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Alaska homemade food law: selling food from home

General information, not legal advice. Rules change, and counties add their own. Check with your state and county before you start selling.

"Cottage food" is the term most states use for food made in a home kitchen and sold directly to customers. What it covers, and whether your state uses the phrase at all, differs by state.

The short answer

Yes, and Alaska asks less of you than almost any state in this guide. AS 17.20.332 says homemade food produced, sold and consumed in compliance with the section is "exempt from state labeling, licensing, packaging, permitting, and inspection requirements." No permit, no registration, no inspection, no course.

There is no sales limit in the statute. We checked this carefully, because one widely-copied source reports a $250,000 limit here — see below for why that number belongs to a different state. Alaska does ask two things of you that most states do not: the sale is for personal consumption, and meat is allowed, subject to federal law.

No permit, and the old rule is gone

Alaska used to run its home kitchens through a regulation, 18 AAC 31.012. The legislature replaced it with a statute: HB 251, signed 24 August 2024, created a new article at AS 17.20.332 to 17.20.338. The old regulation was repealed effective 11 May 2025, so anything you read that cites 18 AAC 31.012 is describing a rule that no longer exists.

Permit
None.
Registration
None.
Food safety course
None required by this section.
Inspection
None routinely — see the limits below for what the state keeps.
Sales limit
None in the statute.

Alaska still requires a state business license to do business in Alaska, under AS 43.70.020(a). The homemade food exemption does not remove that, and the statute's own label rule asks for your business license number "if applicable." Local zoning is separate again.

Enrolled text of HB 251 · HB 251 bill history, Alaska Legislature

About that $250,000 — it is not Alaska

If you search for Alaska's cottage food cap you will find a confident claim that AS 17.20.332(i) sets a dual limit of $250,000 in gross revenue and 250,000 individual products a year. We went looking for it in the enacted text. Two things are wrong with it:

The dual limit is real, but it belongs to Wyoming, where 250,000 products and $250,000 gross are written into the definition of "producer" in its Food Freedom Act. Somewhere along the way the two states got crossed.

We are telling you this at length for one reason: a sales cap is the single fact a cook plans a year around. If you have been holding back because you thought you were near a $250,000 ceiling in Alaska, you were not.

What you may sell, and the four things you may not

Alaska's statute works backwards from most states. Instead of listing approved foods, it lists what is excluded. A sale under this section may not involve:

Meat is otherwise allowed. Subsection (h) says that "subject to the requirements of federal law, a person may prepare and sell meat, meat products, and homemade food containing meat or meat products under this section." Almost every other state in this guide shuts meat out completely. Federal law is the real constraint here, not Alaska law, so treat the federal side as the question to ask.

Note what the exclusion list means for a fishing state: seafood is out, even in Alaska, and so is game meat. Those are the two foods a visitor would most expect to find.

There is a separate route for meat you own a share of, at AS 17.20.334 — animal shares. You establish ownership of the animal or herd before slaughter, in a written contract that includes a bill of sale, a boarding provision and your entitlement to a share of the meat. Meat received that way may not be sold, donated or commercially redistributed.

Where you may sell — and the restaurant answer

The sale must happen in Alaska, and the statute lists the places: 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. That last one is broad, and it is the clause that covers a handoff you arrange yourself.

Can a restaurant use your food? No. Subsection (c): except for raw, unprocessed fruits and vegetables, homemade food "may not be sold or used in a commercial food establishment."

Can a grocery store sell it? Often yes — and this is the distinction worth getting right. Under subsection (f), the seller of a potentially hazardous homemade food must be the producer, except for eggs. But eggs, and any food that is not potentially hazardous, may be sold by the producer, an agent of the producer, or a third-party vendor including a retail shop or grocery store.

So: a shelf-stable product can go on a shop's shelf. A perishable one you have to hand over yourself.

