Cottage food laws 101: what you can sell from home, where, and with what paperwork

What a cottage food law is

A cottage food law is a state law that lets you make certain foods in your own home kitchen and sell them to the public without a commercial kitchen, and in many states without a food permit or an inspection. Before these laws, selling a loaf of bread you baked at home was technically the same as running a bakery: you needed a licensed facility, a permit, and inspections. Cottage food laws carve out an exception for low-risk foods sold in small volumes directly to the person who will eat them.

That exception is the on-ramp for most of the vendors you see at a farmers market. The cookie business behind this site started under one. If you have ever wondered how the person at the next table is selling jam out of their kitchen legally, this is how.

Two things to hold onto as you read. First, there is no federal cottage food law; each state writes its own, and a few leave room for counties to add rules. Second, the words vary. Some states say "cottage food operation," some say "home food processor" or "home-based food business," and a couple use "microenterprise home kitchen" for a broader category that includes hot meals. They all mean roughly the same thing: food made at home, sold directly, under a set of conditions.

What you can usually make and sell

The dividing line in nearly every state is food safety risk. Cottage foods are non-potentially-hazardous foods, the shelf-stable kind that do not need refrigeration or time-and-temperature control to stay safe. What is a cottage food? goes deep on that line; here is the short version.

Foods that usually qualify:

Breads, rolls, cookies, cakes without cream or custard fillings, muffins, brownies, and most other baked goods.
Jams, jellies, and fruit preserves made with enough sugar and acid to be shelf-stable.
Granola, dry cereal, trail mix, and roasted nuts.
Dry mixes: seasoning blends, baking mixes, dried herbs, tea blends, and dried pasta.
Candy and confections that do not need refrigeration, including many chocolates, brittles, and hard candies.
Honey, where the state treats it as a cottage food or gives it its own exemption. Selling honey at a farmers market covers the honey-specific rules.
Popcorn, dried fruit, and fruit leathers in many states.

Foods that almost never qualify under a cottage food law:

Anything that needs refrigeration: cheesecakes, cream pies, custards, cream cheese frostings, fresh salsas, hummus, and most dips.
Meat, poultry, and seafood in any form, including jerky in most states.
Canned vegetables, pickles, and other low-acid or acidified foods, unless the state has a specific allowance and often a process authority review. Selling jams and preserves at a farmers market explains why jam is allowed and salsa is not.
Fresh juices, kombucha and other fermented drinks, and most beverages.
Raw milk products and most cheeses.
Pet food in some states, which sits under a separate feed law.

Some states publish a list of allowed foods; if your product is not on it, it is not allowed. Others publish a list of prohibited foods and allow everything else. Which kind of list your state uses is the first thing to find out, because it decides how an unusual product is treated.

Products that are not food at all, like soap and candles, are not covered by cottage food laws, and that is good news: they have their own, usually lighter, rules. Selling soap and candles at a farmers market has those.

The six rules that change at every state line

The idea is the same everywhere. The details are not, and they are set at the state level. Cottage food laws by state walks through all six in detail; the list below is what to look for on your own state's page.

Which foods are allowed. The permitted list or the prohibited list, as above.
Permit, registration, or nothing. Some states let you start with no paperwork. Others ask you to register, usually a short form and a small fee. A few require a permit, and a handful inspect the home kitchen.
An annual sales cap. Most states cap gross sales per year. Cross it and you are expected to move into a licensed facility. The figure changes often, so read it off the state page, not a blog.
Where and how you may sell. Every state allows direct-to-consumer sales at farmers markets, from home, and at events. They split on internet orders, shipping, delivery, and selling to stores or restaurants for resale.
The label and its exact wording. All of them require a label, and most specify the disclosure sentence word for word.
Training. Some require a food handler course before your first sale; some require nothing.

If you are in one of the two states we have written out in full, go straight to Florida cottage food law or Texas cottage food law.

Where you can sell, and where you cannot

Cottage food is defined by direct sale: you hand the product to the person who will eat it. That is why farmers markets are the natural home for cottage food businesses, and why the rules bend around the market table.

Selling from your home, at farmers markets, at fairs and festivals, and at roadside stands is allowed almost everywhere. Beyond that, read carefully. Many states now allow you to take orders online but require in-person delivery or pickup. Some allow shipping within the state. Selling wholesale to a coffee shop, a grocery store, or a restaurant for resale is prohibited in most states, because the buyer is no longer the consumer. Shipping across state lines is generally not permitted under a cottage food exemption at all, since your state's law has no force in the next state.

If a store wants to carry your product, treat it as the signal it is: demand is real, and the next step is a licensed kitchen. Scaling to wholesale is the guide for that decision.

Do you need a permit for cottage food?

