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South Carolina cottage food label rules

What has to be on the label when you sell homemade baked goods in South Carolina, and the limits that matter at a market. Checked September 2026.

Another state Confirmed in official sources

Your label must include

Name and address of the home-based food operation (or SCDA Home-based Food ID number)
Product name
Ingredients in descending order by weight
Allergens (major food allergens) or allergen cross-contact disclaimer
Required statement

Required statement

“PROCESSED AND PREPARED BY A HOME-BASED FOOD PRODUCTION OPERATION THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO SOUTH CAROLINA’S FOOD SAFETY REGULATIONS.”

Statement must be conspicuous, in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, in a color that clearly contrasts with the background. No minimum font size in statute. The pre-2022 ‘NOT FOR RESALE’ prefix is no longer required (still appears in some older or law-book copies).

Brown Butter Toffee Cookies

Sunny Crumb Co. · 123 Palm Ave, Your City, SC 00000

Ingredients: enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), butter (cream, salt), brown sugar, toffee bits (sugar, butter, almonds, soy lecithin), eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda, sea salt.

Contains: wheat, milk, eggs, tree nuts (almond), soy.

PROCESSED AND PREPARED BY A HOME-BASED FOOD PRODUCTION OPERATION THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO SOUTH CAROLINA’S FOOD SAFETY REGULATIONS.

Sample label for illustration, made from the checklist above. Your own label has to match your recipe and your state’s exact rules.

Key limits in South Carolina

Permit: None — SCDA does not issue permits, licenses or registrations; optional free SCDA Home-based Food ID number can replace name/address on label.
Training: none
Sales cap: none (operations with net earnings under $1,500/yr are exempt from the section’s requirements)
Where you can sell: Direct to consumers (farmers markets, events, home) and to retail stores, including grocery stores (store must post a sign); no wholesale, and no restaurants unless approved.
Online & shipping: Online and mail-order sales to consumers allowed; SCDA describes sales as within South Carolina — do not ship out of state.
Law: Home-Based Food Production, S.C. Code § 44-1-143 (2022 Act No. 208 / S. 506, effective May 23, 2022); program moved from DHEC to SC Dept. of Agriculture July 1, 2024

What we could not confirm (3)

SCDA 2025 law book quotes the statement with a ‘NOT FOR RESALE-‘ prefix; current statute text and SCDA flyer do not — went with statute
Allergen requirement comes from SCDA guidance; statute subsection (D) as fetched lists name/address, product name, ingredients and statement
Out-of-state shipping not explicitly addressed in statute

Check with: South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA)

Last change to the law: May 23, 2022 (S. 506); agency transfer to SCDA July 1, 2024

Sources

Made by BakersKeep

Set up this label once. Print it for every cookie.

BakersKeep builds your South Carolina label from each recipe: ingredients in order, allergens and the required statement. Change a recipe and every label updates. It also prices your cookies, takes pre-orders and writes the week’s posts.

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This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and counties can add their own. Confirm with South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA) before you print. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

South Carolina cottage food label rules

Your label must include

Required statement

Set up this label once. Print it for every cookie.

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