How to sell jam from your Arizona home kitchen

By Dwight Davis, Founder

Updated October 2026

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Registering with ADHS Shelf-stable or perishable: the line that decides everything Low-sugar, freezer, pepper and pumpkin Selling to shops What goes on an Arizona label Checking with the Cottage Food Program Choosing recipes Arizona will treat as shelf-stable References

Yes. Arizona's cottage food law has long covered "jams and jellies made from allowable fruits" [2], and the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) registers home producers for free, with no annual fee; registration is renewed every three years [1] [4]. The condition to meet first is training: your application must include a current food handler training certificate from an accredited program [1]. Once registered, shelf-stable jam can be sold directly, shipped within Arizona and even sold wholesale through stores, which fewer than half the states allow. Every sale stays in Arizona [4].

Registering with ADHS

Registration goes into an online ADHS registry [2]. The application asks for your contact details, the physical address of the home kitchen, an acknowledgement of program policies and the food handler certificate [1]. A few conditions come with it:

Everything is made "within the home kitchen," with "No outdoor grilling, smoking, drying, etc." [1]
Your city may require a seller's permit, and an HOA may restrict home businesses [1].
Products are offered "within Arizona" [1], and the current rule, R9-8-101.02, limits sale and delivery to Arizona, so out-of-state sales are not allowed [4].

Shelf-stable or perishable: the line that decides everything

ADHS sorts every cottage product into one of two groups, and the group sets where you can sell it [1].

	Shelf-stable	Perishable
Meaning	Foods "that do not require refrigeration and don't support the growth of microorganisms" [1]	Needs temperature control
Direct sales	Yes	Yes, from you to the consumer only [1]
Ship within Arizona	Yes [1]	No
Wholesale and third-party delivery	Yes, in the same unaltered packaging [1]	No
Delivery limits	None stated	Temperature controlled, offered only the day it leaves your house, delivered within two hours [1]

Full-sugar jam made to a tested recipe is the classic shelf-stable product. ADHS points registrants to an "FDA Tested Jams and Jellies List" and to approved shelf-stable recipes on its cottage food site [1]. If your product is not on those lists, you can make the case with numbers: ADHS lets registrants email lab results to have a product approved as shelf-stable, and the result must show pH 4.6 or below, or water activity below 0.85 [1]. The University of Arizona labs ADHS lists can run those tests [1].

Low-sugar, freezer, pepper and pumpkin

ADHS's program materials do not name these products [1]. Apply the shelf-stable test to each:

Freezer jam needs the freezer, so it is perishable. You may sell it, but only directly, kept cold, on the day it leaves your kitchen and delivered within two hours [1]. See how to make freezer jam.
Low-sugar or no-sugar jam made with low-methoxyl pectin is not on the tested full-sugar list. To sell it as shelf-stable, send lab results; otherwise treat it as perishable.
Pepper jelly is an acidified food: peppers are low-acid, and the vinegar in the recipe is what makes it safe. ADHS now lists acidified foods and canning among permitted "special processes" [1], so a pH result of 4.6 or below is your route. Background is on pepper jelly.
Pumpkin butter has no tested home canning process and has measured as high as pH 5.4 [3]. It will not pass the pH test; keep it out of your shelf-stable line.

Selling to shops

Because approved shelf-stable products "have the option to wholesale, and can be delivered by a third-party" [1], an Arizona jam maker can supply a coffee shop, gift store or grocer. The jars must stay in your "same unaltered packaging" [1]; the store cannot relabel or repack them. Rule R9-8-101.02 requires a store to keep cottage products in a separate section or display case, with a sign saying the product is homemade and exempt from state licensing and inspection [4]. Approaching buyers and pricing for them is on selling jam to shops and cafes. ADHS states no sales cap in the materials reviewed [1].

What goes on an Arizona label

ADHS requires [1]:

the product's production date
your name and ADHS registration number
a complete ingredient list, including the ingredients of any component (a commercial pectin, for example)
this statement, as rule R9-8-101.02 words it [4]: "This product was produced in a home kitchen that may come in contact with common FOOD allergens and pet allergens and is not subject to public health inspection."
where it applies, a statement that the product was made by individuals with developmental disabilities

The rule also requires this line [4]: "To obtain additional information about cottage foods or to report a foodborne illness, go to azdhs.gov/Cottagefood". The production date requirement means you already have the start of a lot code; see best-by dates and lot codes. Federal elements such as net weight are on what a jam label must say.

Checking with the Cottage Food Program

ADHS runs the program and answers questions at CottageFood@azdhs.gov or 602-364-3118, extension 2 [1]. The law is in A.R.S. § 36-136, which H.B. 2042 amended in 2024 [2]; the exact subsection and the bill's final form were not confirmed for this page. The current rule is R9-8-101.02, published February 28, 2025 [4]. If you outgrow cottage food, ask ADHS or your county environmental health office which permit applies. This page was last verified in October 2026.

Choosing recipes Arizona will treat as shelf-stable

Your simplest path is a recipe from a tested source; see where to find tested jam recipes. Then price each jar for both retail and wholesale on how to price jam.