Rajesh Anandakrishnan

You need to be meeting the buyer, face-to-face, and transferring the product and money in-person. As long as you’re doing that, you’re good! So yes, you can take an order agreement by email as long as you meet them.

Mary Jane, maybe I can help clarify from what I think is happening. It’s actually all good!

HB 1094 has already passed and will go into effect in November, as you know. The other bill, SB 920, has not yet been passed, as far as I know. But the reason it’s also being considered is because it doesn’t have some of the limitations that HB 1094 does.…[Read more]

Angelica, yes, they should be allowed.

Yes, you are absolutely reading that right in terms of your state’s requirements. You should check with your city or county though (probably the planning division)… they may have some requirements. For instance, you might have to get a standard business license, which is usually easy and inexpensive.

Erin, as you deduced, this would be classified as an indirect sale. I understand your desire to support the business, but the intention of the law is that the end-consumer would meet the producer. I’d imagine that this wouldn’t be the case with your gift boxes. Best of luck!

Kathleen, you’re right… it is strange that sales are allowed at farmers markets and not from home, and yet, a number of states have restrictions like this. Fortunately most allow sales from home too.

From what I’ve seen, it takes just one person to activate a cottage food law, or an amendment, in a state. Usually it involves finding a…[Read more]

Nicole, you are not required to get a license from the health department to sell your food, but it’s very reasonable for your farmers market to require a business license. It’s the same basic license any business of any type would get, and it’s usually pretty easy — you would apply with your city or county. It’s also relatively inexpensive……[Read more]

April, I’m not the ultimate guru on this but I did a little research for Florida (I’m more familiar with California’s tax laws, but Florida’s look similar). The bottom line is that it doesn’t look like you need to charge sales tax.

One important factor for charging sales tax is whether the product is intended to be consumed on the seller’s…[Read more]

Sandy, I personally know many cottage food operations in CA that make caramels and have had them approved. However, some counties are a little stricter than others, but I still don’t think any would say no. What county are you from? Of course, the only way to know for sure would be to talk to your county’s environmental health department.

The law…[Read more]