Nebraska cottage food law for home bakers

The short version

Nebraska is unusual among cottage food states for having no revenue cap at all, and for the 2024 LB262 expansion that lets registered producers sell some genuinely refrigerated (TCS) items like cheesecake, beyond shelf-stable baked goods, as long as they follow the stricter in-person, two-hour delivery rule for those items.

Registering

The rule is administered by Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA), Food Safety & Consumer Protection Division; the guide reads Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-2,280, part of the Nebraska Pure Food Act (§§ 81-2,239 to 81-2,292). Added by LB 304 (2019), signed May 1, 2019 and effective in September 2019 under Nebraska's default rule for bills without an emergency clause (three calendar months after the legislature's sine die adjournment); the exact September day was not confirmed. Substantially amended by LB 262 (2024), effective July 19, 2024, which added time/temperature-control-for-safety ("potentially hazardous") foods such as cheesecake, cream pies, and custards under added delivery, temperature, and labeling conditions.

Registration is a one-time, free, no-expiration filing with NDA, not a recurring license; the food-safety-course requirement is the real gate, and it's waived only for farmers-market-only sellers of non-TCS food.

Where you can sell, and whether online counts

The mail/commercial-carrier allowance applies only to non-potentially-hazardous items; a cheesecake or custard pie must be hand-delivered by the producer within two hours at a safe temperature, which is a meaningfully different set of house rules for the two food classes she might sell side by side.

What goes on the label

The statute's labeling text names the producer's name/address and the uninspected-kitchen/allergen notice; it does not specify a minimum font size.

"This food was prepared in a kitchen that is not subject to regulation and inspection by the regulatory authority and may contain allergens."

• Name and address of the producer
• For potentially-hazardous (TCS) foods: ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight
• The required consumer notice about the uninspected kitchen and possible allergens

What you can bake and sell

Fermented foods (kombucha, kimchi) are explicitly excluded even after the 2024 TCS expansion: it added refrigerated dairy-based desserts, not fermentation.

• Allowed: Non-potentially-hazardous shelf-stable foods (breads, cookies, other baked goods, candy, honey, syrup, dried fruit, jams/jellies, snacks), plus, since the 2024 LB262 expansion, certain time/temperature-control-for-safety (TCS) items such as cheesecake, cream pies, custards, puddings, and dairy items made from approved commercial dairy sources, subject to the added TCS delivery/temperature/labeling rules above.
• Not allowed: Any part of an animal, vertebrate or invertebrate, or animal byproduct; raw milk or milk products not meeting the Grade A Pasteurized Milk Ordinance; raw eggs; unpasteurized juice; infused oils; sprouts; low-acid canned/hermetically sealed acidified foods; tofu, tempeh, and other meat substitutes; and fermented foods such as kimchi and kombucha. All cottage food must be made in a private home (LB262 also closed off mobile/trailer production).

The sales cap

Nebraska sets no cap on cottage food sales; no revenue ceiling has ever been part of this statute; the September 2019 date is approximate and marks LB 304's original enactment, not a cap change..

Work out how much room you have left this year with the cottage food sales cap checker.

Questions people ask

Do I need to register to sell cottage food in Nebraska?

Yes, Nebraska requires registration before the first sale. Register once, for free, with NDA (name, address, phone number, proof of completing an approved food safety course, and private well-water test results if applicable) before the first sale. Exempt if selling only non-potentially-hazardous food directly to consumers at a farmers market.

Has the cottage food sales cap in Nebraska changed over time?

no cap from September 1, 2019.

Can I take orders online in Nebraska?

Yes, you can take orders online. You can hand an order over in person or send it anywhere inside the state.

Can I deliver or ship cottage food in Nebraska?

Delivery is allowed. Shipping inside the state is allowed.

What does my Nebraska cottage food label need to say?

The label must say: This food was prepared in a kitchen that is not subject to regulation and inspection by the regulatory authority and may contain allergens.

Sources

• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-2,280 (Nebraska Legislature official statutes site)nebraskalegislature.gov
• Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Cottage Food Registrationnda.nebraska.gov