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Pennsylvania cottage food label requirements and Limited Food Establishment checklist
Pennsylvania doesn't have a no-permit cottage food exemption — home producers register as a “Limited Food Establishment” with the PA Department of Agriculture, including a home-kitchen inspection. Answer a few plain-English questions about what you make and how you want to sell it, and we'll check it against PDA's current LFE requirements and build you a personalized checklist plus a printable label draft.
Free customized label/checklist after walk-through completion
Built from the current PA Department of Agriculture Limited Food Establishment program page and application packet, and The Food Safety Act (3 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 5721-5737). Not legal advice and not state approval — verify final requirements with the PA Department of Agriculture Bureau of Food Safety before selling.
Free permit walk-throughSee what PDA's Limited Food Establishment registration requires for your specific product and sales plan.
Free checklistKeep the registration steps, inspection prep, and sales-channel add-ons tied to your own answers.
Free label generationDraft Pennsylvania's label fields plus the widely-used home-kitchen disclosure line in one place.
Do you need a permit to sell cottage food in Pennsylvania?
Yes — unlike most states, Pennsylvania doesn't have a no-permit cottage food exemption. Home producers must register as a “Limited Food Establishment” (LFE) with the PA Department of Agriculture under The Food Safety Act (3 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 5721-5737). Registration involves a written business plan, zoning confirmation, draft labels, and a home-kitchen inspection; the $35 registration fee (and $35 annual renewal) is collected at that inspection, not with the application. In exchange, Pennsylvania is unusually flexible on sales: there's no statewide revenue cap, and direct, online, wholesale, and interstate sales are all within what an LFE can register to do — though off-site retail sales and interstate shipping can add extra requirements (a Retail Food Facility License, FDA registration).