Florida Cottage Food Law · 2026
Can you sell homemade dog treats in Florida?
IT DEPENDS
Not under cottage food law — but YES with an inexpensive FDACS pet food registration. Dog treats are regulated as animal feed, not human cottage food.
Why it depends?
Florida's cottage food law covers food for people. Pet treats fall under Florida's commercial feed law instead, administered by FDACS — so the cottage food exemption doesn't apply, but the alternative path is straightforward and cheap.
To sell legally you register with FDACS as a feed distributor and register each product (modest annual fees), with proper feed-style labeling. Many home bakers run "barkeries" this way — margins run ~85%.
Florida Cottage Food Law: Key Facts
Updated July 2026- Permit required: None — no license, permit, or FDACS registration for cottage foods
- Legal basis: Florida Statute 500.80
- Annual sales cap: $250,000 gross per year
- The rule: Only non-potentially-hazardous foods (safe at room temperature)
- Sales channel: Direct to consumers in Florida only — no wholesale
- Labels: 6 required elements, including the cottage food statement
How to sell dog treats legally in Florida
- 1Register with FDACS under the commercial feed program (not cottage food)
- 2Register each treat product; budget for small annual fees per product
- 3Label per feed rules: net weight, ingredients, guaranteed analysis, your name/address
- 4Shelf-stable biscuit-style treats keep compliance and shipping simple
Storage & refrigeration
Whether dog treats qualifies comes down to keeping it shelf-stable and non-hazardous. A room-temperature-safe version is generally fine; if your recipe needs refrigeration, acidification controls, or a filling that must stay cold, it falls outside Florida's cottage food exemption.
How to label dog treats
Every package of dog treats you sell needs a compliant label with all 6 required elements:
- 1Your cottage food business name and address
- 2The product name
- 3Ingredients, listed in descending order by weight
- 4Net weight or quantity
- 5Allergen declaration (milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish)
- 6The cottage food statement (exact wording, below)
“Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida's food safety regulations.”
This statement must appear word-for-word.
Where you can sell dog treats in Florida
Cottage food is sold direct to the customer, within Florida. For dog treats, that means:
✅ Allowed
- Farmers markets, fairs & events
- Home pickup and local delivery
- Online, phone & mail order — delivered in Florida
🚫 Not allowed
- Wholesale to stores/restaurants for resale
- Selling or shipping outside Florida
- More than $250,000 in gross sales per year
Pricing dog treats for profit
Add up your cost per unit (ingredients + packaging), multiply by 3–4× to cover your time and overhead, then sanity-check against what similar makers charge locally. Undercharging is the single most common mistake — your time is a real cost, not a freebie.
Free recipe cost calculatorCommon mistakes to avoid
- Underpricing — not counting your time, packaging, and market fees
- Missing a required label element, especially the exact cottage food statement
- Adding a filling or frosting that needs refrigeration, which quietly turns compliant dog treats non-compliant
- Selling across state lines or wholesale to a shop for resale
- Losing track of the $250,000/year gross sales cap
Not sure about a different product?
Check any food against Florida's rules in seconds with our free tool — then price it and label it with the rest of the toolkit.
Frequently asked questions
Why don't cottage food rules cover dog treats?
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Cottage food law amends Florida's human-food code. Animal feed has its own statute and FDACS program — different law, different (still very doable) registration.
Is the pet treat business worth the registration hassle?
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Usually yes — pet owners spend freely, competition is thinner than baked goods, and ~85% margins are typical. The paperwork is a one-time learning curve.
People also ask about
Official Florida sources
FDACS — Cottage Foods
Florida Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services — the official cottage food program.
Florida Statute 500.80
The cottage food law itself, on the Florida Legislature's official site.
This is general educational information, not legal advice. Cottage food rules change — always verify current requirements with FDACS before you sell.
Ready to start selling?
Get the step-by-step startup guide, free pricing tools, and a spot in Florida's cottage food directory.
Educational information, not legal advice. Verify current requirements with FDACS. Based on Florida Statute 500.80 as of 2026.