What West Virginia Allows
West Virginia has one of the most permissive home food seller frameworks in the country — built for home cooks, by lawmakers who wanted to get out of the way.
Under West Virginia Code §19-35-6, home food sellers can produce and sell shelf-stable, non-potentially hazardous foods without permits, inspections, licensing fees, or sales caps. The 2019 expansion (Senate Bill 285) opened up nearly every channel of distribution available to a small food maker — direct in-person sales, online orders within the state, mail-order delivery, farmers markets, community events, and even retail outlets like grocery stores.
You can sell from your home kitchen the day you decide to start. There's no application. No state fee. No inspection. The state's role is limited to investigating complaints if a customer reports a foodborne illness.
The trade-off: West Virginia draws a clear line between non-potentially hazardous (non-PHF) foods — the broad category §19-35-6 covers — and potentially hazardous foods like meat, dairy, acidified products, pickled goods, and fermented items. Those still require oversight, but most can be sold under a separate $35 farmers market vendor permit. And interstate shipping is still off-limits under federal law.
This guide walks you through every piece — what you can sell, what you can't, what to put on a label, and how to set up the business side.
See the full allowed and prohibited list →