How do you sell jam from home in Kentucky?
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Register as a home-based processor with the state Food Safety Branch, pay $50, and you can sell jams, jellies, preserves and fruit butter made in your kitchen [1]. Two conditions shape everything else. Every jar must be handed over in person to a Kentucky consumer, because home-based processors may not ship [1]. And the program covers standard jams only: low-acid, low-sugar and savory jams and jellies, pepper jelly among them, are sent to the University of Kentucky's microprocessing program, which is open to farmers [1] [2]. Gross sales are capped at $60,000 a year [1].
Which program your jam belongs in
| Product | Home-based processor | Home-based microprocessor |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit jams and jellies | Yes [1] | Not needed |
| Preserves, fruit butter | Yes [1] | Not needed |
| Low-sugar jams and jellies | Should be approved through the microprocessing program [1] | The route the Cabinet names; UK recipe approval [1] [2] |
| Savory jams and jellies, including pepper jelly | Same [1] | The route the Cabinet names; UK recipe approval [1] [2] |
| Low-acid jams | Same [1] | The route the Cabinet names; UK recipe approval [1] [2] |
| Freezer jam | Not on the allowable list [1] | Not addressed |
The Cabinet's wording, that these products "should be approved through the UK Microprocessing program" [1], is the line to plan around. Microprocessing is a farm program: participants must grow an ingredient used in the product [2]. If you do not farm, the published sources leave no home route for low-sugar or pepper jelly, so ask the Food Safety Branch before you make a batch for sale. The safety side of pepper jelly is on pepper jelly.
Registering as a home-based processor
- Request form DFS-250, Application for Home-Based Processors, from the Food Safety Branch or your county Extension office [1].
- Send it with the $50 registration fee to the Food Safety Branch [1].
- Keep your proof of registration current. It is valid until March 31, and the Branch mails a renewal invoice each year [1].
No training course is required for a home-based processor [1].
Selling in person, only in Kentucky
The rules require that "all items shall be provided in person, directly to consumers within this state" [1]. That allows:
- pickup at your home, or delivery by you;
- a market, as long as it is not a permitted retail market;
- a roadside stand;
- a community event [1].
You may advertise and take orders and payment in person, by phone or online, but the jar still changes hands in person, and "Home-based processors are not permitted to ship items" [1]. Kentucky's $60,000 cap is on gross income from these products each year [1]. Tips for the market table are on selling jam at a farmers market.
What the label must show
- The name and address of your home-based operation.
- The common or usual name of the food.
- Ingredients in order of predominance by weight.
- Net weight or net volume.
- Federal allergen information.
- Nutrition labeling only if you make a nutrient content or health claim.
- The statement "This product is home-produced and processed," at least 10 point, in clear contrast.
- The processing date [1].
The Cabinet's summary prints the word as "homeproduced" [1]; ask the Branch which spelling it expects on your label. The federal baseline is on federal labeling for jam.
The microprocessor route for farmers
University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension runs the home-based microprocessing program. Each participant completes a five-hour workshop on canning principles, gets recipes approved by the University, verifies the water source and applies to the Food Safety Branch to sell [2]. Products are canned in a water bath or pressure canner [2]. In the reporting year ending June 30, 2026, 25 workshops were held, 123 participants earned certificates, and 161 home-based microprocessors were certified to sell canned goods in Kentucky [2]. Contact your county Extension office for workshop dates. The sales cap, venues and shipping rules for microprocessors were not confirmed from a state source, so ask the Branch.
If you outgrow your kitchen
Shipping, selling into permitted retail stores, or making products neither home program covers takes a state-permitted food business through the Food Safety Branch. See when you need a licensed kitchen.
Applying through the Food Safety Branch
Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department for Public Health, Food Safety Branch. The rule is 902 KAR 45:090, and the Branch's summary of the home-based processing updates is reference [1]. That summary is dated March 2021, so confirm the fee and cap when you apply. Checked in October 2026. Because every jar changes hands in person, selling jam at a farmers market is where most Kentucky processors start.
References
- Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Food Safety Branch, Summary of Updates to Home-Based Processing (902 KAR 45:090), March 2021. https://chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dph/dphps/fsb/FSDocs/hbpupdates.pdf
- University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension, Norris, Homebased Microprocessing, program report for July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. https://kers.ca.uky.edu/core/reports/Story/s/4806/2026
