Vermont exempts some home kitchen businesses from licensing fees
MONTPELIER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – Vermonters looking to sell at the state's over 60 farmers markets will have an easier time getting started.
Governor Phil Scott on Monday signed House Bill 401 (H. 401), which eases the limits for how much some small food businesses can sell before being required to pay a licensing fee. Those fees can be as high as $350 for some bakeries in the state.
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The bill passed the Vermont House May 20 without a floor vote, after passing the Senate a week earlier. It was sponsored by over 30 representatives, including Democrats, Republicans, and independents.
H. 401 defines the new category of 'cottage food operators', which covers people who make in their home kitchen any of a wide variety of foods that do not easily spoil, including dry herbs and nuts, candy, dry coffee and tea, jams, and granola. According to current law, all food businesses that make above $10,000 a year in sales are required to pay a fee. With this new bill, this limit is $30,000 a year for this kind of food operation, or about $575 a week.
Read the full text of the bill hereDownload
Also included are certain types of home-canned goods. H. 401 allows the Commissioner of Health to add other items to the category later, which could expand the exemption to include even more of the vendors at local markets.
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The bill cites the goal that 'Vermonters have more access to the local food marketplace as bothproducers and consumers', along with higher supply-chain costs and the demand for local products made in Vermont by visitors to the state.
H. 401 will take effect on July 1 of this year.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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