Cottage food law
Texas cottage food law for home bakers
The Texas cottage food law lets you bake at home and sell straight to customers with no local permit, inspection or fee, as long as your gross sales stay under $150,000 a year, you skip a short list of banned foods, you complete a food handler course and every product carries the required label. Since SB 541 took effect on September 1, 2025, you can also sell foods that need refrigeration, such as cheesecake, if you register with the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). This page sums up the rules as DSHS publishes them. It is not legal advice.
| Topic | Rule |
|---|---|
| Sales cap | $150,000 in annual gross income, set by SB 541, effective September 1, 2025 |
| Allowed foods | Any food except meat, poultry, seafood, ice products, low-acid canned goods, CBD or THC products, and raw milk |
| Refrigerated (TCS) foods | Allowed with DSHS registration; held at 41°F or below; no donating or wholesale |
| Online sales | Allowed with personal delivery by you, a household member or an employee, and label details shown before payment |
| Shipping | Not covered on the DSHS page; check with DSHS |
| Permit and registration | No local permit, inspection or fee; DSHS registration required for TCS foods, optional to use an ID number instead of your address; check the fee with DSHS |
| Labeling | Business name, address or DSHS ID, product name, major allergens, private residence statement; date made and safe handling statement for TCS foods |
| Training | Accredited food handler course, or a food manager certificate |
| Sales tax | Bakery items sold without plates or utensils are generally exempt; check with the Texas Comptroller |
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 changed with SB 541
Before September 2025, cottage food law in Texas worked from a short list of allowed foods and a $50,000 sales cap. SB 541 turned that around. Now you can make any food except the banned categories, and the annual gross income cap rose to $150,000.
The other big change is local control. Cities and county health departments can no longer inspect a cottage food operation or make it get a license, permit or fee to produce food or sell it directly to consumers. DSHS or a local health authority can still step in to stop an immediate and serious threat to health, for example with a recall order.
Foods you can and cannot sell
Breads, cookies, cakes, pies, brownies, candy, jams and most other baked goods are allowed. So are foods that need time and temperature control for safety (TCS foods), such as cheesecake, cream pies or custard tarts, provided you register with DSHS and keep them cold.
These categories are not allowed under the Texas rules:
- Meat, meat products, poultry and poultry products
- Seafood, fish, shellfish and their products
- Ice and ice products, including shaved ice, ice cream, frozen custard, popsicles and gelato
- Low-acid canned goods
- Products containing CBD or THC
- Raw milk and raw milk products
Do you need a Texas cottage food license?
There is no Texas cottage food license for shelf-stable foods. You need two things instead: a food handler certificate from an accredited program (a food manager certificate also counts) and correct labels.
Registration on the DSHS Online Licensing Registry is required only if you sell TCS foods. It is optional if you simply want to print a DSHS registration number on your labels instead of your home address. The DSHS page does not list a registration fee, so check the current amount with DSHS when you sign up. Shops and cafes that buy your non-TCS products to resell must register too, as cottage food vendors.
Texas cottage food label requirements
Every product needs a legible label. If you sell unpackaged food, the same information goes on an invoice or receipt. The label must show:
- The name of your operation
- Your physical address, or the unique ID number DSHS issues when you register
- The common or usual name of the product, such as "Chocolate chip cookies"
- Any major food allergen used, such as eggs, milk, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish or shellfish
- The statement: THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION.
- For TCS foods: the date made, plus a safe handling statement in at least 12-point type that begins SAFE HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS: and tells the buyer to keep the food refrigerated or frozen until it is prepared for eating
- For pickled, fermented or plant-based acidified canned products: a unique batch number
Where and how you can sell
You can sell directly to consumers from home, at farmers markets, at events and through your own website or social media. Online sales come with conditions: the buyer orders from you, you or someone in your household or an employee delivers the food in person, and your website shows the full label information before the customer pays. After payment, the label must show your address or DSHS ID number.
The DSHS page does not cover shipping by mail or courier, so check with DSHS before you ship. Keep TCS foods at 41°F or below (or 135°F or above for hot food) while you store and deliver them.
You may give out samples anywhere and donate non-TCS foods. You may also sell non-TCS foods wholesale to registered cottage food vendors, such as a coffee shop, which must post a sign with the private residence statement. TCS foods cannot be donated or sold wholesale.
Sales tax on home-baked goods
Under Texas Comptroller guidance, bakery items such as cakes, pies, cookies and kolaches are generally not taxed when sold without plates or eating utensils. Candy and other foods follow different rules. Sales tax rules depend on what you sell and how you serve it, so confirm with the Texas Comptroller before you start charging, or not charging, tax.
Example: how close is a home bakery to the $150,000 cap?
Take an example baker who sells 30 custom cakes a month at $55, plus 60 dozen cookies at $24 a dozen. That is $1,650 plus $1,440, or $3,090 a month and $37,080 a year in gross sales, about a quarter of the cap.
The cap counts gross income, not profit. If those cakes cost $22 each in ingredients, boxes, labor and gas, the real margin is far smaller than the sales figure suggests. That is why a sales total and a cost per cake belong side by side.
Keep your Texas cottage food business on track with Farinu
Farinu is an app for home and micro bakers. It costs each recipe from its ingredients, packaging, sub-recipes, labor and overhead, and suggests a price from your target markup. On Team, the sales log and monthly P&L show your revenue month by month, so you can add up how far you are from the $150,000 cap.
Farinu also keeps customers and custom orders, with deposits and balance payments, in one place, up to 50 orders a month on the free plan and unlimited on Team. The free plan covers costing for up to 10 recipes, and a margin alert tells you which products fall below target when an ingredient price rises.
Sources
- Texas Department of State Health Services: Texas Cottage Food Production
- Texas Comptroller: Restaurants and the Texas Sales Tax
Questions
- What is the sales limit under the Texas cottage food law?
- $150,000 in annual gross income, raised from $50,000 by SB 541 from September 1, 2025. It counts total sales, not profit.
- Can I sell cheesecake or cream pies from home in Texas?
- Yes, since September 2025, if you register with DSHS, keep them at 41°F or below, and label them with the date made and the safe handling statement. You cannot donate them or sell them wholesale.
- Can I ship cottage foods in Texas?
- The DSHS page allows online sales with personal delivery and does not address shipping. Check with DSHS at foodestablishments@dshs.texas.gov before you mail any product.
- Does my city need to approve my home bakery?
- No. Under SB 541, local health departments cannot inspect a cottage food operation or require a license, permit or fee. Zoning and HOA rules are separate, so check those for your address.
Related pages
Know what every bake earns before you sell it
Cost your recipes and set prices from a target markup, free for up to 10 recipes. Track sales against the cap on Team.