Home and Hearth BakerExemption for homemade food (Alaska Homemade Food Rule)
AS 17.20.332, 17.20.336, 17.20.338; AS 43.70.020 (business license) · HB 251 (33rd Legislature), SCS CSHB 251(L&C) am S, sec. 7; ch. 34, SLA 2024; passed 2024-05-15, signed by the Governor 2024-08-24. Replaced the old cottage food exemption in 18 AAC 31.012(a), which DEC repealed effective 2025-05-11.
Yearly sales limit
No state limit
No sales limit in the statute; DEC: no volume or sales limit. (The old 18 AAC 31.012(a) cap of $25,000 a year was repealed 2025-05-11.)
No sales limit in the statute; DEC: no volume or sales limit. (The old 18 AAC 31.012(a) cap of $25,000 a year was repealed 2025-05-11.)
Permit or registration
No food permit or registration. A state business license is usually required.
Alaska business license (not a food permit)
Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing
Fee: $50 a year ($100 for 2 years); $25 a year for a sole proprietor 65 or older or a disabled veteran (AS 43.70.030(a); DCBPL). Exceptions exist (e.g. AS 43.70.105(a)(6)); confirm with Business Licensing.
Official page
Alaska business license (not a food permit)
Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing
Fee: $50 a year ($100 for 2 years); $25 a year for a sole proprietor 65 or older or a disabled veteran (AS 43.70.030(a); DCBPL). Exceptions exist (e.g. AS 43.70.105(a)(6)); confirm with Business Licensing.
Official page
Food safety training
No
Where you make it
The producer's private home kitchen, or a private or commercial kitchen leased to the producer (AS 17.20.338). No DEC inspection of home kitchens; no special well or septic rules (DEC FAQ). Cooking and processing must be done in that kitchen; food may be held, reheated, portioned and garnished where it is sold (DEC).
Selling in person
In Alaska at a farmers' market, an agricultural fair, a farm, a ranch, the producer's home or office, the retail location of a third-party seller, or a location agreed on between the producer and the buyer (AS 17.20.332(b)(2))
Phone and online orders
Online sales allowed to Alaska consumers (DEC); the required sign and consumer statements can be given with the online listing. Phone orders not specifically addressed.
Delivery and shipping
Allowed: DEC says online orders can be picked up, mailed, or delivered; statute allows sale at a location agreed on by producer and buyer
Selling out of state
No
Stores and wholesale
No wholesale, resale, or consignment (DEC). Shelf-stable foods may be sold for the producer by an agent or third-party seller such as a gift shop, grocery store, or coffee shop, in a separate display with the required sign (AS 17.20.332(d), (f)). Wholesale needs a food permit, and food sold under a food permit cannot be made in a home kitchen (DEC FAQ).
Examples you can sell
Any homemade food or drink except the items barred by AS 17.20.332(b)(3). Non-potentially hazardous (shelf-stable) foods may also be sold through an agent or third-party seller; potentially hazardous (time/temperature control) foods are allowed by law but must be sold by the producer and are outside this app's scope.
- Bread, sourdough bread, cookies (DEC examples of non-potentially hazardous food)
- Fudge and candy, popcorn, cotton candy, trail mix (DEC)
- Jams and jellies (DEC)
- Granola (DEC FAQ)
- Vinegar (DEC)
- Pickles, sauerkraut, pickled vegetables (DEC)
- Dried or freeze-dried fruits, vegetables, herbs, and mushrooms (DEC)
- Honey; salt, including smoked and infused salt (DEC)
- Extracts such as vanilla, almond, mint (DEC; alcohol rules may apply)
- Fried breads, funnel cakes, elephant ears made in a home or commercial kitchen (DEC)
Not allowed
- Sales involving interstate commerce (AS 17.20.332(b)(3)(A))
- Meat or meat products, except as allowed under federal law (AS 17.20.332(b)(3)(B)(i), (h)); DEC: only USDA-inspected cattle, sheep, swine, goat meat, sold by the producer
- Seafood, including as an ingredient (AS 17.20.332(b)(3)(B)(ii); DEC)
- A controlled substance (AS 17.20.332(b)(3)(B)(iii)); cannabis (DEC)
- Oil rendered from animal fat (AS 17.20.332(b)(3)(B)(iv))
- Game meat (AS 17.20.332(b)(3)(B)(v)); also reindeer, rabbit, and poultry (DEC)
- Raw milk and raw-milk products, and milk you pasteurized yourself (DEC). Commercially pasteurized dairy may be used; raw milk may be used in baked goods such as cookies (DEC).
- Alcoholic beverages over 0.5% alcohol (DEC)
- Pet food and treats (DEC: regulated by FDA)
- Homemade food sold or used in a commercial food establishment, except raw, unprocessed fruits and vegetables (AS 17.20.332(c))
The statement your labels must carry
This food was made in a home kitchen, is not regulated or inspected, except for meat and meat products, and may contain allergens.