Selling maple syrup in New Hampshire
Yes — New Hampshire doesn't require a license or certificate to sell maple syrup. What it does require is syrup that meets the state's grade and density standards (66.9 to 68.9 °Brix), hot-packed in sealed containers with a grade and product code on the label.
September 25, 2026
Confirmed in the official rules
The Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food says "no licenses or certificates are required to sell honey and/or maple products" — but the maple law (RSA 429:13–27) and its rules still apply to anyone who produces, packages or distributes maple products for sale. There's an optional voluntary registration for commercial sugarmakers and maple packers (good for six years) that puts you on the Department's list for maple-industry news and emergency notices. The Department of Health and Human Services' food processing plant license doesn't cover operations processing food under the Department of Agriculture's oversight under RSA 429 (RSA 143-A:3, IV-a).
Official pageNH Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food — Selling Honey & Maple (no license; optional Maple Producer Voluntary Registration)No state license or facility inspection is required to make and sell syrup, and neither the maple law nor its rules say where syrup must be made. The equipment and container rules still apply wherever you boil: sap collection and storage containers must be made for food or potable water, and syrup must be hot-packed in clean, food-grade containers (Agr 904.09).
Grading is mandatory — every container must show the grade (RSA 429:14). New Hampshire's grades are Grade A Golden Color, Delicate Taste (75.0% light transmittance or more); Grade A Amber Color, Rich Taste (50.0–74.9%); Grade A Dark, Robust Taste (25.0–49.9%); and Grade A Very Dark, Strong Taste (under 25.0%), measured with a color comparator or spectrophotometer. Processing Grade can't be put in packaged (one gallon or less) containers. Density must be 66.9 to 68.9 °Brix (36–37 °Baumé) at 60 °F — above the 66.0 federal minimum. Up to 10% of containers in a lot may miss the grade slightly, but none may fall outside the density range.
Check your density with the hydrometer calculator →- The true name of the product ("maple syrup")
- The grade (e.g. Grade A Amber Color, Rich Taste)
- Name, address and ZIP code of the packer, distributor or producer
- Volume of the contents (the statute says measured at 68 °F / 20 °C)
- A product code identifying the batch or lot
- "New Hampshire maple syrup" or similar only if the syrup was produced entirely in New Hampshire
The Department says no state license is needed to sell maple products, whether at a farm stand, farmers market, store or online — but the same grade, density, container and label rules apply wherever syrup is "packed, sold, offered or exposed for sale". Bulk syrup (containers over one gallon) sold directly to consumers or restaurants must meet the packaged density and labeling rules; bulk outside the density range must carry a notice stating its actual density. Price advertising must show the grade and volume with equal prominence. For shipping out of state, see the national notes on FDA facility registration.
Packaged syrup must be hot-packed at 180–190 °F in food-grade containers with tamper-evident seals; containers, caps and closures must be clean, sanitary and rust-free and stored to prevent contamination; and sap collection and storage containers must be made of materials meant for food or potable water (Agr 904.09). Syrup can't be bleached or lightened except by simple filtration, or adulterated with any other sweetener (RSA 429:15).
There's no federal license to sell maple syrup in the US — whether you need a license, where you can boil and where you can sell are decided by your state. Federal rules still set the floor for every jar: the FDA defines what "maple syrup" is and what a food label must say, and USDA publishes grade standards that are voluntary at the federal level.
- FDA standard of identity: "maple syrup" (or "maple sirup") is made by concentrating and heat-treating maple sap and must contain at least 66% soluble solids by weight (21 CFR 168.140).
- Every packaged food label needs the product's name on the front panel (21 CFR 101.3), the net quantity of contents in fluid measure (21 CFR 101.7), and the name and place of business of the maker, packer or distributor, including city, state and ZIP code (21 CFR 101.5).
- Nutrition Facts panels are often not required for small producers: direct-to-consumer sellers with $50,000 or less a year in food sales to consumers (or $500,000 or less in total sales to consumers) are exempt if the label makes no nutrition claims (21 CFR 101.9(j)(1)). A separate low-volume exemption covers firms with fewer than 100 full-time-equivalent employees selling fewer than 100,000 units, and firms under 10 employees selling under 10,000 units don't have to file a notice (21 CFR 101.9(j)(18)).
- USDA's grade standards (effective March 2, 2015) are voluntary at the federal level: Grade A comes in four color/taste classes — Golden (Delicate), Amber (Rich), Dark (Robust) and Very Dark (Strong) — at 66–68.9% solids (°Brix). Processing Grade must be packed in containers of 5 gallons or larger and can't go into retail-size containers. Some states make grade labeling mandatory under state law (in this guide: Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Wisconsin for licensed processors), while others leave it voluntary — see your state's page.
- FDA facility registration: FDA treats boiling sap into syrup as "manufacturing/processing", so a dedicated sugarhouse generally has to register with FDA unless an exemption applies — for example, it's a retail food establishment, meaning its direct-to-consumer food sales are worth more than its sales to all other buyers (sales at roadside stands, farmers markets, CSAs, fairs and by mail or online from a farm or farm-operated business all count as direct), or the syrup is made in your home or in an outbuilding that's still used the way a normal home building would be (FDA facility-registration Q&A, 7th ed., 2018).
- Licenses, home-kitchen rules and sugarhouse inspections are state matters, and federal rules apply on top of them — USDA's grade standards say they don't excuse failure to comply with state law.
Official sources
- RSA 429:13–429:27 — Maple and Honey Products — New Hampshire General Court
- Agr 900, Part Agr 904 — Maple Syrup (eff. March 29, 2025) — New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food
- Selling Honey & Maple — New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food
- RSA 143-A:3 — Definitions (food processing plant) — New Hampshire General Court
- 21 CFR 168.140 — Maple sirup (standard of identity) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (eCFR)
- 21 CFR 101.3 — Identity labeling of food in packaged form — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (eCFR)
- 21 CFR 101.5 — Food; name and place of business of manufacturer, packer, or distributor — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (via Cornell LII)
- 21 CFR 101.7 — Declaration of net quantity of contents — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (eCFR)
- 21 CFR 101.9 — Nutrition labeling of food (exemptions in paragraph (j)) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (via Cornell LII)
- United States Standards for Grades of Maple Syrup (effective March 2, 2015) — USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
- Questions and Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration (Seventh Edition): Guidance for Industry — U.S. Food and Drug Administration
This page summarizes public rules as we read them on September 25, 2026. It isn't legal advice, and rules change — confirm with the agency before you sell.
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