South Carolina cottage food label requirements and home-based food checklist
Answer a few plain-English questions about what you make and how you want to sell it. We check it against South Carolina's current Home-based Food Production Law, flag anything that isn't allowed, and build you a personalized checklist and a printable food label.
Free customized label/checklist after walk-through completion
Built from public South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA) and Clemson Extension guidance, and S.C. Code Ann. § 44-1-143. Not legal advice and not government approval — verify final requirements with SCDA before selling.
Free permit walk-throughSee right away if a choice would block you from selling under South Carolina's home-based food production law.
Free checklistYour answers folded into South Carolina's current requirements, ready to print or save as PDF.
Free label generationThe required South Carolina disclosure statement plus name, address, and product details, assembled into a printable draft.
Do I need a license to sell homemade food in South Carolina?
No — South Carolina's Home-based Food Production Law (S.C. Code Ann. § 44-1-143) requires no permit, license, or mandatory registration at all. A voluntary SCDA ID number exists only so you can print an ID instead of your home address on the label. South Carolina is also one of the more permissive states on sales channels: direct in-person, online/mail order shipped within South Carolina, and even wholesale to retail/grocery stores are all allowed, and there's no gross sales cap — just a $1,500/year net-earnings floor below which you're exempt from labeling/facility rules but can't sell through a retail store. The wizard below checks the product-type and sales-channel choices that commonly change the answer.
Statement of identity (product name) and net weight in both customary and metric units
Ingredients in descending order by weight, including sub-ingredients
Allergen statement for the major food allergens
Your name and street address, or your voluntary SCDA ID number instead
“PROCESSED AND PREPARED BY A HOME-BASED FOOD PRODUCTION OPERATION THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO SOUTH CAROLINA'S FOOD SAFETY REGULATIONS.” in all caps with clear contrast
Common South Carolina cottage food blockers
TCS/refrigerated foods, including cheesecake, custard/cream pie, and cream-cheese icing
Home-canned, pickled, fermented, or acidified foods (salsa, pickles, low-sugar jams)
Meat, poultry, seafood, raw milk, ice cream, or bottled beverages
Shipping to customers outside South Carolina (this law is intrastate only)
Selling through a restaurant that hasn't obtained its own SCDA variance
Preparing or icing food on board a food truck rather than selling it pre-packaged
Selling through a retail store while earning under the $1,500/year threshold