State laws

Cottage food laws by state

Cottage food laws let you bake shelf-stable foods such as bread, cookies and cakes in your home kitchen and sell them directly to customers, usually without a commercial kitchen, but every state sets its own sales cap, permit or registration rule, labeling rule and online sales rule. Some states need no cottage food license at all (Florida), some need a simple registration (Illinois, through your local health department), and some need a paid permit (California, from your county environmental health department). The table below compares the states we cover in detail, and each state page goes deeper. This page is general information, not legal advice: confirm the current rules with your state or county agency before you sell.

Last verified October 11, 2026

This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change: check them with your state or local authority before you sell.

What a cottage food law covers

A cottage food law is the part of state food law that exempts small home food businesses from the licensing and inspection a commercial bakery needs. In exchange, it limits what you can sell, how much, and to whom. Whatever state you live in, the same handful of questions decide whether your home bakery is legal.

Read your state's rules with these questions in mind, and keep the answers in one place, because you will come back to them every time you add a product or a new way of selling.

• Sales cap: the most you can sell in a year, if there is a limit at all.
• Allowed foods: usually foods that don't need refrigeration, such as breads, cookies, dry mixes, jams and many cakes. Cheesecake, cream fillings and meat are commonly excluded, though a few states now allow some refrigerated foods with registration.
• Where you can sell: in person, at markets, online, by delivery, or by mail within the state. Selling across state lines is almost never covered.
• Permit or registration: none, a free registration, or a paid license, and whether there is an inspection.
• Labeling: most states require your name or a registration number, the product name, ingredients, allergens and a statement that the food was made in a home kitchen.
• Training: some states require a food handler card or a food protection manager certificate.
• Sales tax: separate from the cottage food law; ask your state's revenue department whether your products are taxable.

States with their own guide

The first table covers the states with their own guide on this site. Rules change: Texas raised its cap in 2025, Georgia dropped its cottage food license on July 1, 2025, and Michigan rewrote its law effective March 24, 2026, so a guide from two years ago can be wrong today. Where we could not confirm a fact from an official source, the table says to check with the agency instead of guessing.

Caps are not the only difference. In Texas, shelf-stable foods need no registration, but foods that need temperature control must be registered with the Department of State Health Services. In California, a Class A operation sells only directly to customers, while a Class B operation can also sell through shops and restaurants, and both caps are adjusted for inflation every year. In Illinois, the cottage food operator needs a food protection manager certificate and an annual registration with the local health department, which may charge up to 50 dollars.

Cottage food laws in all 50 states at a glance

The table below covers all 50 states and Washington, D.C., based on the Institute for Justice report and each state agency's pages, checked 2026-10-11. It is general information, not legal advice, and each state's agency has the final word: every row names the agency to ask. Many states changed their rules recently, and some change again soon: Oklahoma raises its cap on November 1, 2026, Colorado raises its cap and starts registration on January 1, 2027, Minnesota allows shipping from August 1, 2027, and Nevada moves its program to the Department of Agriculture on July 1, 2027, when shipping becomes allowed. Where we could not confirm a fact, the cell says to check with the agency instead of guessing.

Online sales differ the most. Most states allow online orders, but some still require you to hand the food over in person (Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington), a few do not allow online sales at all (Delaware, Mississippi, South Dakota), and almost none let you ship to another state. City and county rules, such as zoning and business licenses, apply on top of the state law.

What the sales cap means for your prices

A sales cap is a limit on revenue, not profit, so it decides how much your home bakery can ever earn. That makes pricing more important, not less: if you underprice, you hit the cap having made very little.

Example: a baker in Michigan, where the cap is 50,000 dollars a year, sells celebration cakes at 40 dollars. Reaching the cap would take 1,250 cakes, about 24 a week. If ingredients and packaging cost 14 dollars a cake, the most those cakes can contribute after materials is 32,500 dollars a year, before your time, electricity and equipment. At 48 dollars a cake, the same 50,000 dollars of sales takes about 1,042 cakes, roughly 20 a week, and leaves about 35,400 dollars after materials. Same cap, fewer hours, more left over. These numbers are an illustration, not a forecast.

So the two numbers to know are your cost per item and your running total of sales for the year.

How Farinu helps you stay under the cap

Farinu is an app for home and micro bakers. It costs each recipe from your ingredients, packaging, sub-recipes, labour, machines and overhead, and suggests a price from the markup you set over cost, so every sale toward your cap earns what it should. When an ingredient price rises, it alerts you that a product's margin has dropped.

On Team, the sales log and the monthly profit and loss show what you sold each month, so you can add up your year and see how close you are to your state's cap long before the last month. Custom orders with deposits and balance payments, customers with their WhatsApp number, production plans and stock live in the same place. The free plan costs up to 10 recipes and takes up to 50 orders a month; Team adds sales, unlimited orders and stock.

