Cottage food law
Illinois cottage food law for home bakers
The Illinois cottage food law, part of the Home-to-Market Act, lets you bake at home and sell straight to customers with no annual sales cap, as long as you register with your local health department (a fee of up to $50), hold a Certified Food Protection Manager certificate, label every product, and sell only to people in Illinois. This page sums up the rules as we found them on the verified date below, with a worked pricing example. It is not legal advice: your local health department has the final word.
| Topic | Rule |
|---|---|
| Sales cap | No annual sales limit for cottage food operations |
| Allowed foods | Foods that are safe at room temperature: most baked goods, candy, jams, dry mixes |
| Not allowed | Meat, seafood, cut produce, low-acid canned foods, foods needing refrigeration |
| Online sales and shipping | Allowed to Illinois customers only; ask your health department how shipped packages must be sealed |
| Registration and fee | Registration with your local health department (often yearly), fee of up to $50 |
| Labeling | Name, registration number, product name, ingredients, allergens, net amount, home kitchen statement |
| Training | Certified Food Protection Manager certificate (ANSI-accredited); allergen training may apply, check with your health department |
| Sales tax | Not exempt; check rates with the Illinois Department of Revenue |
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 the Illinois cottage food law allows
Since the Home-to-Market Act took effect in 2022, Illinois treats a cottage food operation as a home food business that sells directly to the consumer. You make the food in the kitchen of your primary residence (or a suitable farm kitchen), and you, a family member or an employee sell it. You cannot sell to stores, restaurants or anyone who resells it.
The biggest change from the old law is that there is no longer a yearly sales limit for cottage food operations. You can grow as far as your kitchen and your weekends allow. A separate category, the home kitchen operation, has a monthly cap, but it only exists in places that opted in and it is not what most bakers register for.
- Allowed: breads, cookies, brownies, cakes and pies that do not need refrigeration, candy and confections, jams and jellies, dry mixes, granola, popcorn.
- Allowed with extra steps: canned tomatoes, acidified and fermented foods, which have additional safety requirements such as tested recipes or pH testing.
- Not allowed: meat, poultry, fish and seafood, fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, low-acid canned foods, and foods that need time and temperature control, such as cheesecake, custard and cream pies or cream cheese frosting.
- Dairy and cooked eggs are fine as ingredients in baked goods, candy or frosting that stay shelf-stable.
Where and how you can sell
Illinois is one of the more open states for selling channels. You can sell at farmers markets, from home, at events, and online, and you can deliver in person or let customers pick up. The limit is geographic: every sale must stay inside Illinois.
You may ship shelf-stable products within Illinois by mail or parcel carrier. Ask your health department how packages must be sealed; tamper-evident packaging, such as a sticker that tears when opened, is a common expectation. Shipping to another state is not allowed under the cottage food rules.
Registration, fee and training
You register with the local health department of the county or city where you live, not with the state. Each department runs its own form and process, and the state law caps the fee at $50. Your department may require you to renew every year, and the department gives you a registration number that goes on your labels.
The training requirement is stricter than in many states. The person preparing the food must hold a current Certified Food Protection Manager certificate from an ANSI-accredited program, which is a manager-level course with a proctored exam, not the shorter food handler card. Some health departments also ask for allergen awareness training, so check with yours before you book a course.
Labeling rules for Illinois cottage food
Every product you sell must be packaged and labeled, except in limited cases your health department explains. The label needs the following, and the Illinois Department of Public Health publishes a labeling checklist with the exact wording of the required statement.
- Your business name and the county or city where you are registered.
- Your registration number from the local health department.
- The common name of the product, such as Chocolate chip cookies.
- All ingredients in descending order by weight, including the ingredients of sub-ingredients like chocolate chips.
- An allergen statement covering the major food allergens: milk, egg, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish and sesame.
- The net weight or volume.
- The required statement that the food was made in a home kitchen not inspected by the health department, which must also appear on a sign where you sell.
Sales tax on home-baked goods in Illinois
The cottage food law does not exempt you from sales tax. Illinois taxes food for home consumption at a lower rate than general merchandise and taxes candy at the general rate, and local rates also apply, so the rate depends on what you sell and where. Register with the Illinois Department of Revenue and check with it which rate applies to each of your products before your first sale.
Worked example: pricing a dozen cookies for a farmers market
No sales cap means pricing, not paperwork, decides whether your bakery pays. Here is an example with made-up but realistic numbers for one dozen chocolate chip cookies.
Ingredients come to $4.10, the bag and printed label to $0.90, and 40 minutes of your time at $18 an hour adds $12.00. Spreading your yearly registration fee, certificate and market booth over the dozens you expect to sell adds about $0.60. The total cost is $17.60 a dozen.
If you want a 30% margin, divide the cost by 0.70: $17.60 divided by 0.70 is about $25.14, so round up to a price of $25.50 a dozen.
| Cost line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | $4.10 |
| Bag and label | $0.90 |
| Labor, 40 minutes at $18 an hour | $12.00 |
| Share of fees, certificate and booth | $0.60 |
| Total cost | $17.60 |
| Price for a 30% margin | $25.14 |
How Farinu helps an Illinois cottage food business
Farinu does not register you or print your label, but it keeps the numbers behind them. You cost each recipe with ingredients, packaging, sub-recipes, labor and overhead, see a suggested price for your target markup (a 30% margin is a markup of about 43%), and get a margin alert when an ingredient price rises.
Your ingredient lists stay in one place, which makes writing labels easier. You can take custom orders with a deposit and a balance, keep each customer's WhatsApp number, log market sales and see a monthly profit and loss. The free plan covers costing for up to 10 recipes and up to 50 orders a month, and Team adds the rest.
Sources
- Illinois Department of Public Health: Cottage food operations
- McHenry County Department of Health: Cottage food operation
Questions
- Is there a sales limit under the Illinois cottage food law?
- No. Since the Home-to-Market Act, cottage food operations have no annual sales cap. The separate home kitchen operation category has a monthly limit where local governments have adopted it.
- Can I sell cottage food online in Illinois?
- Yes, to customers in Illinois. You can deliver, offer pickup or ship within the state, but you cannot ship to other states.
- Do I need a food handler card or a manager certificate?
- A Certified Food Protection Manager certificate from an ANSI-accredited program. A food handler card is not enough. Ask your health department whether it also requires allergen training.
- Can I sell cheesecake or cream cheese frosting?
- Generally no, because they need refrigeration. Foods that need time and temperature control are not allowed unless your health department confirms a specific product qualifies.
Related pages
Price your Illinois bakes so they pay
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