Kentucky's Home-Based Processor Law: Tallow Balm, Coffee Bills and the 2027 Session

Published ยท State law changes

Since July 15, 2026, a Kentucky home-based processor may make tallow-based skin balm in the same home kitchen where it makes jam and pecan pie. Senate Bill 73, an animal agriculture bill that became law without the governor's signature April 8, 2026, added cosmetic products made with pork lard or tallow to the program. The state's registration rules have not been updated to match. The registration form, last revised in March 2019, lists no cosmetic products and says any food outside the regulation's list will get an application rejected. The state regulation that lists allowed products, 902 Kentucky Administrative Regulations 45:090, was last amended in 2019. The rest of the program is unchanged: a $50 yearly registration, a $60,000 gross income limit and sales only to consumers inside Kentucky, with no shipping.

About the sources: Sources were checked Nov. 9, 2026. This article relies on the Kentucky Revised Statutes, enacted acts and bill records from the Legislative Research Commission, the Kentucky Administrative Regulations and guidance from the Food Safety Branch in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. The 2027 outlook is Cottage Food Directory's analysis of those sources.

What Kentucky law allows in November 2026

The Kentucky cottage food law guide covers the same rules question by question.

How the program grew from a farm rule to a home kitchen rule

The home-based processor exemption dates to 2003, when lawmakers created Kentucky Revised Statutes 217.136. House Bill 263 of 2018, Acts Chapter 77, opened the program to any person making the listed foods at home instead of only farmers, and it replaced the old farmers market, roadside stand and farm sales list with sales from the home, at a market, roadside stand or community event, or online. That version took effect July 14, 2018. Sources: Kentucky Revised Statutes 217.136, history note; Acts Chapter 77 of 2018 (House Bill 263).

House Bill 468 of 2019, Acts Chapter 181, rewrote the definition around non-potentially hazardous foods, added items such as nuts, candy and dried grains, set the $60,000 gross income limit and required registration starting Jan. 1, 2020. It became law without the governor's signature March 27, 2019, under an emergency clause. The Food Safety Branch updated 902 Kentucky Administrative Regulations 45:090 to match, effective Sept. 9, 2019. Sources: Acts Chapter 181 of 2019 (House Bill 468); House Bill 468 (2019) bill page; Food Safety Branch, Summary of Updates.

The 2025 session did not amend the home-based processor sections, but it raised a separate honey exemption. Since June 27, 2025, a person who sells less than 500 gallons a year of pure honey produced in Kentucky does not need a certified honey house, a food processing establishment or a permit from the cabinet. The limit had been 150 gallons. Sources: Kentucky Revised Statutes 217.187; House Bill 391 (2025) bill page.

The two 2026 laws that touch home-based processors

Senate Bill 73, Acts Chapter 52, began as a tallow-cosmetics bill and passed the Senate 38-0. The House added pork lard, an on-farm poultry sales section and provisions on working livestock dogs and stray equines before passing it 92-0, and the Senate concurred 35-3. It took effect July 15, 2026. The act also changed the statute's labeling and misbranding rules to cover "food or cosmetic products." Sources: Senate Bill 73 (2026) bill page; Acts Chapter 52 of 2026; Kentucky Revised Statutes 217.136.

House Bill 281, Acts Chapter 30, passed the House 95-0 and the Senate 38-0 and was signed April 3, 2026. Since July 15, 2026, a home-based processor that makes food solely to give away free at a homeless shelter, or to people displaced by a declared natural disaster, counts as a charitable food donor. The donor is exempt from the food law's licensing requirements as long as the food is safe and apparently wholesome and the donor follows the rest of the food law, and the act shields the donor from civil and criminal liability for producing or donating that food. Sources: Kentucky Revised Statutes 217.127(4); Acts Chapter 30 of 2026 (House Bill 281); Acts Chapter 30, Section 3 (Kentucky Revised Statutes 411.241(4)); House Bill 281 (2026) bill page.

How Kentucky compares with its seven neighbors

Kentucky borders Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.

Tennessee requires no state license or inspection for homemade food and sets no sales cap. Shelf-stable homemade food may be sold by phone, online or through stores inside Tennessee, and since July 1, 2025, some foods that need refrigeration may be sold in person. Sources: Tennessee Code Annotated 53-1-118; Senate Bill 484 (2025), Public Chapter 431, bill page; Tennessee cottage food law.

