Which jams can you sell from home in Virginia?

By Dwight Davis, Founder

Updated October 2026

On this page6

Allowed, and not, by VDACS's own examples Selling across Virginia, but only to people Virginia's label If your best seller is pepper jelly or apple butter Check your recipe with VDACS References

Standard fruit jams and jellies, yes. Virginia's home food processing exemption lets you make "Jams and jellies not considered to be low-acid or acidified low-acid food products" in your own private home and sell them with no permit, fee or inspection [1] [2]. The catch is the word low-acid, and the state applies it more broadly than most. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) lists pepper jelly, apple butter, fig jam, banana jam, lavender jelly and zucchini or carrot cake jam among products that may not be allowed, and warns that low-sugar and no-sugar jams may fall outside the exemption depending on the recipe [1].

Allowed, and not, by VDACS's own examples

VDACS's July 2026 FAQ gives examples on both sides and says they are not automatic approvals or denials; the recipe decides [1].

May be allowed	May not be allowed
Blueberry	Apple butter
Grape	Banana jam
Peach	Fig jam
Strawberry	Lavender jelly
	Pepper jelly
	Zucchini or carrot cake jam

Pepper jelly appears twice in the FAQ: once among jams that may not be allowed, and again in the acidified vegetable exemption's list of products that "MAY NOT be allowed," alongside hot sauces and barbecue sauces [1]. VDACS's word is "may not be allowed," not an outright ban, but with pepper jelly on both lists, plan on neither home route covering it unless VDACS approves your recipe in writing. The FAQ was revised in July 2026 and replaces the July 2024 version [3]; check the revision date on any copy you rely on.

VDACS does not explain each example. Figs are among the fruits that need added acid even in home recipes, and peppers, zucchini and carrots are vegetables, which raise the pH of a spread toward the range where Clostridium botulinum can grow. The fruits that need added acid even at home are on fruits that need extra acid. On low-sugar jam, the FAQ's wording is that such products "may be low-acid or acidified low-acid depending on the recipe" [1]. If yours is not a plain fruit jam made with full sugar, ask VDACS about the specific recipe before you sell it.

Freezer jam is not addressed by name. The exemption's low-risk foods cannot require time or temperature control after preparation [1], which leaves freezer jam out.

Selling across Virginia, but only to people

HB 402 (2026) widened where jam can go, and the July 2026 FAQ reflects it [1] [4]:

How you sell: "by phone, through the internet, or at any location" [1].
How it gets there: "in person, by mail, or by delivery service" [1].
Who may buy: individuals, for their own consumption, within the Commonwealth [1].
What is barred: sales for resale or on consignment, to other businesses or retail food establishments, and across state lines [1].

So you can run an online shop and mail jam from Norfolk to Roanoke, but you cannot ship to Maryland or place jars in a gift shop. No sales cap is stated for jams; the $9,000 annual limit in the FAQ applies to acidified vegetable products such as pickles [1]; HB 759 (2024) raised it from $3,000 [2]. Shipping glass safely is covered on selling jam online.

Virginia's label

On the principal display panel, the FAQ requires [1]:

your name, physical address or post office box number, and telephone number (HB 402 added the PO box option [4]);
the processing date;
the statement "NOT FOR RESALE" joined to "PROCESSED AND PREPARED WITHOUT STATE INSPECTION", printed as one line in capitals.

Standard labeling (product name, net weight, ingredients) still applies [1]; see what a jam label must say.

If your best seller is pepper jelly or apple butter

Products outside the exemption require a permit from VDACS [1]. For pepper jelly that means an inspected kitchen and, in practice, a process authority's review of the recipe; VDACS points producers to the Association of Food and Drug Officials directory and Virginia Tech's food processing assistance network [1]. See process authorities and scheduled processes and when you need a licensed kitchen.

Check your recipe with VDACS

VDACS Food Safety Program, PO Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23218-1163; foodsafety@vdacs.virginia.gov; (804) 786-3520 [1]. The current FAQ is document VDACS-FSP-EXFAQ-REVJUL2026, hosted on the Virginia Department of Health's site [1]. Send the full recipe for any jam that is not a standard full-sugar fruit jam and ask for a written answer.

Checked against the July 2026 FAQ in October 2026. Before you send a recipe, changing a tested recipe explains which changes can move a jam out of the low-risk range.