Selling maple syrup in Wisconsin
Yes — selling your own syrup straight to consumers from an outlet that mainly sells your own maple syrup needs no retail license, and selling under $5,000 a year of bulk syrup to other processors needs only an annual registration. Selling to stores, restaurants or other resellers takes a food processing plant license from DATCP.
September 25, 2026
Some points to confirm with the agency
Wisconsin's Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has two licenses in play. Retail: processing and selling syrup to consumers requires a retail food establishment license — unless the establishment is primarily engaged in selling maple syrup (or honey, cider or sorghum) that the operator produced and does no other food processing there (ATCP 87.12(2), 75.063(5)). Wholesale: processing and selling syrup at wholesale requires a food processing plant license (Wis. Stat. § 97.29; ATCP 87.12(1)), except for producers who sell only to other processors for further processing, take in less than $5,000 a license year from those sales, keep a written record of each sale for two years, and register with DATCP before processing each license year (ATCP 70.06(11)(e); form F-fd-346; the license year ends March 31). Gathering sap isn't processing. Licensed processors holding syrup more than 24 hours at another location may also need a food warehouse license.
Official pageWisconsin DATCP — Selling Maple Syrup in Wisconsin (licenses, exemptions and the maple sap processor registration form)Wisconsin's maple facility standards — sealed walls and ceiling, cleanable floors, screened openings, at least 10 foot-candles of light, a handwashing sink with potable water, a 3-compartment sink and toilet access (ATCP 87.14) — apply to licensed food processing plants, and DATCP can grant variances. The rules don't set facility standards for retail-exempt producers or say whether a home kitchen can be used, so ask DATCP's licensing staff (datcpdfslicensing@wi.gov) before you boil or bottle for sale indoors.
Maple syrup must be at least 66 °Brix (ATCP 87.11). Licensed food processing plants must label every container for sale with an accurate grade. Unlicensed producers may use a grade or the word "ungraded" — but if the label uses any color class or flavor term (Golden, Amber, Delicate, Rich and so on), it must also show the grade or "ungraded" (ATCP 87.36(1)). Grade A: no more than 68.9 °Brix, good uniform color and flavor, clear and undamaged, in one of four color classes — Golden/Delicate (75.0% light transmittance or more), Amber/Rich (50.0–74.9%), Dark/Robust (25.0–49.9%) and Very Dark/Strong (under 25.0%). Processing grade must be packed in containers of at least 5 gallons and can't be sold at retail in smaller ones.
Check your density with the hydrometer calculator →- The name "maple syrup" — only water, salt, chemical preservatives and defoaming agents may be added for the product to still be called maple syrup (DATCP)
- A grade designation (required for licensed processors; unlicensed producers may use a grade or "ungraded", and must use one of the two if the label mentions a color class or flavor descriptor)
- "Wisconsin" in front of the grade only if all the syrup was made from sap concentrated in Wisconsin; "Bottled in Wisconsin" or "Packaged in Wisconsin" for out-of-state syrup filled here
- Net quantity and the name and place of business of the producer or packer (federal requirements — see the national notes)
Farm stands, sugarhouse shops and other direct-to-consumer outlets that primarily sell your own maple syrup need no retail license (ATCP 75.063(5)); DATCP adds that local town, village, city and county ordinances — and individual farmers markets — may have their own rules. Selling to grocery stores, restaurants or any other buyer who resells it or uses it as an ingredient in food for sale counts as wholesale (ATCP 70.02) and needs a food processing plant license, except the under-$5,000, processor-to-processor bulk exemption. Out-of-state sales aren't addressed separately in Wisconsin's maple rules; see the national notes for federal requirements.
At licensed plants, lead or lead-alloy solder may not be used to build or repair food-contact surfaces, and food-contact surfaces must be stainless steel or another smooth, nontoxic, non-corrodible food-grade material (ATCP 87.26). Water used as an ingredient or in plant operations must meet state drinking-water standards (DATCP guidance). DATCP runs a maple syrup toxic-metal sampling program with particular attention to lead.
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
- Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 87, subch. II — Maple Syrup and Certain Other Maple Products — Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau
- Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 70.06(11)(e) — Food processing plant license exemption for maple — Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau
- Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 75.063(5) — Retail food establishment license exemption — Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau
- Selling Maple Syrup in Wisconsin — Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
- Requirements of Facilities Processing Maple Syrup or Certain Other Maple Products (P-DFRS-0179, 2/25) — Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
- 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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