Can you sell jam from your Tennessee kitchen without a permit?

By Dwight Davis, Founder

Updated October 2026

On this page7

Why jam gets the widest set of channels Selling and delivering non-TCS jam Freezer jam and other cold products Where the disclosure goes When you need a license instead A department that does not review products References

Yes. Under the Tennessee Food Freedom Act you can sell jam made in your home with no permit, license, inspection, training or sales cap, as long as every sale stays inside Tennessee [1] [2]. The one thing you must get right is the disclosure: each jar, placard or web listing has to tell the buyer your name, home address and phone number and that the product came from a private residence exempt from state licensing and inspection [1]. Standard canned jam is a shelf-stable food in Tennessee's terms, which also lets you sell it online, deliver it by carrier within the state and place it in local shops [1] [3].

Why jam gets the widest set of channels

Tennessee sorts homemade food into two classes, and the class decides where you may sell. University of Tennessee Extension lists "Canned fruits, jams, jellies, syrups" as non-TCS (not requiring time and temperature control for safety) because fruit keeps the pH below 4.6 and sugar keeps the water activity below 0.85 [3]. Extension adds that canned foods count as non-TCS only after a validated thermal process, and that the process "should come from a recognized publication or a process authority" [3]. The law itself does not require a tested recipe; Extension's advice is the standard to meet anyway.

Your product	How UT Extension classes it	What that means for you
Standard jam or jelly, water-bath canned	Non-TCS [3]	Every channel below
Low-sugar or no-sugar spread	Not named; classed by its pH and water activity [3]	If the pH stays below 4.6 and the process is tested, it can be non-TCS. Without that, treat it as TCS
Freezer jam	Not named; "Most refrigerated or frozen foods are considered TCS" [3]	In person only (see below)
Pepper jam or jelly	"Pepper jam with pH > 4.6" is listed as a low-acid canned food that needs a pressure canning process to be safe and shelf-stable [3]	A pepper jelly that you have not tested and processed accordingly is not a safe shelf product. Get a process authority's review
Fruit butters	Not named	Same test as jam: pH, water activity and a tested process. Pumpkin butter has no tested home canning process; do not sell it canned

Extension's pepper jam example is worth reading twice. Many states simply bar pepper jelly; Tennessee's Extension service instead treats a high-pH pepper jam as a low-acid canned food, which is the most demanding category in home canning. In practice, have a process authority review any pepper jelly you sell, and verify its pH. See pepper jelly and process authorities and scheduled processes.

Selling and delivering non-TCS jam

The statute spells out the routes [1]:

Sale: by you to the consumer, "whether in person or remotely," or by your agent or "a third-party vendor, such as a retail shop or grocery store."
Delivery: by you, or by your agent, a third-party vendor or "a third-party carrier" to the consumer.
Geography: intrastate sales only. A buyer in Kentucky or Georgia is outside the act.

So you may take orders online and ship by carrier to a Tennessee address, and you may place jam in a local store. Extension notes one limit the statute text reviewed does not spell out: homemade food may not be served or used as an ingredient in a restaurant, food truck or catering service [3]. For setting up consignment and shop terms, see selling jam to shops and cafes.

Freezer jam and other cold products

Since July 1, 2025, the act also covers many time and temperature controlled foods [2]. They are held to tighter rules: TCS homemade food must be sold "in person" by you to the consumer, or in person by your agent, such as a farm stand on the property where the food was made [1]. No shipping and no shops. If you sell freezer jam, keep it frozen from your freezer to the buyer's hands, and print storage directions; times are on how long freezer jam keeps.

Where the disclosure goes

The required information is your name, home address and telephone number; the product's common or usual name; ingredients in descending order of predominance; and these two sentences [1]:

"This product was produced at a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection." "This product may contain allergens."

You may put it on a label on the package or container, on a placard at the point of sale, or on the web page where the jam is offered. For phone or custom orders, tell the buyer the same thing directly [1]. A jar that travels through a shop or a carrier should carry the full label, since no placard goes with it. The federal label elements, including net weight, are on what a jam label must say.

When you need a license instead

Out-of-state sales, restaurant accounts or a label without your home address take you outside the act. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture regulates licensed food manufacturing; the license name for a jam kitchen was not confirmed for this page. See when you need a licensed kitchen.

A department that does not review products

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture administers the act and states plainly that it does not issue permits, licenses or inspections for products made under it, and that it "cannot render advice" about a specific product [2]. For product questions such as whether a low-sugar spread is non-TCS, University of Tennessee Extension Food Science is the practical first call [3]. The department's page: Tennessee Food Freedom Act [2].

Verified in October 2026. With the disclosure settled, selling jam online covers web listings and in-state carrier delivery.