Tennessee Food Freedom Act: Refrigerated Food Rules and Outlook

Tennessee lets people sell food made in their homes without a state license, permit or inspection, and the Food Freedom Act sets no sales cap. Shelf-stable items may move by phone, online order, grocery shelves and carriers, as long as the sale stays inside Tennessee. Since July 1, 2025, some foods that need refrigeration may be sold too, but only in person by the producer or an agent. Tennessee now has one set of rules for shelf-stable foods and a stricter set for foods that need refrigeration.

Note: This page is general information, not legal advice. Citations below point to Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118 and 53-1-102 as published in the 2025 Tennessee Code, the Tennessee General Assembly bill pages for SB 693 (2022) and SB 484 (2025), Senate Amendment 1 to SB 484, and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Food Freedom Act page. Sources were checked on Nov. 5, 2026. The Outlook section is Cottage Food Directory analysis, not a forecast from TDA or the General Assembly.

What the Food Freedom Act allows now

Homemade food made at a private residence needs no state license or inspection under the Act. The production and sale of homemade food items are exempt from the state's licensing, permitting, inspecting, packaging and labeling laws, except when the Department of Health investigates a reported foodborne illness. Sources: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(a); TDA Tennessee Food Freedom Act.
The statute sets no sales cap. Nothing in 53-1-118 limits yearly gross sales of homemade food items. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118.
Shelf-stable homemade foods may be sold in person or remotely and through stores. Foods that do not need time or temperature control for safety, which the law calls non-TCS foods, may be sold by the producer to the consumer in person or remotely, including by telephone or internet, or by an agent or a third-party vendor such as a retail shop or grocery store. Delivery may be by the producer, an agent, a third-party vendor or a third-party carrier. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(b)(1)-(2).
Since July 1, 2025, some foods that need refrigeration may be sold, but only in person. Homemade food items that need time or temperature control for safety may not include unpasteurized milk, alcoholic beverages, fish, shellfish products, meat, meat byproducts or meat food products. Poultry is allowed only under the federal exemptions in 9 CFR 381.10(c) or (d). Those TCS items must be sold in person by the producer or by an agent, such as at a farm stand on the property where the food was prepared. Sources: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(b)(3); SB 484 (2025) bill page; Senate Amendment 1 to SB 484 (SA0263).
Labels, signs or the sales page must carry the producer's details and a required statement. Labels, bulk-container labels, point-of-sale placards or, for items sold only online, the sales webpage must show the producer's name, home address and phone number; the common name of the food; the ingredients in descending order of predominance; and the statement that the product was produced at a private residence exempt from state licensing and inspection and may contain allergens. Phone and custom orders need a spoken disclosure, with the other details available on request. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(b)(4)-(5).
Sales under the exemption must stay inside Tennessee, and local governments may not ban them. The section applies only to intrastate sales made in Tennessee. It also preempts county, municipal and other local governments from prohibiting or regulating the production and sale of homemade food items. Tax laws still apply. Sources: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(c)(5); Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(d).

TDA says it does not issue permits or licenses or inspect operations under the Act, and it may take enforcement action against homemade products that fall outside the exemption. Source: TDA Tennessee Food Freedom Act. The Tennessee cottage food law guide has the full rules.

From the 2022 Act to the 2025 TCS amendment

The Tennessee Food Freedom Act began as SB 693 / HB 813 in the 112th General Assembly. It became Public Chapter 862 and took effect July 1, 2022, creating the homemade-food exemption in Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118 and related definitions in 53-1-102. Sources: SB 693 (112th GA) bill page; Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118 history note.

SB 484 / HB 130 in the 114th General Assembly amended that framework. Senate Amendment 1 (SA0263) added the in-person TCS rules now at 53-1-118(b)(3). The House passed the substituted Senate bill 94-0 with one present-not-voting on April 21, 2025. The governor signed it May 9, 2025. It became Public Chapter 431 and took effect July 1, 2025. Sources: SB 484 (2025) bill page; SA0263 PDF; TDA Tennessee Food Freedom Act.

No other bill in the 2025-2026 sessions changed the Food Freedom Act's sales rules. As of Nov. 5, 2026, no homemade-food bill had been filed for the 115th General Assembly, which convenes at noon Central Time on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2027. Source: Tennessee General Assembly home page.

How Tennessee lines up with the eight states that border it

Tennessee borders Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri.

Kentucky requires yearly home-based processor registration, caps home-based sales at $60,000 in gross income and keeps refrigerated bakery items such as cheesecake off that list. Sources: KRS 217.136; KRS 217.015(56); 902 KAR 45:090.

Virginia exempts listed shelf-stable home foods from the state food permit with no sales cap for those foods, allows in-state online and mail delivery to individuals and still bars foods that need time or temperature control after preparation. Source: Va. Code 3.2-5130.

North Carolina has no cottage food exemption. Home processors need an NCDA&CS kitchen inspection before selling. Sources: N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 106, Article 12; NCDA&CS Home Processor.

Georgia sets no sales cap, dropped the state cottage food license on July 1, 2025, and allows sales to grocery stores and restaurants, but cottage food items remain non-potentially hazardous foods. Source: O.C.G.A. 26-2-470 to 26-2-478, as passed (PDF posted by GDA).

Alabama sets no sales cap and allows phone and online sales delivered inside Alabama, still limited to non-potentially hazardous foods sold directly to consumers. Source: Ala. Code 22-20-5.1.