Farinu does not decide whether a food is allowed in your state or print legal labels for you. Use your state's rules for that, and our free cottage food label template as a starting point.

Rules by state and country

• Texas cottage food law for home bakers

  The Texas cottage food law in plain English: the $150,000 sales cap, allowed foods, label requirements, registration, online sales and training.

• Florida cottage food law: what home bakers can sell, and how

  The Florida cottage food law in plain English: no permit, a $250,000 yearly sales cap, online and mail order sales, and the exact label statement you need.

• California cottage food law: what home bakers need to know in 2026

  California cottage food law in 2026: Class A and Class B sales caps, approved foods, shipping, label wording, registration and training, checked against CDPH.

• Michigan cottage food law: what home bakers can sell in 2026

  Michigan cottage food law in 2026: the $50,000 sales cap, online and in-state shipping, the label statement, allowed foods, and what to check with MDARD.

• Permits to sell cakes in Mexico from home

  Permits to sell cakes from home in Mexico: the free COFEPRIS aviso de funcionamiento, SAT and RESICO, VAT and IEPS on cakes, and your city licence.

• Ohio cottage food law for home bakers

  Ohio cottage food law explained: no license, no sales cap, the label you need, which foods qualify, and when you need a $10 home bakery license instead.

• Georgia cottage food law for home bakers

  The Georgia cottage food law after HB 398: no state license since July 2025, what you can bake, where you can sell, training, and labels.

• Indiana cottage food law for home bakers

  Indiana cottage food law in plain English: home-based vendor vs homestead vendor rules, allowed foods, sales cap, shipping, labels and training.

• Illinois cottage food law for home bakers

  Illinois cottage food law explained: no sales cap, register with your local health department, CFPM certificate, labels, and in-state shipping only.

• North Carolina cottage food law for home bakers

  North Carolina cottage food law explained: the free NCDA&CS home kitchen inspection, allowed foods, no sales cap, the no-pets rule, and label rules.

• Tennessee cottage food law for home bakers

  The Tennessee cottage food law in plain English: no permit or sales cap, what you can sell, online and in-state shipping, and the exact label statement.

• Permits to sell homemade baked goods in Spain and Latin America

  Permits to sell homemade baked goods in Spain, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia: registration, labeling, training and tax, country by country.

Sources

• Texas DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Production
• FDACS: Cottage Foods
• California Department of Public Health: Cottage Food Operations requirements
• California Department of Public Health: adjusted gross annual sales limit, 2026
• MDARD: Michigan cottage food information
• Michigan Legislature: House analysis of HB 4122
• Georgia Department of Agriculture: Cottage food
• Georgia Department of Agriculture: HB 398 frequently asked questions
• Illinois Department of Public Health: Cottage food
• University of Illinois Extension: Cottage food regulation questions
• Ohio Revised Code, Chapter 3715
• Hamilton County Public Health (Ohio): Cottage food operation pamphlet
• Indiana Department of Health: Farm and homestead food sales memo, May 2026
• NCDA&CS: Home processor program
• Tennessee Code § 53-1-118, Food Freedom Act (University of Tennessee copy)
• Institute for Justice: Baking Bad, homemade food laws in all 50 states and DC
• Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment: Cottage foods
• Minnesota Department of Agriculture: Cottage food producer registration
• New Jersey Department of Health: Cottage food FAQ
• Washington State Department of Agriculture: Cottage food operations

Questions

Do I need a cottage food license?

It depends on the state. Florida, Tennessee and, since July 1, 2025, Georgia require no cottage food license. Texas requires registration only for foods that need temperature control, Illinois requires registration with your local health department, and California requires a county registration (Class A) or permit (Class B), with fees set by the county. Check your state's page and agency.

Can I ship cottage food to another state?

Generally no. Most cottage food laws cover sales within the state, and selling across state lines usually needs a licensed commercial kitchen, though a few states, such as Arkansas (if you follow federal law) and North Dakota, allow it. Some states allow mail or shipping within the state, such as California, Indiana, Tennessee and, if the buyer can talk to you before the sale, Michigan. Florida allows mail order but its law does not address other states, so check with FDACS before shipping out of state.

Does the sales cap count revenue or profit?

Caps are written as gross sales, which means everything customers pay you before costs. That is why knowing your cost per item and charging enough matters so much under a cap.

Is this legal advice?

No. This page summarizes public rules checked on the date shown and may miss local requirements such as zoning or city permits. Confirm with your state or county agency before you start selling.

Related pages

• Food label template for cottage food bakers
• Selling baked goods from home, legally and for a profit
• How to start a home bakery business