Cottage Food Laws in Nebraska
Last verified against official sources on by Amrit. How we verify
Yes. In Nebraska you can make food in your home kitchen and sell it directly to customers, and state law sets no dollar limit on sales. Before your first sale you must take a food safety course and register with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, unless you only sell food that doesn't need to be kept cold or hot, directly to customers at a farmers market. You must show customers a notice that your kitchen is not inspected, and label each item with your name and address.[2][1]
At a glance
| Permit needed | No state food establishment permit, but most sellers must register with the state before their first sale[1][2] |
|---|---|
| Sales cap | None set in state law[1] |
| Training | A food safety course before your first sale (not needed if you only sell food that doesn't need to be kept cold or hot, directly to customers at a farmers market)[1] |
| Notice to customers | A clearly visible notice that the food was made in a kitchen that is not regulated or inspected, and may contain allergens[1] |
| Labels | Your name and address on every package. Foods that need refrigeration also list ingredients, heaviest first.[1] |
| Where you can sell | Directly to customers: farmers markets, fairs, festivals, craft shows, other events, or pickup and delivery from your home. Not through stores or coffee shops.[2][3] |
| Online and shipping | Shelf-stable foods can be mailed. Foods that need refrigeration must be delivered by you in person.[1] |
| Agency | Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA)[3] |
Step by step
Do these in order. Each step links to the official form or page.
Check that your food is allowed
Most foods are allowed, including ones that need refrigeration, like cheesecake. The exceptions are food containing meat or other animal parts (such as lard or bone broth), fluid milk and milk products such as milk, cream, sour cream and yogurt, raw eggs, unpasteurized juice, infused oils or honey, sprouts, low-acid canned foods, hermetically sealed acidified foods (NDA's example is sealed BBQ sauce), tofu, tempeh and similar meat substitutes, and kimchi, kombucha and similar fermented foods. All food must be made in your home.[1][3]
Take a food safety course
Complete one of three kinds of course: a nationally accredited food safety course, a certified course from a culinary school or the one your city or county requires for a food handler permit, or a course NDA approves. NDA's examples are ServSafe, StateFoodSafety, the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department online training and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) online cottage food course. Keep proof of the course, because NDA will not complete your registration without it. You can skip this only if you sell nothing but food that doesn't need to be kept cold or hot, directly to customers at a farmers market.[1][3][4]
Test your well water, if you use a private well
If your kitchen uses water from a private well, you need proof that it was tested for nitrate or bacteria contamination. You include that proof when you register. NDA points to the Nebraska Public Health Environmental Lab for testing.[1][3]
Register with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture
Register before you sell anything, unless you only sell food that doesn't need to be kept cold or hot, directly to customers at a farmers market. NDA's page links to an online form. You give your name, address and phone number, the course you took and the date you passed it, and your well test if you have one. You cannot register without showing a food safety course. It can take up to 10 days for your name to appear on NDA's public list of registered producers. If your contact details change later, email agr.foodsafety@nebraska.gov.[1][3]
Label your food and put up the notice
Put your name and address on every package. NDA says this must be the specific mailing address where you can be contacted, not just a city. Foods that need refrigeration also need an ingredient list, heaviest ingredient first. Tell customers, in a clearly visible notice, that the food was made in a kitchen that is not regulated or inspected and may contain allergens. At an event, put the notice where you sell. For pickup or delivery, put it at your home, on your website if you have one, and in every ad.[1][3]
Sell directly to your customers
Sell at farmers markets, fairs, festivals, craft shows and other events, or for pickup or delivery from your home. Follow any rules your farmers market sets for its vendors. Shelf-stable foods can go by mail or a delivery service. Foods that need refrigeration must be delivered by you in person, kept at the temperature Nebraska's food safety law (the Nebraska Pure Food Act) requires, and spend no more than two hours in transit.[2][3][1]
What you can and can't sell[1][3]
Allowed
- Cakes made with eggs, as long as the cake is fully cooked and the eggs are no longer raw
- Foods that need refrigeration or freezing, such as cheesecake, pudding, ice cream and cheese, made with dairy from an approved source (bought from a licensed seller such as a grocery store)
- Traditional jams and jellies made with pectin
- Chocolate-covered strawberries
- Freeze-dried foods, if the food itself is not on the not-allowed list
Not allowed
- Meat and any other part of an animal, such as lard, tallow or bone broth
- Fluid milk and milk products such as milk, cream, sour cream and yogurt, and anything made with raw milk
- Raw eggs
- Unpasteurized juice
- Infused oils and infused honey
- Sprouts
- Low-acid canned foods, and hermetically sealed acidified foods such as sealed BBQ sauce
- Tofu, tempeh and similar meat substitutes
- Kimchi, kombucha and similar fermented foods
Local rules
These places add their own requirements on top of the state rules.
