If you want to sell hot meals, sandwiches, refrigerated dishes, or anything else that needs to stay cold or hot to be safe, you're in TCS-food territory — and that means a different licensing path than cottage food.
A TCS food is one where harmful bacteria can multiply quickly if the food is left at room temperature. Examples: a slice of quiche, a tuna salad sandwich, a container of homemade soup, a piece of cheesecake. Without refrigeration (below 41°F) or hot-holding (above 135°F), these foods can become unsafe in a matter of hours.
The dividing line is the same one Vermont uses for the cottage food exemption — pH and water activity. A food is considered TCS if its pH is above 4.6 AND its water activity is above 0.85. Cottage food sits below those thresholds; TCS food sits above them.
You're working with a TCS food if your product contains:
Vermont treats prepared meals very differently from shelf-stable cottage food. The Vermont Department of Health is explicit on this point: "If you make prepared food/meals for sale direct-to-customer or prepare food for cooking later at a special event or at a farmers market, you need a Home Caterer License." There is no cottage-food carve-out for hot meals.
Under the cottage food exemption, you can sell baked goods, candies, jams, dry mixes, and other shelf-stable products from your home kitchen with no license — but only the non-TCS items listed in What You Can Sell.
With a Home Caterer License from the Vermont Department of Health, you can prepare and sell:
If you want to sell prepared food to restaurants or retailers, operate a food truck, or run a takeout-style operation, the Home Caterer License doesn't cover you. You'll need a Commercial Caterer License, Restaurant License, or other retail food establishment license — all from the Vermont Department of Health, all requiring a separate commercial kitchen or fully inspected commercial-grade home setup.
Vermont's Home Caterer License is the most direct path for someone who wants to sell prepared meals from their home kitchen. It allows you to prepare TCS foods for direct-to-consumer sale — including pickup, delivery, and farmers markets — without renting a commercial kitchen.
You apply through the Vermont Department of Health Food & Lodging Program at least 30 days before you plan to start operating. After your application is processed, a public health inspector contacts you to schedule a kitchen inspection. The inspection looks at sanitation, equipment, water source, refrigeration, food storage, and handwashing — using the standards in the Health Regulations for Food Service Establishments.
Once licensed, you must follow food service establishment rules year-round (not just at inspection): proper hot/cold holding temperatures, clean and sanitized work surfaces, no cross-contamination between TCS and non-TCS food, separate handwashing facilities, and proper labeling on packaged items.
Selling prepared food at events or farmers markets typically also requires a separate Temporary Food Service License for each event — verify with the event organizer or VDH whether the event holds a master license that covers vendors.
VDH Home-Based Food Licenses page →Some prepared-meal sellers prefer to skip the home inspection process and rent space in a licensed commercial or shared-use kitchen. Vermont has a growing network of these — community kitchens, food hubs, and incubator kitchens — that rent by the hour or by the month and come pre-licensed by the state.
If you produce in a licensed commercial kitchen, the kitchen's license generally covers your production work. You still need your own Food Processor License or Caterer License from VDH for the products you sell, but you skip the home inspection step entirely.
Useful Vermont resources for finding shared kitchen space:
If you operate as a Home Caterer or in a commercial kitchen producing TCS foods, you're held to the same temperature standards as any restaurant in Vermont. These come straight from the FDA Food Code, which Vermont has adopted.
Describe your prepared meal or food product and get an instant verdict — is it TCS, is it cottage food, and which Vermont licensing path applies? Includes pH and water activity guidance built in.
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