Rules on selling food from home in the UK (2026 guide)

Short answer: yes, you can sell food from home in the UK. The main rules on selling food from home are: register with your local council at least 28 days before you start (free), keep a written food safety plan, be trained in food hygiene, make your kitchen safe and easy to clean, give allergen information, and tell HMRC once you earn over £1,000 a year. You don't need a commercial kitchen.

This guide explains each rule in plain English. It also covers the things you can't easily do from a home kitchen, how delivery and online orders work, and how the rules differ across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Can I sell food from home?

Yes. The UK doesn't have a separate "cottage food" licence. A home kitchen business follows the same food law as a café. The FSA's test is simple: if you supply food "on a regular and organised basis", you're a food business. That applies whether you charge or not, and even if it's part-time.

What usually isn't a food business:

• a one-off bake sale or charity coffee morning
• cooking occasionally for friends

What usually is:

• selling meals, cakes or snacks every week through Instagram, Facebook or WhatsApp
• taking catering bookings for parties
• selling at a regular market

If you're unsure, ask your council. It costs nothing.

The 8 rules on selling food from home

1. Register your food business with the council

• Register online through the gov.uk food business registration service. Choose your home address as the premises.
• Do it at least 28 days before your first sale. The FSA says not to register much earlier than that.
• It's free and can't be refused. It isn't a licence.
• If you trade from more than one place, register each one.
• Already selling? Register now. Trading without registration is an offence.

You'll be asked who the "operator" is (the person in charge of the food), what you'll make and how you'll sell it. Keep your answers simple and honest.

2. Get permission to use your home

Gov.uk says to check with your mortgage provider or landlord and your local council before you start. The council matters if you expect lots of customers or deliveries at your door, want a sign outside, or plan major alterations. Business rates don't usually apply to a small home business, but they can if you change your home for the business or have customers visiting.

3. Keep a written food safety plan

Every food business needs a food safety management system based on HACCP. Most home cooks use the FSA's free Safer Food, Better Business (SFBB) pack. In Scotland, it's CookSafe. Fill in the sections that fit your food, then keep the daily diary. Keep records of where you buy ingredients too. Inspectors check this "traceability".

4. Be trained in food hygiene

A food hygiene certificate is not compulsory. But you must be able to show you're adequately trained. Most councils expect a Level 2 food hygiene course for anyone cooking, and Level 3 for owners who supervise staff. The FSA's free online allergen training is a good add-on.

5. Make your kitchen safe

Your home kitchen must let you prepare food safely. The council will inspect it, usually by appointment for home businesses. More on what they look for below, and in our guide to what happens at an EHO inspection.

6. Give allergen information

You must tell customers if your food contains any of the 14 allergens. That includes sauces, garnishes and decorations. For online, phone and WhatsApp orders, the information must be available before purchase and at delivery. Food you pack before it's ordered (PPDS) needs a full ingredients label with allergens emphasised, under Natasha's Law. Build your chart with our allergen matrix maker.

7. Tell HMRC

• If your trading income is £1,000 or less a year, the trading allowance means you don't need to declare it.
• Over that, register as self-employed for Self Assessment by 5 October after the tax year you started.
• Making Tax Digital applies to sole traders with income over £50,000 from April 2026, £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028.
• VAT starts at £90,000 turnover. Until then, you don't charge it. See VAT on takeaway food for what's 0% and 20%.

8. Get rid of waste properly

Don't pour cooking oil or fat down the sink. Let it set, then bin it. Use sink strainers. Blocked drains can lead to prosecution by water companies.

Do I need a commercial kitchen?

No. You can run a food business from a domestic kitchen. It just has to meet food hygiene rules in a way that's practical for a home. You don't need stainless steel or an extraction canopy for most home foods.

What council officers usually expect to see:

Can I hire a kitchen instead? Yes. Some home food sellers rent a community, church hall or commissary kitchen by the hour. The rented premises then need to be registered (by you or the owner), so ask before you book.

After the visit, you'll get a food hygiene rating. Home businesses are rated like any other. The FSA says all businesses should be able to reach a 5.

What you can't easily do from home

Some food activities need more than registration, or don't suit a domestic kitchen.

• Supplying other businesses with meat, fish, egg or dairy products. Selling to the public needs registration only. Making these foods to sell to shops, cafés or caterers can need council approval, which a home kitchen rarely gets. Some small, local supply may be exempt. Some councils say you can't make products such as meat pies, samosas or soups at home to sell to retailers. Check with yours first.
• Higher-risk processes. Vacuum packing, curing, home canning and bottling meat or fish need specialist controls. Your council may advise against doing them at home.
• Selling on Deliveroo, Just Eat or Uber Eats. Each app runs its own sign-up checks, and some won't take a home kitchen. Check their current partner requirements. Even when they do accept you, commission is high. See Just Eat vs Deliveroo vs Uber Eats.
• A hot food takeaway with collections at the door. Selling hot food from home to a queue of customers can need planning permission and may upset neighbours. Read how to open a takeaway before you go down that route.

Selling food online, on Instagram or on WhatsApp

You can sell through social media, a website or WhatsApp. Gov.uk lists the extra rules for distance selling:

• Consumer law applies. The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 cover the information you give before the sale, cancellations and refunds. Food that goes off quickly, and cakes made to the customer's own design, are exempt from the 14-day cancellation right.
• Allergens twice. Before the order and at handover. On an ordering page, show them on each dish so customers can check before they buy.
• Keep food safe in transit. Use food-grade packaging. Keep chilled food cold with insulated bags and ice packs. Deliver quickly.
• Tell the council if you add delivery or a takeaway service after you register.

Make ordering easy. Many home sellers take orders through DMs. It works for ten orders, then falls apart. A simple ordering page gives you one list, clear opening hours and fewer "is this still available?" messages.

Want customers to order through WhatsApp instead? Menuthere's WhatsApp ordering system sends them a menu link and automatic order updates from your own number (Pro plan).

Home food business ideas that fit the rules

For more ideas, from supper clubs to street food, see our food business ideas.

Rules in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Your selling-food-from-home checklist

Print this page (or use your browser's "Save as PDF") and tick the list off before your first sale.

• Mortgage lender or landlord has agreed in writing
• Checked with the council about visitors, signs and planning
• Registered as a food business (28+ days before trading)
• SFBB or CookSafe pack filled in; daily diary started
• Level 2 food hygiene course done; FSA allergen training done
• Fridge thermometer in place; storage separated
• Allergen matrix for every product
• PPDS labels ready for anything pre-packed
• Supplier receipts kept for traceability
• Insulated bags and ice packs for delivery
• Self Assessment registration planned (income over £1,000)
• Insurance quotes compared (public and product liability)
• Ordering page and terms (deposits, cancellations) ready

Common mistakes to avoid

1. Waiting to "see if it takes off" before registering. Register 28 days before your first sale.
2. Thinking a certificate is the licence. It isn't. Registration and training are separate.
3. No allergen info on Instagram or WhatsApp orders.
4. Selling meat or dairy products to cafés without asking about approval.
5. Forgetting to tell your landlord or lender.