Do you need a license to sell jam in Maine?

Yes, in most cases, and once licensed you can sell jam made in your home kitchen. Maine handles home jam through a license rather than an exemption: the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) licenses home kitchens, and its farm stand FAQ says plainly that jam, jelly and other canned foods "generally require licensing," and that depending on the product you may also need an approved recipe or product testing [2]. The Home Food License costs $20 a year and starts with one inspection of your kitchen [1]. In return, DACF says the license lets you sell shelf-stable food from home and at wholesale throughout Maine and the United States [3].

Getting a Home Food License

1. Confirm the product is shelf-stable. The license covers only foods that do not need refrigeration or freezing for safety [1]. Cooked, sealed jam fits; freezer jam does not.
2. Get canned products reviewed. DACF requires canned products to be submitted to University of Maine Food Testing Services, or another process authority, before licensing, so staff can confirm the pH or water activity is safe [1]. DACF's examples are pickles, relishes and barbecue sauce [1], and its farm stand FAQ says jam may need approved recipes, product testing or added food safety review depending on the product [2]. Ask DACF what your jam needs before you send samples. Process authorities and scheduled processes explains what a review involves.
3. Test a private well. Private water supplies must be tested every year for coliform and nitrates [1].
4. Apply and pay $20. Use DACF's Food and Fuel License application, linked from its permits page [3]. The fee is $20 a year [1].
5. Pass the initial inspection. One inspection is required; annual inspections are not [1]. What inspectors look for in a home kitchen is on your home kitchen and inspections.

Maine's home food manufacturing rule adds two canning requirements: use only new glass containers or home canning jars made for reuse, and do not sell home-canned foods that need pressure processing [4].

Which preserves the license can cover

Where a licensed home kitchen can sell

DACF's Home License 101 covers selling "from home and/or at retail stores" [1], and its permits page goes further, naming wholesale throughout Maine and the United States [3]. Selling across state lines brings in federal food rules. FDA facility registration is not one of them for a kitchen in your own home, since under 21 CFR 1.227 "The private residence of an individual is not a facility" [8]; read FDA registration and food safety rules before you take an out-of-state account. Neither DACF document addresses online sales for home licensees [1] [3]. Selling packaged food off your premises, at a farmers market or a craft fair, takes a Mobile Vendor License, also $20 a year; DACF's summary says that if you make the food at home to sell off-premise you need both licenses [7].

DACF's published materials state no sales cap [1].

Labels

A jar sold directly to a consumer from your home needs no label [1] [4]. Anything sold elsewhere, such as at a store or wholesale, must show [1]:

• the common or usual name;
• ingredients in order of predominance;
• net weight, volume or count;
• your name, address and zip code.

Maine does not require a homemade statement [1]. The federal baseline, including allergen declarations, is on federal labeling for jam.

Towns with food sovereignty ordinances

Some Maine towns have adopted local food sovereignty ordinances under 7 M.R.S. § 284. North Berwick's, for example, exempts producers from state licensure and inspection for face-to-face transactions at the site of production within the town [6]. An ordinance applies only inside the town that adopted it and only to the transactions it describes, so read your own town's text and ask the town clerk. Sales anywhere else still need the Home Food License.

DACF's Quality Assurance and Regulations division

Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Division of Quality Assurance and Regulations, phone 287-3841 as DACF lists it [1]. Its Home License 101 handout is reference [1]. Ask what review your specific jam needs before licensing. Verified against DACF's documents in October 2026. Because the license reaches stores and wholesale buyers, selling jam to shops and cafes is the natural next read.

References

1. Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Quality Assurance and Regulations, Home Food License 101, not dated, viewed October 2026. https://www.maine.gov/dacf/qar/permits_and_licenses/documents/home-license-101.pdf
2. Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Maine Farm Stand FAQ, file dated June 2026 (no date on the page), viewed October 2026. https://www.maine.gov/dacf/qar/permits_and_licenses/documents/maine-farm-stand-licensing-faq-june26.pdf
3. Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Quality Assurance and Regulations, Permits and Licenses, viewed October 2026. https://www.maine.gov/dacf/qar/permits_and_licenses/index.shtml
4. Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Rule 01-001 Chapter 345, Home Food Manufacturing, effective December 9, 1980, amended September 21, 2008. https://www.maine.gov/sos/sites/maine.gov.sos/files/content/assets/001c345.doc
5. National Center for Home Food Preservation, Beware: Pumpkin Butter, December 7, 2012. https://nchfp.uga.edu/blog/beware-pumpkin-butter
6. Town of North Berwick, Maine, Food Sovereignty Ordinance, not dated, viewed October 2026. https://www.townofnorthberwick.org/DocumentCenter/View/513/Food-Sovereignty-Ordinance
7. Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Quality Assurance and Regulations, Mobile Vendor License 101, not dated (viewed October 2026). https://www.maine.gov/dacf/qar/permits_and_licenses/documents/mobile-vendor-101.pdf
8. eCFR, 21 CFR 1.227, What definitions apply to this subpart?, up to date as of October 20, 2026. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-1/subpart-H/subject-group-ECFRef316bd359c83c7/section-1.227