- All Nebraska cities, counties and villages: The state cottage food rules override any local food safety and handling ordinance or rule that does not conform to them.[1]
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell cheesecake or other foods that need refrigeration?
Yes. NDA says you can sell foods that need refrigeration, like cheesecake, ice cream and pudding, if any dairy comes from an approved source such as a grocery store. You must take the food safety course and register, list the ingredients on the label, and deliver it in person rather than by mail. For selling cheesecake at a farmers market, NDA says you need a way to keep it at 41°F or colder.[3][1]
Can I ship cookies to customers?
Yes, for foods that don't need refrigeration. State law lets you send them by US mail or a commercial delivery service. Foods that need refrigeration must be delivered by you in person. Nebraska's law does not address shipping to other states, so check that state's rules first.[1]
Can a coffee shop or store sell my baked goods?
No. Cottage food must be sold by you directly to the customer.[3]
Do I need to register if I only sell at a farmers market?
Not if everything you sell is shelf-stable (doesn't need to be kept hot or cold) and you sell it directly to customers at the market. Then you don't need the course or the registration. You still need the notice and the label. If you sell foods that need refrigeration, or sell anywhere else, you must take the course and register.[1]
Can I run a snow cone or food trailer under the cottage food law?
No, not if the food is made in the trailer. Cottage food must be made in a private home, and NDA says that if products are not made ahead at a private home, you cannot operate under the cottage food exemption.[3]
Can I sell eggs from my chickens as cottage food?
Selling eggs is not covered by the cottage food law. If you sell eggs from your own hens and have fewer than 3,000 hens, ask NDA for a free egg number.[3]
What should my sign at a market say?
NDA gives this wording for the sign at an event: "This food was prepared in a kitchen that is not subject to regulation and inspection by the regulatory authority and may contain allergens."[3]
Sources
- Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2,280: Producer of food at private home; requirements; registration; contents, Nebraska Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026. Internet Archive copy (captured 2026-05-23) of https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=81-2,280; nebraskalegislature.gov did not answer at all from this network (connection timed out). Check the live statute before verifying.
- Nebraska Revised Statute 81-2,245.01: Food establishment, defined, Nebraska Legislature. Checked October 25, 2026. Internet Archive copy (captured 2026-08-04) of https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=81-2,245.01; nebraskalegislature.gov did not answer at all from this network (connection timed out). Check the live statute before verifying.
- Nebraska Cottage Food Registration, Nebraska Department of Agriculture. Checked October 25, 2026.
- Cottage Food Law: Online Course, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska Extension. Checked October 25, 2026. State university extension page, linked from the NDA cottage food page as a course example. Cited only for the course length.
Related
- Cottage Food Laws in Colorado
- Cottage Food Laws in Iowa
- Cottage Food Laws in Kansas
- Cottage Food Laws in Missouri
- Cottage Food Laws in South Dakota
- Cottage Food Laws in Wyoming
- Cottage Food Laws by State
This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change. Before you apply or start selling, confirm the details with Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) or your local health department. Spotted something wrong or out of date?Report it and we will check it.