Virginia exempts listed shelf-stable home foods, including roasted coffee, from its food permit with no sales cap for those foods. They may be delivered in person, by mail or by delivery service to an individual in Virginia, but not for resale or for use in retail food establishments. Pickles and other acidified vegetables are allowed up to $9,000 in gross sales a year. Sources: Code of Virginia 3.2-5130(C)(3)-(4); Virginia cottage food law.

West Virginia exempts nonpotentially hazardous foods from licensing and inspection and lets a third-party carrier deliver them. Foods that need time or temperature control require a state permit and may be sold only inside West Virginia. Sources: West Virginia Code 19-35-6; West Virginia Code 19-40-2; West Virginia cottage food law.

Ohio lets licensed retail food establishments and food service operations sell properly labeled cottage foods or use them as ingredients. Its rules still bar cottage food sales outside Ohio. Sources: Ohio Revised Code 3715.023; Ohio Administrative Code 901:3-20-05; Ohio cottage food law.

Indiana's home-based vendor law sets no sales cap. It requires a food handler certificate from an issuer accredited by the American National Standards Institute and allows sealed packages to be mailed or shipped to buyers inside Indiana. On July 1, 2026, Indiana added a homestead vendor and small farm category for sellers with up to $1.5 million in gross sales a year. State and local agencies may not impose rules or licenses on them that federal law does not require. Those sellers may ship sealed packages inside Indiana only if they hold the same kind of food handler certificate. Sources: Indiana Code 16-42-5.3; House Enrolled Act 1424 (2026), creating Indiana Code 16-42-5.4; Indiana cottage food law.

Illinois requires yearly registration with the local health department, for a fee of no more than $50. The person preparing the food must be a certified food protection manager, a credential earned by passing an approved food safety exam. Its cottage food section sets no sales cap, allows fermented and acidified foods with a tested recipe or food safety plan and allows shipping inside Illinois for foods that do not need time or temperature control. Like Kentucky, it bars cheesecake. Sources: 410 Illinois Compiled Statutes 625/4; Illinois cottage food law.

Missouri covers only baked goods, canned jams or jellies and dried herbs. Sales must go directly to consumers, and internet sales are allowed only when the seller and the buyer are both in Missouri. The state health department says a 2022 update removed the earlier $50,000 cap. Sources: Revised Statutes of Missouri 196.298; Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Home-Based Kitchen Food Production Guidance; Missouri cottage food law.

Kentucky is stricter than its neighbors on two points. It caps gross income at $60,000, while none of its seven neighbors caps sales of shelf-stable home foods in the sections cited here. Virginia caps only pickles and other acidified vegetables, at $9,000, and Indiana's new homestead vendor category is limited to sellers with up to $1.5 million in gross sales a year. Kentucky also bars shipping even inside the state, while Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana and Illinois allow some mail or carrier delivery. The Tennessee outlook covers that neighbor in more depth, and Where Cottage Food Laws Are Headed gives the national picture.

Outlook: three Kentucky ideas that could return in 2027

  1. Roasted coffee beans have been filed three sessions in a row without a committee vote. House Bill 454 in 2024, House Bill 89 in 2025 and House Bill 678 in 2026 each would have added roasted coffee beans to the home-based processor definition. None got a committee vote. A fourth bill in 2027 is plausible because sponsors have filed the idea every year since 2024, and Virginia's home food exemption already lists roasted coffee. No version has received a committee vote, so a 2027 bill would need a committee chair willing to bring it up. Sources: House Bill 454 (2024); House Bill 89 (2025); House Bill 678 (2026); Code of Virginia 3.2-5130(C)(3).
  2. The Food Safety Branch has a statutory reason to update 902 Kentucky Administrative Regulations 45:090 for tallow and lard products. Kentucky Revised Statutes 217.136(10) tells the cabinet to delineate by regulation which food or cosmetic products fall under the home-based processor definition. As of Nov. 9, 2026, the regulation still lists only foods, its last amendment took effect Sept. 9, 2019, and the registration form dated March 2019 says applications listing other products will be rejected. A regulation amendment or a revised form would be the likely next step, though no proposed amendment appeared on the regulation's page on the Legislative Research Commission website as of Nov. 9, 2026. Sources: Kentucky Revised Statutes 217.136(10); 902 Kentucky Administrative Regulations 45:090, history note; Home-Based Processor Application form.
  3. A broader small farm exemption has been filed twice, and neighboring Indiana passed a similar law in 2026. House Bill 768 in 2025 and House Bill 756 in 2026 would have exempted small farms and home-based processors from state and local rules, certifications and licenses not required by federal law, and would have repealed Kentucky Revised Statutes 217.136. Both stopped in the House Agriculture Committee. Indiana enacted a similar exemption for homestead vendors and small farms effective July 1, 2026. A Kentucky sponsor could point to Indiana's law. Neither Kentucky bill got a committee vote, however, and both would have repealed the registration program, so passage in 2027 appears unlikely. Sources: House Bill 768 (2025); House Bill 756 (2026); Indiana House Enrolled Act 1424 (2026).

