Selling maple syrup in New York
Yes — if you boil and bottle your own syrup, New York exempts you from its food processing license. You still have to keep a sanitary operation, grade every retail container using New York's Grade A color and taste classes, and label it properly.
September 25, 2026
Confirmed in the official rules
Maple producers who don't buy syrup from others to repack, and don't mix syrup with ingredients that can support harmful bacteria, are exempt from the Article 20-C food processing license (1 NYCRR 276.4(a)), provided the operation is kept sanitary. Buying sap from another farm to boil yourself is fine — sap is a raw agricultural commodity. You need a 20-C license from the Department of Agriculture and Markets if you buy syrup from anyone else (even a barrel from a neighbor) to repack, if you reuse glass bottles, or if you add ingredients that fall outside the exemption. Under the Department's 2024 guidance, flavored maple products still qualify if they're more than 50% maple by weight, the added ingredients aren't potentially hazardous (pH 4.6 or below and/or water activity 0.85 or below) and the product doesn't need refrigeration.
Official pageNYS Department of Agriculture and Markets — Maple Syrup and Honey Processing (20-C license only if you repack others' syrup or go beyond the exemption)The maple exemption doesn't limit where syrup is made — it applies to any maple "establishment" that meets its sanitary conditions: keep out birds, insects and rodents; use pest-control products only where they can't contaminate the product; keep rooms, equipment and utensils clean and in good repair; don't store materials that create insanitary conditions; and use clean, sanitary, properly labeled containers (1 NYCRR 276.4(a)(1)–(6)). Plain syrup, maple cream, sugar and candy are covered by the maple exemption; the Department notes some flavored maple products can instead be made under New York's Home Processor registration.
Grading is mandatory. Maple syrup must contain 66.0% to 68.9% soluble solids (°Brix). Grade A syrup must not be fermented or turbid and must fit one of four classes: golden color and delicate taste (75% Tc or more), amber color and rich taste (50–74.9% Tc), dark color and robust taste (25–49.9% Tc) or very dark color and strong taste (under 25% Tc). Anything else is Processing Grade, which can't be sold in retail stores or directly to consumers for household use. The Department expects the grade to hold from packing all the way to the retail sale — cloth-filtered syrup still has to be clear.
Check your density with the hydrometer calculator →- "Grade A Maple Syrup" conspicuously on the principal display panel
- The color and taste class (e.g. "amber color and rich taste") near the name, in a size related to the name
- Net contents in both US customary and metric units
- Name and address of the producer (the street can be left off if the business is listed in a current city or phone directory; city, state and ZIP are still required)
- Processing Grade instead reads "Processing Grade Maple Syrup" plus "For Food Processing Only" and "Not for Retail Sale"
- Flavored or infused syrup must name the flavor with the maple syrup (e.g. "Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup"), carry an ingredient list, and can't show the grade on the front panel
Farmers markets: exempt producers can sell syrup they make at their own facility (out-of-state producers too), but it must be packaged, properly labeled and graded. The license exemption isn't tied to a sales venue, so it applies whether you sell from the farm, at markets or to stores; Processing Grade syrup can only go to food processors, never to stores or household consumers. The Department's FAQ says lot codes and tamper-evident seals aren't required by law but recommends lot coding. We found no New York rule limiting out-of-state shipping by exempt producers; federal rules (see the national notes) still apply.
The exemption is conditional on sanitary premises and equipment in good repair (1 NYCRR 276.4(a)). The Department says food-contact surfaces must be corrosion-resistant and doesn't recommend galvanized buckets (use a food-grade liner if you do); consumer bottles can't be reused under the maple exemption.
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
- 1 NYCRR 276.4 — Exemptions (maple syrup and honey) — NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets (via Cornell LII)
- 1 NYCRR 270.1 — Maple syrup: identities; label statements — NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets (via Cornell LII)
- Maple Frequently Asked Questions and Answers (February 14, 2025) — NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets
- Maple and Honey Exemption Guidance — NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets
- Maple Syrup and Honey Processing — NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets
- Food Types Allowed at New York State Farmers' Markets — NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets
- 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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