Delaware's two routes for selling homemade jam

By Dwight Davis, Founder

Updated October 2026

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Cottage food or on-farm: which one fits you Registering a Cottage Food Establishment Low-sugar, pepper jelly and fruit butter in Delaware No online sales, and no shops Two labels A revision proposed in 2026 Where to confirm in Delaware Building a business on in-person sales References

Yes. Delaware's cottage food regulation says "The manufacturing of jams, jellies, and other fruit preserves shall be allowed" in a registered Cottage Food Establishment [1], and farmers have a second route under the Department of Agriculture's on-farm home processing rule [3]. On the cottage route the conditions that matter most are a $30 yearly registration with the Division of Public Health and a passed food safety test, and the sales limits are strict: in person, to consumers in Delaware, with no online sales and no wholesale [1]. This page compares the two routes, covers the label, and flags a rule revision proposed in 2026.

Cottage food or on-farm: which one fits you

	Cottage Food Establishment	On-farm home processing
Rule	16 Del. Admin. Code 4458A [1]	3 Del. Admin. Code 101 [3]
Agency	Division of Public Health, Office of Food Protection [1]	Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA) [3]
Who it is for	Anyone with a home kitchen	Farm operations
Jam rule	Jams, jellies and other fruit preserves allowed, limited to the Division's approved list [1]	Jellies, jams, preserves, marmalades and fruit butters "with an equilibrated pH of 4.6 or less or a water activity of 0.85 or less" [3]
Fee or permit	$30 a year, April 1 to March 31 [1]	DDA permit required [3]
Sales cap	None stated [1]	$50,000 of on-farm processed food sales [3]
Where you sell	Farmers markets, craft fairs, charitable organizations and other approved venues, in Delaware [1]	Farmers markets, roadside produce stands or your farm [3]

Registering a Cottage Food Establishment

Pass a food safety test. At least one person on site during operating hours must have "shown proficiency in food safety through passing a test" from a program the Office of Food Protection approves [1].
Register and pay $30. Registrations run April 1 to March 31 and are renewed with a new application and fee each year [1].
Expect a possible visit. The Division "may conduct 1 or more preoperational inspections," and may inspect again after a complaint or illness report [1].
Test when asked. "When required by the Division, laboratory testing of food products shall be the responsibility of the producer" [1].

Every product must be on "the approved list maintained by Division" and must not need time or temperature control [1]. The list itself was not available for this page. Before you plan a flavor beyond plain fruit jam, ask the Office of Food Protection whether it is on the list.

Low-sugar, pepper jelly and fruit butter in Delaware

The cottage regulation does not name low-sugar jam, freezer jam, pepper jelly or fruit butter [1]. Freezer jam needs the freezer, so it falls outside the non-time-and-temperature-controlled limit. For the others, the approved list decides.

The on-farm rule is more specific. Fruit butters are allowed there if they meet the pH or water activity limit [3]; your own reading against that limit is the test. But the same rule prohibits "Low-acid canned foods, such as home-canned or jarred fruits, vegetables, pickled products, sauces, relishes" [3]. Pepper jelly sits close to that line, because the vinegar is what brings low-acid peppers into range; ask DDA before making it under an on-farm permit. Pumpkin butter will not meet the pH limit: it has no tested home canning process and has measured up to pH 5.4 [4]. See measuring pH and pepper jelly.

No online sales, and no shops

Cottage producers may only make "direct sales with consumers in the State of Delaware," with no retailer or other middleman [1]. "Online sales are not permitted. Online advertising and marketing are permitted." [1] "Wholesale or other sales to resellers or food establishments are not permitted" [1]. Mail order and shipping are not addressed; given the in-person, in-state wording, ask before you mail a jar. Bake sales and private events are outside the regulation entirely [1].

Two labels

Cottage food labels need the establishment name, the product name, "town/city, Delaware," a phone number or email, net weight or count, and a production date or lot number; ingredients in decreasing order by weight; the source of each major food allergen; type at least 10 point with clear contrast; and this statement [1]:

"This food is made in a Cottage Food Establishment and is NOT subject to routine Government Food Safety Inspections"

On-farm products carry "This product is home-produced and processed" in ten-point type [3].

The production date or lot number requirement is a good reason to set up a simple lot code from your first batch; see best-by dates and lot codes. Federal label rules are on what a jam label must say.

A revision proposed in 2026

The Division published a proposed revision of 4458A in the February 1, 2026 Delaware Register, described as permit guideline revisions and technical edits [2]. The proposal keeps the jam allowance, the $30 fee (renamed a "registration permit fee") and the online sales ban [2]. Comments closed March 3, 2026; no effective date was stated [2]. Check which version is in force when you apply.

Where to confirm in Delaware

Cottage food questions go to the Division of Public Health, Office of Food Protection, which keeps the approved list [1]. On-farm processing questions go to the Delaware Department of Agriculture [3]. If you need a route beyond both, such as selling to stores, ask the Office of Food Protection which permit applies and read when you need a licensed kitchen. This page was last verified in October 2026.

Building a business on in-person sales

With no online sales and no shops, your market table does all the selling. Plan the stall, samples and signs on selling jam at a farmers market, then set prices that survive market fees on how to price jam.