It depends on the state, and this is the widest split of all. Broadly, states fall into three groups.

No permit and no registration. You comply with the food list, the label, and the sales rules, and you sell. The state may still have the right to inspect if there is a complaint. Florida works this way, and its rules live on the FDACS cottage foods page.

Registration. You tell the state you exist, usually online, sometimes with a small fee and proof of a food handler course, and you receive a registration number to keep with your records. Texas is a registration state for most cottage foods; the Texas DSHS cottage food production page is the source of truth there.

Permit or license, sometimes with an inspection. The strictest version: an application, a fee, and in some states a visit to your kitchen before you may sell. Even here the permit is far cheaper and simpler than a commercial food establishment license.

Do not assume your neighbor's answer applies to you. A vendor one state over may honestly be selling with zero paperwork while you need a registration on file. Do you need a license to sell at a farmers market? sorts the food-permit question from the business-license question, and Do you need a food handler's card? covers the training credential that several states attach to registration.

What goes on a cottage food label

Every state that allows cottage food requires a label on every package, and the elements are broadly the same:

The name of the product.
Your business name and address. Some states let you use a registration number, or a city and zip code, instead of a home street address; check whether yours does.
The ingredients in descending order by weight, with sub-ingredients of anything you bought pre-made.
The major food allergens, following the federal rules the FDA sets for allergen labeling.
The net weight or volume.
The disclosure statement: the sentence that tells the buyer the food was made in a home kitchen that is not inspected by the state. Most states give you the exact wording, and several set a minimum type size.

Copy your state's disclosure sentence exactly. A close paraphrase can still count as non-compliant, and it is the first thing an inspector or a market manager looks at. How to label homemade food for sale has the full build, including how to handle allergens and net weight.

What a cottage food law does not exempt you from

This is where new vendors get surprised. A cottage food law is a food-safety exemption. It does not touch the rest of the rules that apply to any small business.

Taxes. Cottage food sales are still income, and whether sales tax applies depends on your state and often on the product: many states tax candy or ready-to-eat items even when they exempt groceries. Plan on needing a sales tax account and check the rules for your specific products. Farmers market taxes and bookkeeping walks through it.
Business registration. If you sell under a name other than your own, you register that name. Some cities also require a home occupation permit for any business run from a residence; check yours.
Market rules. A market can require more than the state does: a certificate of insurance, a specific canopy, a permit copy on file. Do you need insurance to sell at a farmers market? explains why most markets ask.
Weights and measures. If you sell by weight, the scale usually has to be a certified one.
Honest claims. "Gluten-free," "organic," and "sugar-free" are regulated words. Do not print them unless you can back them up.

How to find your state's rules in about ten minutes

Search for your state's name plus "cottage food" and open the result on a state government site, usually the Department of Agriculture or the Department of Health. Skip the blog posts, including ours, until you have read the official page.
Find the food list, and note whether it is a permitted list or a prohibited list.
Find the paperwork requirement: none, registration, or permit.
Find the sales cap and write down the current number and the date you checked.
Find the label requirements and copy the disclosure sentence exactly.
Find the sales channels: markets, home, online, shipping, wholesale.
Find the training requirement.
If anything is ambiguous for your actual product, call the agency, describe the product, and ask for the answer in writing. Inspectors would much rather answer a question than write you up.

Re-check before each season. Cottage food laws are amended often, and usually in the direction of allowing more.

Common questions

Can I sell cottage food online? In many states, yes, with conditions: usually in-state only, and often with in-person delivery or pickup rather than mail. Check your state's channel rules before you build a shop.

Can I sell at a market in a neighboring state? Generally no. Your exemption comes from your state's law, and it stops at the border. Selling in another state means meeting that state's rules from scratch.

Can I hire help? Some states limit cottage food operations to the maker and household members; others allow employees. Look for the word "employee" on your state page.

Do I need insurance? Not by law in most states, but most markets require it and it is inexpensive for a small food business.

What happens if I go over the sales cap? You are expected to move to a licensed kitchen. Plan the move before you hit the cap rather than after; From cottage kitchen to commercial kitchen covers what changes.

When to level up

A cottage food law is designed for a start, not a ceiling. You will know you have outgrown it when one of three things happens: a store or a restaurant wants to carry your product, you want to make something that needs refrigeration, or you are approaching the sales cap. All three are good problems. They mean demand is real, and the next step is a shared commercial kitchen, rented by the hour, which opens up refrigerated products, wholesale accounts, and shipping.

Until then, the law is on your side. Pick a product that qualifies, get the label right, keep your records, and go sell.

This is educational information, not legal advice. Cottage food laws differ by state and are amended frequently, so always confirm the current requirements with your state Department of Agriculture or Department of Health before selling.