South Fulton, GA Home Business: Cottage Food Operations (2026)

There is no cottage food ordinance unique to the City of South Fulton — the city's Zoning Ordinance does not define or separately regulate cottage food, so this area defers to Georgia state law. The Georgia Department of Agriculture (Retail Food Division) regulates cottage food producers, who may make only non-potentially-hazardous foods produced in the domestic kitchen of a single-family residence. Georgia's cottage food framework changed substantially under House Bill 398: effective July 1, 2025, the state license requirement was removed and producers gained the ability to sell to retail stores, among other changes. Operators are still expected to follow food-safety practices, including ANSI-accredited food handler training and proper labeling under the Department of Agriculture's cottage food regulations (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 40-7-19). Importantly, a home-based food business still operates as a home occupation for zoning purposes in South Fulton, so it must comply with Sec. 303.11 (no employees beyond resident family, size limits, no visible outside activity, no prohibited uses) and obtain the city's business license/Occupation Tax Certificate if the city requires one for home-based food sellers. Because the state law changed recently, anyone starting a cottage food operation should verify the current Georgia Department of Agriculture requirements and confirm local business-license and zoning steps with the City of South Fulton directly.