCPA + FASTER Act: "Contains:" statement for any of the nine major allergens (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, sesame); the specific species must be named for tree nuts, finfish, and crustacean shellfish
- Net contents in the lower third of the front panel, in both US customary and metric units
- No health claims may be made. A Nutrition Facts panel is not required.
Generate your South Carolina disclosure label in one click
Ardent Seller assembles a print-ready cottage food label for South Carolina 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 South Carolina requires that's missing before you print. Included on every plan.
Sources
- SCDA — Home-based Food Production Law Guidance (July 2025, v1.4)
- SCDA — DHEC Food Safety Transfer
- Clemson HGIC — South Carolina Home-Based Food Production Law
- Forrager — cottage food law database
- S.C. Code § 44-1-143 (Requirements for home-based food production operations)
- 2022 Act No. 208 (S.506) — expanded allowed foods, added online/mail order and retail sales, eff. May 23, 2022
Reference content only — not legal advice. State laws change frequently. Verify against the official source before launching.
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