Cottage Food Laws by State — What You Can and Can't Sell

Legal overview · 6 min read

Cottage food laws (the rules that let you bake from your home kitchen and sell legally) vary wildly by state. This guide is a fast orientation — not legal advice. Always confirm with your state's Department of Agriculture or Department of Health before you take a single dollar.

The four "buckets" most states fall into

1. Open / generous: Wyoming, Maine, Texas, North Dakota — high or no sales cap, sales of most non-perishable baked goods allowed including online and shipping.
2. Moderate: California, Florida, New York — annual sales caps ($75K–$150K), allowed products listed by category, labeling required.
3. Restrictive: New Jersey (recently allowed but tight rules), Hawaii, some Northeast states — direct-to-consumer only, no shipping, lower sales caps.
4. License-required: A few states require a permit, food safety certificate, and an annual fee even for low-volume cottage operations.

Common rules that apply almost everywhere

• Non-perishable only: baked goods, jams, dry goods, candies. NO cheesecakes, custards, cream pies, or anything requiring refrigeration.
• Labeling: name of food, your name and address, ingredients (in order of weight), allergen disclosures, "made in a home kitchen" disclaimer.
• Where you can sell: almost always farmers markets and direct-to-consumer; sometimes online; rarely wholesale to retail stores.
• Sales cap: typically $25K–$75K/year before you must move to a commercial kitchen.

By-state quick reference (always verify)

What to do before you sell

1. Search for "[your state] cottage food law" on the state government site.
2. Check the allowed-products list — make sure your product is on it.
3. Take any required food handler course (often $10 online, 1 hour).
4. Print your label template; verify it has the disclaimer language.
5. Track your annual sales — every cottage food law has a cap, and once you cross it you're under different rules.

Pricing implication

If you're capped at $25K/year and want to make $25K, your pricing math has to actually deliver that — which means accurate cost per recipe is non-optional. BakeCostCalc exists for exactly this; price right the first time, hit your annual goal sustainably, plan when to scale up.