Florida
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Talk with others about the cottage food industry in Florida
Brevard County
This topic contains 6 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by 
David Crabill 9 years, 2 months ago.
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Hello and thanks for let me join the group.
I’m quite confused regarding the application of FL cottage law in some countries and cities: I am from Palm Bay and yesterday I went to the City Hall and the answers received confused me when I compare them to what we can read on the FL Cottage Law Act. first of all I just told that I cannot sell from home, only at public farmers market or flea markets exclusively. The Act states that sales can be done directly to the customers from home (I live in a residential not so developed neighborhood, individual fenced houses, no homeowners associations or anything like that, with a large backyard with direct entrance to it, so it wouldn’t even be done in the front of the house).
Then I was also told that I will need both a County Business Tax Receipt and a City Business Tax Receipt with an annual fee of over $100, besides the costs for both applications for Business Tax Receipt.
So, is this info correct? I wonder because at the same time the person giving me the info didn’t seem very acquainted with the FL Cottage Law. I need and would really appreciate more accurate answers. Thanks in advance!It’s quite possible that that’s all accurate info, and it’s also possible that they are making guesses. Ultimately, you need to get whatever they determine you need to get. I think you could start by bringing a copy of the law and making sure they are completely familiar with it. You could also contact nearby counties to see how they are handling the law, and if their process differs, try to understand why your county is different or if it should be.
Although the law allows sales from home, your city’s zoning laws can prevent them, even if you have no visible presence in front of your home. In fact, your health dept could prevent all cottage food sales if they wanted to, as Miami-Dade has done. There’s nothing in the law that prevents local govts from intervening, unfortunately.
The tax receipts sound pretty typical, and probably something all businesses need to get.
Naomi LThank you for your reply. I will keep your info in mind for consideration.
Kamila MarreroHello! Im just starting home based food business (spreads, baked goods and chocolate), and have a lot of questions, as most start ups:) . Can you please help me to figure it out, what licenses i will need before selling it at farmers markets, and where i should get it. Thank you.
Kamila, I recommend you call the ag dept at 850-245-5520
More questions about Brevard County: It seems whatever office I go I get different answers…
Question #1: if I want to sell homemade baked goodies at farmers market venues under Cottage Law, do I still need a Food Permit? This is what a FM’s manager replied: “you must (1)have a food permit, (2) prepare the foods in a facility that meets certain state and federal standards and (3) have a certified Food Protection Manager. Mobil Food Vendors can expect to pay a $275 annual fee for their food permit”. So, do I need all that just to sell Cottage Law Food?Question #2: My city says that I need a Business Sales Tax Receipt from My City ($25 application + $125 annual fee) and another one from My County ($37 annual fee). What if I am not going to sell anything within my city? First of all, my city doesn’t even offer a decent farmers market venue at all, and second they do not allow any other way/places where sales are allowed. So, if I am not dealing with my city and instead I’m planning to sell in other cities FM’s, what permits/Business Sales Tax Receipts would I need?
Thank you very much in advance.
First of all, although I’m familiar with the law, I’m not really in a position where I could override anything that an official in your area says. Here are my thoughts:
1) Your farmers market manager is telling you that you can’t use the cottage food law. You need to make you food in a commercial kitchen and get a few other things. There’s no getting around what a farmers market requires, and many of them don’t allow homemade food. You should make sure they’re aware of the cottage food law, so you can be sure that they’re specifically disallowing sellers under it.
2) My guess is that you need the sales tax receipt from your city and county, even if you don’t sell there. If you didn’t then you would need to get one in every city and county that you sell in. Either way, I think you have to take those fees into consideration.
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