A retail space selling your food has its own duties. It must post a sign saying the food was made in a home kitchen, may contain allergens, and is not regulated or inspected. Your food may not be displayed on the same shelf or display as inspected food. And if the space sells a potentially hazardous homemade food while also being associated with a commercial food establishment or selling inspected food, it needs a separate door, a separate cash register or point of sale, signs marking which space is which, and separate coolers, freezers and storage.

What has to be on the label — and what you say out loud

A homemade food packaged for individual sale must be clearly and prominently labeled with your name, current address and telephone number, your business license number if you have one, and this statement:

This food was made in a home kitchen, is not regulated or inspected, except for meat and meat products, and may contain allergens.

Unpackaged food has a spoken version of the same rule. Before the sale, you — or a third-party seller — must tell the buyer that the food was prepared under AS 17.20.332 to 17.20.338 and is not subject to certain state certification, labeling, licensing, packaging, regulation or inspection requirements, and give them your name, address, phone number and business license number if applicable.

That is unusual and worth planning for. At a market stall selling cut slices rather than boxed ones, the disclosure is something you have to actually say, or put on a card where every buyer sees it before they pay.

What the state still keeps, and local rules

Exempt does not mean the state has no reach. AS 17.20.336 keeps the Department of Environmental Conservation's power to inspect in order to investigate reports of foodborne illness, food-caused injury or death, unsafe sanitary practices, or misbranded or adulterated food; to condemn and order the destruction of misbranded or adulterated food; and to order a producer to stop an unsafe or unsanitary practice.

Alaska has no statewide sales tax, but many boroughs and cities levy their own. Ask your borough, and ask about zoning for running a business from a residence while you are there.

Official sources

Last verified: 1 November 2026. Every number on this page is linked to the official page it comes from.

Questions people actually ask

Do I need a license to sell food from home in Alaska?

Not for the food. AS 17.20.332 exempts compliant homemade food from state labeling, licensing, packaging, permitting and inspection requirements — no permit, no registration, no inspection, no required course. Alaska does require a state business license to do business under AS 43.70.020(a), which is separate, and the statute asks for your business license number on the label if you have one.

How much can I sell in a year in Alaska?

There is no sales limit in the statute. You may have read that AS 17.20.332(i) caps you at $250,000 and 250,000 products a year. There is no subsection (i) — the section runs (a) to (h) — and the $250,000 in HB 251 is a farm product processing loan limit in a different article. The dual limit is real but it is Wyoming's, not Alaska's.

Can I really sell meat?

Alaska law allows it. Subsection (h) says that subject to the requirements of federal law, a person may prepare and sell meat, meat products and homemade food containing meat. Game meat is excluded outright, and so is seafood. Federal law is the binding constraint, so that is the side to ask about before you plan on it.

Can a restaurant or a grocery store sell my food?

A restaurant, no: except for raw unprocessed fruits and vegetables, homemade food may not be sold or used in a commercial food establishment. A grocery store, usually yes — eggs and any food that is not potentially hazardous may be sold by a third-party vendor including a retail shop or grocery store. A perishable food, other than eggs, has to be sold by you.

What exactly does my label say?

"This food was made in a home kitchen, is not regulated or inspected, except for meat and meat products, and may contain allergens." Plus your name, current address, telephone number, and business license number if you have one. That is for food packaged for individual sale.

What if I sell slices and cookies loose, not packaged?

Then the disclosure is spoken rather than printed. Before the sale you must tell the buyer the food was prepared under AS 17.20.332 to 17.20.338 and is not subject to certain state certification, labeling, licensing, packaging, regulation or inspection requirements, and give them your name, address, phone number and business license number if applicable. Most people handle this with a card at the front of the table that the buyer reads before paying.

Can the state still inspect me?

Not routinely, but yes in specific situations. AS 17.20.336 keeps the Department of Environmental Conservation's power to inspect in order to investigate reports of foodborne illness, injury or death, unsafe sanitary practices, or misbranded or adulterated food, to condemn and destroy misbranded or adulterated food, and to order an unsafe practice stopped.

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