Rules for British Columbia · Last updated September 9, 2026

British Columbia home-based food rules: what to check before selling

British Columbia wants the disclaimer on a sign at your table rather than on the package. The exemption is written for temporary markets only, not for selling from your house.

Make a British Columbia label

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Key takeaways

No permit and no application for shelf-stable food sold at a temporary food market.
The uninspected-kitchen notice goes on a sign at your table, not on the package.
Markets only. Selling from home or into a store is outside this route.

What British Columbia actually decides

Shelf-stable food from the approved list, meaning cookies, bread, fudge, jam, fruit pies and the like, can be made in your home kitchen and sold at a temporary food market with no permit and no application. That is a genuinely light route, and it is narrower than it first sounds.

The narrowness is the venue. This is written for temporary markets only, not for selling from your house and not for selling into a store. Anything needing refrigeration is higher risk, needs health authority approval, and usually a commercial kitchen.

The disclaimer is handled differently here and it catches people who are used to American rules. The sentence about the kitchen not being inspected belongs on a sign at your table, clearly visible at the point of sale, not on the package. The guideline allows equivalent wording. Plenty of sellers print it on the label as well, which does no harm.

One practical caveat on sourcing. The guideline was last revised in August 2020 and a replacement is out for consultation, so check whether it has landed before you rely on details from it.

The short version

what the rule is calledHome-based food guidance

when an inspector comesRoutine

annual sales limitNo cap

What you can sell in British Columbia

Straight from the official record. Read these as categories rather than a menu, because one recipe can cross the line on its own: a filling that needs refrigeration, a pH that needs testing, or a process that needs an authority to sign it off.

Shelf-stable food from the approved list: cookies, bread, fudge, jam and fruit pies
Other shelf-stable baking the health authority accepts as low risk

What is outside the rule

If your product is on this list, the answer is not "ask nicely". It is a different licence, a different kitchen, or both.

Anything needing refrigeration, which is higher risk and needs health authority approval
Selling from your house rather than at a temporary market
Selling into a store

Up nextWhere you are allowed to sell it

Where you are allowed to sell it

The researched record lists direct sales, farmers markets, online orders, delivery.

One channel being open does not open the rest. Shipping, delivery and wholesale each turn on the product and where it is going, so check the route you actually plan to use.

Paperwork, training and inspections

The researched record does not list a general permit for this tier. The label record does not establish a province-wide permit. Check your local public health unit and municipality.

No training is recorded as universally required. Training varies by product and local authority. Confirm it before selling.

Routine is what the record says about inspections. Confirm what that means for your product and your local authority, because the two can differ.

Kitchen rules people miss

None of these fit on a label, which is exactly why they get skipped. Read them before the first batch, not after.

Shelf-stable food from the approved list can be made in your home kitchen and sold at a temporary food market with no permit and no application.
The uninspected-kitchen notice belongs on a sign at your table, clearly visible at the point of sale, not on the package. Equivalent wording is allowed.
This route is for temporary markets only, not for selling from your house or into a store.
Anything needing refrigeration needs health authority approval and usually a commercial kitchen.
The guideline was last revised in August 2020 and a replacement is out for consultation.

What belongs on a British Columbia label

BC Centre for Disease Control, checked September 9, 2026

01Product name
02Ingredients by weight
03Allergens
04Metric net quantity
05Name and city
06Best before date
07English or French
No permit number. Required text at least 1.6 mm tall, the federal minimum, which is about 4.5 point. A Nutrition Facts table is usually not required for food you make and sell yourself; confirm it before you print.

Make a British Columbia label

Start this weekend

In this order, so the label is the last thing you check and not the first thing you guess.

Make the table sign before you make labels. That is where the uninspected-kitchen notice belongs.
Keep to temporary markets. Selling from home or into a store is outside this route.
Check whether the replacement guideline has landed. The current one dates from August 2020.
Keep everything shelf stable. Refrigeration means health authority approval and usually a commercial kitchen.
Print the notice on the label too if you like. It is allowed and it saves questions.

Nearby places

Nearby guides

Neighboring provinces and states look similar until the one difference that matters. Worth a read if you sell across a border, or if someone on the other side gave you advice.

Pairs well with

Keep going

ToolCottage food label makerTurn your recipe, allergens and required statement into a printable label.GuideCottage food business guideThe wider framework: product, kitchen, sales channel, label and local checks.GuideCottage food label requirementsEvery field a cottage food label needs, in the order to check them before you print.

Questions, answered

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Details were checked against public sources on September 9, 2026. Confirm current prices, policies, or provider instructions before relying on them.

Is this the whole British Columbia rule?

No, and you should not treat it as one. This is the official source read carefully on September 9, 2026 and put in one place. Your city, your county, the market you sell at and your own product can each add a layer this page does not know about. BC Centre for Disease Control is the authority, not us.

Can I just use the label maker and skip this?

The label maker opens with the fields this jurisdiction requires, so it will get the sticker right. What it cannot do is tell you whether the recipe is allowed, whether your kitchen qualifies, or whether you can sell through the channel you had in mind. A correct label on a product you are not allowed to sell is still a problem.

Does the right label make me compliant?

No. The label is the last step and the most visible one, which is why it gets all the attention. The recipe, the kitchen, the training, the registration and the sales route all sit upstream of it, and any one of them can be the thing that is actually wrong.

More cottage food laws

Selling somewhere else too?

The rule changes with the kitchen, the product and the sales route. Pick another place to compare.

Go to another place

Free label maker

Rule in front of you? Make the label.

The label maker opens with these requirements already loaded. Build it, then read the finished sticker back against the official source before you print a full sheet.

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