Mississippi caps sales at $35,000 a year and keeps cottage foods nonpotentially hazardous. It bans internet, mail-order, wholesale and store sales. Source: Miss. Code Ann. 75-29-951.

Arkansas' Food Freedom Act sets no sales cap and allows online and store sales of homemade food or drink products under its own statute. Source: Ark. Code Ann. 20-57-504, enacted by Act 1040 of 2021 (PDF).

Missouri covers only baked goods, canned jams or jellies and dried herbs, sets no sales cap and allows in-state internet sales directly to consumers. Source: RSMo 196.298.

None of the eight border states lets home producers sell foods that need refrigeration. Tennessee has allowed some of those foods since July 1, 2025, and it also sets no sales cap. Arkansas' Food Freedom Act is the closest match on sales channels, but it bars time or temperature control for safety foods.

Farther out, Texas has required registration since Sept. 1, 2025, for operations that sell refrigerated homemade foods. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, Colorado will let a producer who takes a food safety course sell one type of refrigerated food, such as tamales, in up to five variations. Florida still limits cottage food products to foods that are not time or temperature controlled for safety. Sources: Tex. Health & Safety Code 437.01953; Colorado HB 26-1033 session law, Chapter 375; Fla. Stat. 500.80.

For more regional context, see the Southeast comparison and the live outlooks for Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Mississippi. For the national picture, see Where Cottage Food Laws Are Headed.

Outlook: what may change next in Tennessee

The in-person TCS rule is more likely to be refined than repealed soon. SB 484 cleared the Senate 26-0 and the House 94-0 after the amendment that wrote the current TCS subdivision. Both chambers passed the change without a no vote, so a quick repeal is unlikely. The next step would be letting some TCS foods sell online, through stores or by carrier, the way shelf-stable foods already can. No bill to do that was filed in 2025 or 2026. Sources: SB 484 bill history; Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(b)(3).
Tennessee could let producers keep their home address off the label. Tennessee still requires the producer's home address on the buyer information. Georgia lets operators request a state identification number in place of the address, and Virginia allows a post office box number on the home-food label. Texas added the same option in 2025: a producer who registers with the state may print a state ID number instead of an address. A Tennessee bill that adds an address alternative would be a narrow privacy fix, not a rewrite of the sales channels. No Tennessee bill to do this has been filed. Sources: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(b)(4)(A); O.C.G.A. 26-2-473(a); Va. Code 3.2-5130(C)(3); Tex. Health & Safety Code 437.0193(b-1), added by SB 541 (2025).
Tennessee could follow Arkansas on out-of-state sales. Tennessee's exemption covers only sales made inside the state. Arkansas' law lets a sale occur in another state if the seller follows federal law. Even with that change, federal rules and the buyer's state law would still apply to food that crosses state lines. Sources: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(c)(5); Ark. Code Ann. 20-57-504(b)(2), enacted by Act 1040 of 2021 (PDF); Can You Ship Cottage Foods Across State Lines?.

Practical takeaways for home food sellers

Treat shelf-stable and TCS products as two sales tracks. Cookies, candy and jam can move online, through a store and by carrier inside Tennessee. Qualifying TCS foods need an in-person handoff by the producer or an agent. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(b).
Keep meat, fish, shellfish, alcohol and unpasteurized milk out of refrigerated homemade foods. Poultry belongs there only when a federal poultry exemption in 9 CFR 381.10(c) or (d) applies. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(b)(3).
Put the full required statement and home-address contact block on every package, placard or sales page. Phone and custom orders still need the private-residence and allergen disclosure. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(b)(4)-(5).
Sell inside Tennessee under this exemption. Out-of-state buyers fall outside 53-1-118(c)(5). For rule-change steps, see When Your State Changes the Rules.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a license to sell homemade food in Tennessee?

Homemade food items made at a private residence under the Food Freedom Act are exempt from state licensing, permitting and inspection, except when the Department of Health investigates a reported foodborne illness. Sources: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(a); TDA Tennessee Food Freedom Act.

Is there a sales limit for homemade food in Tennessee?

The Food Freedom Act does not set a sales limit. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118.

Can I sell homemade food online or through a grocery store in Tennessee?

Shelf-stable homemade foods may be sold by phone or online and through an agent or third-party vendor such as a retail shop or grocery store, with delivery by the producer, an agent, a vendor or a carrier, as long as the sale is inside Tennessee. TCS homemade foods must be sold in person. Sources: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(b)(1)-(3); Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(c)(5).

Can I sell cheesecake or other refrigerated foods from my Tennessee home kitchen?

Since July 1, 2025, some TCS homemade foods may be sold in person by the producer or an agent if they contain no unpasteurized milk, alcohol, fish, shellfish or meat, and if any poultry meets 9 CFR 381.10(c) or (d). Source: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(b)(3).

Can my city or county ban my homemade food business?

The Food Freedom Act preempts county, municipal and other local governments from prohibiting or regulating the production and sale of homemade food items. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. 53-1-118(d).

Is a new bill pending to change Tennessee's homemade food law?

No homemade-food or Food Freedom Act rewrite for the 115th General Assembly had been found as of Nov. 5, 2026. The 115th convenes Jan. 12, 2027. Sources: Tennessee General Assembly home page; SB 484 (2025) bill page.

Official sources

To find home bakers and makers in the state, browse the Tennessee listings.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Sources checked Nov. 5, 2026.

Tennessee's Food Freedom Act After the 2025 Refrigerated-Food Expansion