The 2027 regular session's first part convenes Jan. 5, 2027, and the second part convenes Feb. 2, 2027. The Legislative Research Commission's calendar says bill drafts may be requested during the break between the two parts. Source: 2027 Regular Session Calendar, posted Sept. 10, 2026.

A Nov. 9, 2026, check found no 2027 regular session record page or bill list on the Legislative Research Commission's website, so no 2027 bill on home-based processors or other cottage food topics could be found. Kentucky has no process for filing bills before a session, so 2027 bills are not expected to appear until the session convenes Jan. 5, 2027. House Bill 71 of 2026 would have created a prefiling process, but it stayed in the House State Government Committee. Sources: Legislative Research Commission, Legislation page; House Bill 71 (2026) bill page.

What Kentucky sellers can act on now

Frequently asked questions

Can I ship home-based processor products to a buyer in Kentucky?

Kentucky home-based processors may not ship products, even to buyers inside the state. The regulation lists pickup, delivery and in-person venues as the ways to provide food, and the Food Safety Branch says shipping is not permitted. Sources: 902 Kentucky Administrative Regulations 45:090, Section 3(4); Food Safety Branch, Summary of Updates.

Can I sell tallow balm as a Kentucky home-based processor?

Kentucky law has included pork lard and tallow-based cosmetic products in the home-based processor definition since July 15, 2026, and the label rules apply to them. The regulation and the registration form still list only foods, and the form says applications listing other products will be rejected. A Nov. 9, 2026, check found no published Food Safety Branch guidance on how it handles tallow or lard registrations. Sources: Kentucky Revised Statutes 217.015(56); Kentucky Revised Statutes 217.136(3); Acts Chapter 52 of 2026.

Can I sell my baked goods to a coffee shop or grocery store in Kentucky?

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture says no. The statute limits sales to consumers, and the department's farmers market manual says home-based processors may not sell to restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores or other retail shops. The statute also says the foods "may be used in preparing and serving food," but it does not say a business may buy them for that purpose. Sources: Kentucky Revised Statutes 217.136(5); Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Market Manual and Resource Guide (revised April 20, 2026), page 77.

Can I donate home-baked food to a homeless shelter in Kentucky?

A home-based processor that makes food solely to give away free at a homeless shelter, or to people displaced by a declared natural disaster, is a charitable food donor under a 2026 law. The donated food must be safe and apparently wholesome. Sources: Kentucky Revised Statutes 217.127(4); Acts Chapter 30 of 2026.

Can I sell roasted coffee beans as a home-based processor?

Roasted coffee beans are not on the home-based processor lists in the statute or the regulation. Bills to add them were filed in 2024, 2025 and 2026, and none passed. Sources: Kentucky Revised Statutes 217.015(56); 902 Kentucky Administrative Regulations 45:090, Section 2(1); House Bill 678 (2026).

Has anyone filed a 2027 bill to change Kentucky's home-based processor law?

A Nov. 9, 2026, check of the Legislative Research Commission's website found no 2027 session bill list to search, so no filed 2027 cottage food bill could be found. Kentucky does not allow bills to be filed before a session, so the first ones are expected when the session convenes Jan. 5, 2027. Sources: Legislative Research Commission, Legislation page; 2027 Regular Session Calendar.

Related guides: Kentucky cottage food law, Where Cottage Food Laws Are Headed, Selling at Farmers Markets, Can You Ship Cottage Foods Across State Lines? and Selling Cottage Food Online.

Home bakers and makers across the state are listed on the Kentucky page.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Last reviewed Nov. 9, 2026.